July 2, 2013 - MTW - Japan - Prayer/Praise - Bakelaar

“We will never send our kids to boarding school!” At least this is

what we said before we had children and were talking about

going to the mission field. Our children’s education was all theory to us.

We had ideas, hopes, and a strong sense of direction where we wanted to go with our

kids educationally. There were also areas that we felt would never be viable options. We have learned a lot along the way. As we encountered challenges and considered the needs of

each child, one thing we have joked about is the well used phrase “never say never.”

Our children’s educational journeys took us down many roads:

Keagan: Japanese Preschool/Japanese Elementary 1, 2, 3 (half)/Homeschool for 6 months/Pineview Elementary School, South Carolina, second half of 3rd grade/International Christian School,

Nagoya 4-7/ Neoga Junior High School, Neoga, IL 8/International Christian School, Nagoya 9, 10/International School, Nagoya 11, 12

Rita: Japanese Preschool/International Christian Academy, Nagoya 1-3/Neoga Elementary School, Neoga, IL

4/ International Christian School, Nagoya 5-8/ Neoga High School, Neoga, IL 9/International School,

Nagoya 10/International Christian Academy (Boarding), Tokyo 11, 12

Evan: Japanese Preschool/ International Christian School, Nagoya K-1/Neoga Elementary School, Neoga,

IL 2/International Christian School, Nagoya 3-6/ Neoga Junior High School, Neoga, IL 7/International

Christian Academy, Nagoya 8/International Christian Academy (Boarding), Tokyo 9-10/Homeschool 11(1

St semester)/International Christian Academy(Boarding), Tokyo 11(2ndsemester) ,12

Wendy: Preschool USA/International Christian School, Nagoya, Japan K-2/Neoga Elementary School, Neoga, IL

3/International Christian School, Nagoya 4-8/Neoga High School, Neoga, IL 9(1st semester)/Homeschool 9(2ndsemester)/International Christian Academy(Boarding), Tokyo 10

Major themes along the way have been: Relying on God, Prayer, Experiencing Change ,

Prayer, Seeking Guidance, Prayer (did I say prayer?)

We are still not finished with all the kids’ education, but God has been faithful to

each child and guided each one through many transitions. We are so

thankful for the privilege our kids have had to receive a good education and thank

God for the way He has worked in each of our children’s lives. Our kids look

back at their educational experiences with gratitude and continue to process

some of the rewards and sacrifices along the way.

1)Please pray for missionaries as they face educational challenges in their fields of service.

Many times there are limited options and resources.

2)Please pray for the missionary children to adapt and adjust in healthy ways to the different

situations that are a part of their educational experience.

3)Please pray for godly teachers along the way who are good role models and can develop in

their students a lifelong zeal for learning.

4)Please pray for missionary kids whose schooling stories include both positive and

negative experiences. Pray that they would be able to live without regrets or grudges and

acknowledge that even in the best and worst of times that God is able to work all things

out for good.

5)Please pray for our daughter Wendy as she will be beginning

the 10 th grade at the Christian Academy of Japan in Tokyo.

Thanks for praying that we would all be good students of what God wants to teach us

about Himself and life!

In Christ,

Peter and Diane Bakelaar,

Keagan, Rita, Evan, and Wendy

Pasted from <http://76.12.38.165/occ2003/pjbakelaar/1306prayer.pdf>