Noah's Ark Church School

As David began his work again with the Okinawa Baptist Convention, a letter was sent to all the churches asking if they would like support help from him. Many churches replied and among those that did was Awase Baptist Church asking for his help as an English teacher at their newly formed church school.

Until recently, there have been no Christian schools in Okinawa for Japanese speakers. Okinawa Christian School International where Leslie works, is a choice for those wanting an English Christian education but for those wanting their children to learn at a Japanese Christian school, there has really been no choice. This has been due in part to the history of Okinawa which has had no history of mission schools (such as Soshin School in Yokohama where we used to teach) partly due to recent strict rules by the Japanese Ministry of Education.

Many here were encouraged by a ruling last year that made it so homeschooled students or those who attended an alternative school could take something akin to the GED in America as they approached graduation age. Passing this test would make it possible for them to attend a Japanese college; something that hasn't been possible previously. As a result of the ruling, two new schools have been started to meet the needs of Christian families and one of them is Noah's Ark Church School at Awase Baptist Church.

Noah's Ark presently has 9 students and they are praying for another 5 this coming year beginning in April. The students receive instruction in Japanese in all the major subject areas including Bible in Japanese and also learn English and Bible from David.

We were truly impressed with the progress these students have made over the past year as we attended their "happyokai", a Japanese word that means the students all shared with friends and family the things they have learned in this school year. The pastor of the church, Rev. Gushiken and their main teacher Ms. Esther ask for you to pray with them for the 5 new students as well as for the present students. Many Christian parents want to protect their children from some of the influences that seem to becoming more and more prevalent.

We hope you enjoy the photos and a short clip of the students singing a Christmas song.