King David School As many of you already know, the city of Poznan (metro population of 635,000) has only one small private Christian elementary school: King David School.
King David School entrance.
Over the years, I’ve had a variety of roles there: -classroom volunteer, -substitute teacher, -summer day-camp co-director, -staff training seminar presenter, -parent-teacher meeting speaker -English library benefactor, -building improvement laborer, -playground improvement liaison It’s been a good relationship that continues to evolve year-by-year.
Past service at King David School
In late May, KDS director, Jarek Pietrzak, asked me to consider two positions for the coming 2012-2013 school year:
1) be the full time English teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6
2) provide training seminars for KDS teachers At this point, I do not feel led to take on the full time teaching position. Doing so would greatly limit the other weekly ministries that I currently participate in. As Jarek, his wife Iwona, and I discussed the teacher training seminars, though, it seemed it might be more effective to personally team with two or three individual teachers, a role I have helped with in past years. This method provides opportunity for more specific input which addresses the actual student and curriculum challenges that each teacher teaming with a classroom teacher faces. Jarek, Iwona, and I all felt good about this plan, so in the next few weeks, we hope to further develop this “buddy-teacher” partnership. Prayer Request / Ministry Opportunity: KDS is still seeking someone to fill a one year commitment to be the English teacher for grades 4, 5, and 6.
Request #1: Please join us in asking the Lord to provide a strong, child-centered Christian who would teach the intermediate English classes.
Request #2: If you know of anyone who would be interested in coming to Poland to fill this teaching/short-term ministry position, please contact me as soon as possible. Thank you.
Daniel’s Work / Training
A couple months ago, Daniel was selected to receive welding training through his job. He started this training the second week of July. The special course will last until the end of August. To participate in this training, Daniel works until 1:00 at his regular job, comes home for something to eat and a short rest, and then leaves about 3:00 to attend classes until 9:00. The main challenge is that the welding classes are held about a half hour drive from where we live.
I am still the only one in our household with a driver’s license, but my weekly ministry schedule prohibits me from taking Daniel to and from his class each day.
Polish law allows someone to drive a 50cc motorized scooter, even without a driver’s license. With this in mind, we purchased a scooter which Daniel uses to provide his own transportation.
The price of the scooter was more than what Daniel had in his savings, but with help from some American friends who donate monthly to ITMI’s special Daniel/Marta/Julian support fund, Daniel will be able to make payments until the scooter is fully paid for.
Daniel and scooter ready for school
School has always been a negative experience for Daniel, though he is excited about classes that involve tools and repair work. Should he successfully complete this course, Daniel will earn a “universal card,” which will identify him as a qualified welder throughout the European Union.
Your prayers in support of Daniel’s school efforts would be greatly appreciated.
Julian is now going on seven months old. As far as I can tell, he is a typical, healthy, happy little boy.
Most days I have time with him in late morning and early afternoon, plus I often get some bonus time with him in late evening, as well. There is no doubt that my “Julian time” is the highlight of my day.
Within the routines of daily family life, I firmly believe the Lord has given me a specific role in Julian’s social, spiritual, and educational development.
I take this role very seriously, with purposeful effort regularly put forth in each area. With some careful budgeting, I am able to add significantly to Julian’s upbringing, resulting in his early infanthood being much richer in developmental experiences than it otherwise would have been.
Julian and Grandpa ready for church (Left), Julian and Grandpa playing with a “bi-lingual” toy puppy that talks and sings in both Polish and English (Middle) Thank you so much for all your faithful prayers and support!
Jim LaRose