Mariam

Mariam is from a big family that has been Muslim for many generations. She attends Grace School and has demonstrated a deep love of scripture reading. All of the students at Grace have their own Bible. She would read hers loudly at home. Everyone in the family liked it except her uncle with whom she is staying.  When he found out that Mariam was evangelizing to the family he asked her to burn the Bible.  With the support of many in her family Mariam did not burn the scriptures. She is no longer reading it in front of all the family but has continued her reading and told me that she feels peace when she does it.

I have encouraged her to continue reading it but not to disturb others when she reads the Bible. The Quran is often read aloud- in a specific manner, but Bible reading has more to do with the research of God's will for you and His guidance.

Mariam is in grade 8. Please pray for her and her family.

Ibrahima

March 4, 2014 - Update from Ibrahima

“But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, accommodating, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and not hypocritical.”        James 3: 17

 

Dear friends,                

Greetings!

      

This day as I complete this news, the city of Koro is newly powered with solar panels and many in the city are connected to the grid. At the same time Koro is experiencing a painful water shortage. Almost all of the wells are dry. It is a critical situation. Parents have no other alternative but to send their kids to go and find water on donkey carts whether it is school time or not.  So many jugs are waiting at the taps to just get any drop of water them.

Youth week lasted from the 11th of February to the 19^th. We used Grace School’s mini projector to show the Jesus film and other evangelical films that people like to see.  During the week students of Grace were involved in organizing the evangelization field and bible study.

On the 18^th of February, the national general secretary of Bible Studying evangelical students of Mali Mr Tiémoko COULIBALY arrived to Koro and visited churches and Grace Private School to encourage Bible study at school. He also visited our new land and prayed for Godly providence for the building project.  Students appreciated having him explain to them the new reformed vision of IFES ( International Fellowship of evangelical students) which is: Developing a disciple community of students transformed by the gospel and having significant impact in their schools, churches and societies for the only Glory of God.  I particularly appreciated his teaching on why we need to teach the kids to devote themselves to gain their friends for Eternal life while other people try to teach them to give away their lives to bomb out other peoples’ lives.   The challenge is there. If we do not teach the kids to live in love and to value life, other will teach them to hurt other’s lives.

At the end of the week, we organized a soccer game between the Medersa School students (Koran based teaching school) and the Grace School students. The Medersa beat us 3 to 2. It was not surprising for us because the students at the Medersa are way bigger than our students. I conclude that we won the game because I am sure the opposite result would have caused more frustration and may be violence.

Thanks to Brandon and Abby for bringing us the soccer balls donated by Josh and Josie. The kids are grateful to you.

Early in February I got to visit some students families they all appreciated the visit and recommend we do it more frequently so that we work together to help the students and prevent major deviation.

Please pray that the students would work harder and be successful in their education.

Please pray that they fully get to incorporate in their real life the service oriented teaching they get at school  

Thank you for your faithful support to us. I can do those things because you are supporting the cost. God bless you and provide for you so that you can bear more fruits again to please Him.

In Christ

Your friend Ibrahima and all the personnel of Grace Private School

March 1, 2014

I wish you all could watch it also: the six minute video that Ibrahima filmed as he walked around the land where the new school will be built. The seventh, eighth, and ninth grade students stand four meters apart, marking the perimeter.  They stand still and patiently as he walks within the human fence, showing the size of the plot, the borders, and the old small building with a tree growing inside that will have to be removed.  About two minutes into the film the children begin to sing.  With one of the teachers conducting and Ibrahima leading they sing Christian hymns in French, clapping out the beat and filling the dusty flat plot of land with their voices.  It is a truly great moment, filled with pride and hope.

We hope to see a school spring up on this land within the next year.  The first phase will contain three classrooms and the administrative area on a single floor.  The construction will be sturdy enough to allow a second floor to be built, adding an additional three to four classrooms in the future.  By having their own building, there is a much better chance that Grace Private School will continue to grow and eventually become self-supporting.  The plans and construction bids are in place; all that is needed now are the donations. 

This is an amazing opportunity to make a tangible, measureable, important difference.  Some of these are children who, without your help, would either be in public school or no school at all, with little hope of learning enough to reach their potential.  We all have the same needs right? The same dreams?  We want to have enough to eat, to be healthy and strong, to be safe and loved.  Especially loved. We want to be valued, to know that we matter to someone.  These children know that someone is there for them. Someone that they have never met, from a country that they will never see. But they know that we are here.  Ibrahima is there to tell them how much they are loved and how intensely we want them to succeed, to find peace, happiness, and fulfillment, and to reach their God-given potentials.

Please pray for the school and the children. Also, consider making a monthly donation to help us move towards breaking ground on the new school.

Peace,

Brandon 

January 25, 2014

We had a great, successful trip to Mali this month.  Ten of us traveled from Kansas City and California to help at a primary school in the small village of Dagabo and at Dr. Oumar's Clinique Paix in the town of Oulessebougou.  Ibrahima helped organize the mission from the Mali end and was our lead translator.  His ability to understand meaning and nuance and not just words across multiple languages and cultures is astounding. I haven't seen the final numbers but know that Tammy and I saw in the range of 320 patients and did about 30 surgeries.  We all learned a lot and had experiences that we bring back to share and to help make the world a little bit smaller and more peaceful.

I was able to have a couple of meetings with Ibrahima during the week about Grace Private School in Koro.  Although I wasn't able to visit the school (remember that Koro is at least 16 hours by bus to the east of Bamako), he did leave me with lots of pictures and several short movies. I was able to get a better feel for where the school stands and what the future may hold.  Communication with the outside world is so poor out of Koro.  Texting is about our only means of communication throughout the year so it was nice to be able to have full conversations.  As I have time to meet with the other board members and brainstorm and dream we will give more information about exciting plans for the school.

Some of us had put together supplies from Ibrahima's wish list and I was able to bring these things to him.  It was enough to fill a suitcase.  Four new soccer balls, big maps, lots of pens, clothes, hard candy, and printer ink cartridges.  He told me that there are only two color printers in all of Koro.  One is at the World Vision office and the other is at Grace Private School.  He said that people in town are amazed when they see color copies with new up-to-date information. The six black and white and two color cartridges will be enough to last a year.  Solar panels provide the power for the computer and printer at the school.

Thank you all for your interest, your prayers, and your contributions towards the spiritual and academic education of these precious children.

Peace,

Brandon

The Grace Private School first grade class meets in a temporary structure made of grass.

January update from Ibrahima Kodio

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014 to all of you!!!! We wish you all the best in this year; a year of peace, joy, health, success, prosperity in all aspect and deep satisfaction for you and your families, and all those who are dear to you.

As we write you in the midst of Sahel climate, we give thanks to God for sustaining us through the year and for your interest and valued support throughout the past years and particularly in 2013.

Thank you so much for all you did by partnering with us in the work at Grace School.

This year God has entrusted us 60 students in total, which is below the number we expected. We did some research about why after 3 years the school is not attracting enough students to make a profit even though people talk highly about the good quality of the teaching at Grace. Here are the three main points at the conclusion.

1.     Because of the unrest in the country, many people have totally or partially lost their income as businesses are idling. So people reduce their family budget by sending their kids to the free public schools even though they don’t like the quality there.

2.     The arrival of the 80 % government subsidized catholic school in Koro.

3.     The lack of regular class rooms for elementary school at Grace.

We were very surprised by the fact that none mentioned the Christian aspect of the school, rather they all appreciate the fear of God that is taught at Grace School.

To relieve these facts, we decided to reduce the tuition and reduce the salaries of the teachers and to lower all operating expenses. 

We are grateful for all the teachers as they understand what the school is facing and accept the sacrifice. 

The challenge is so big and we are not able to face it only by ourselves.

Mainly the help for education is directed to the public system while it keeps stumbling down from bad to worse every day.

I want to introduce you a brave student of Grace: Mohamed Traoré tenderly named Vieux, who joined us after the tragic loss of his mother Rebecca POUDIOUGO in September;

Vieux’s dad was fatally injured in an artisanal gold mine accident three years ago in Sikasso obliging this 9  year old little boy to depend only on his mother Rebecca, who was providing for her family from her critical income by doing door to door laundries.

 In September Mother Rebecca passed away after one month at the American Christian humanitarian Hospital in Koutiala. Vieux’s stature changed to a helpless orphan who none clams to be family with.

As Mother Rebecca was from the same family with my mother, one of my uncles and my mother were deeply concerned about Vieux’s future. They brought his story in to our house to confer about how to help him.

I was so touched by his all together long and painful story that my wife and I asked them if we can get him to stay with us in our house to give him family, education and anything we can for his good. Our proposal was quickly accepted and then Vieux joined us making our family grow to 15 members. We are grateful for the change we can see in Vieux’s life from the time he arrived to Grace School to today. He has become a happy boy and the third noisiest in our house just after me and Cathérine my first daughter. Vieux is 12 and will turn 13 soon and attends 7^th grade.

Please thank God with us for:

1.     The safety and health of students and teachers and administration during the year 2013;

2.     All the students we presently have at Grace;

3.     All the good news we hear about our former students from their high school teachers.

4.     All our supporters including you who read this letter.

5.     The easy integration of students in difficult situation like Ousmane, Vieux and Abdoul.

6.     The acquisition of the land for Grace School.

Please pray with us for:

1.     Godly guidance and protection through this Year 2014 for all teachers and students and particularly for the administration.

2.     True transformation of all the students by the grace and love of God to because servant, wall restorers and justice makers.

3.     Providence to build classrooms on the new land of Grace school.

4.     Quick improvement of the economic and financial situation in Mali.

Thank you and God bless you!!!

Ibrahima Kodio

Vieux

New pictures from Ibrahima and Grace school

Grades 1 and 2 students

Grade 7 students

Grade 8 students