Greetings Everyone --
It’s been a while since we’ve sent you a Lion of Judah Academy update.
That’s not because little is happening! In fact, quite to the contrary. So much has been going on that we’ve found it difficult to just keep up…much less to find time to write all our friends and supporters with news of what is going on, both in Tanzania and in the U.S.
In this update we’re going to touch on the highlights. In addition, photos have been posted on the website. Links to those photos and additional information are above.
We’re going to divide this update into two sections…
1. News from The Lion of Judah Academy, in Tanzania
2. News from The Lion of Judah Ministries, in the U.S.
(For those not familiar with the distinction, everything in this update and on the website is about what God is doing at The Lion of Judah Academy in Tanzania! The Lion of Judah Ministries is simply the U.S. based 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization established to support the school)
DORMITORY NEARING COMPLETION
Photos on the website
The final phase of the primary school dormitory construction is nearly completed. When it is finished and occupied, the final major construction projects for the Primary School will be completed. A few smaller projects, such as the completion of our last teacher houses, athletic fields, and the computer room, still need to be wrapped up. But the primary school is nearing the end of its huge building phase.
The dining room is in use. Furnishings are being constructed for the dorm rooms. New dorm parents have joined the staff.
Sometimes, when we visit the school, we find ourselves looking with amazement upon what God has done…and how He has used many of you to raise up a totally new thing – a great and marvelous school – out in the wilderness. It brings such glory and honor to Him. It touches the lives of countless children, their parents, and builds up the Church in Tanzania.
ALL PRAISE AND HONOR BE TO YOU, O GOD!
Now…next comes the Secondary School…see immediately below…
The Lion of Judah Academy Secondary School opened its first class in January, called Form 1 (roughly equivalent to our ninth grade, or high school freshman, class).
Several of the students came directly from the Lion of Judah Academy Primary School standard seven class which graduated in the fall of 2006. However, we were also able to accept a number of new students, from the large volume of applications we received. These students had to be screened carefully, to ensure their academic and English language skills, and personal character, were ‘up to par’ with the high standards of the students continuing from LOJ Primary School.
For the time being, classes are meeting in the chapel and in an unused section of the still under construction dormitory, designed to serve as a multi-purpose room.
Standing before us next is the daunting challenge of funding and building all the facilities needed to have a top level secondary school: classrooms, labs, dormitories, teacher housing, and other facilities.
We are literally “starting over again,” from scratch, to build a second new school!
We’ve watched God do one miracle in building the primary school. Please join us in fervent and faithful prayer…and watch to see how God is going to work this next great miracle.
We are stepping out in faith, because building this secondary school is truly something only God will be able to do. But we expect He is going to use ordinary folks, like us and like you, in extraordinary ways. We urge you to come along for the ride! Don’t be content to watch the miracle from the sidelines. Be part of it!
OTHER NEWS AND PRAYER CONCERNS….
New Bibles – Over 150 Bibles have been provided to the school by our supporters! These Bibles were funded by a couple from New Fairfield, Connecticut, and were purchased through The Opal Trust in Lockerbie, Scotland (www.opaltrust.org), a Scottish charity providing affordable Bibles and Christian literature to needy people around the world.
Science Teacher Needed – Qualified science teachers are in extremely short supply in East Africa, and as a result, The Lion of Judah Academy Secondary School is having a very difficult time finding a qualified teacher. Please pray for God to send to the school a qualified teacher. Also, we are wondering if there is an American, or English speaking non-American, individual who might be called to this position? Do you know anyone who might be interested? In the meantime, the school is ‘plugging the gap’ with some of our fine primary school teachers…but this is a short-term solution.
Work Team Trip Planned for June-July – On June 27 a group of students and adults from The Kings Academy in Mohrsville, Pennsylvania, will be traveling to The Lion of Judah Academy for nearly three weeks. They will return on July 16. Please pray for the preparations, as well as for a safe and exciting trip.
Scholarship Needs Reach New High – As the school grows, now to a secondary school, it is natural that we will need to provide more student scholarships, since the groups we specifically desire to minister to (the children of poor pastors, and HIV/AIDS orphans) are those least able to afford the costs of the school.
However, we are in the midst of an even bigger challenge, because the dormitory has opened and the number of students needing dorm scholarships is increasing.
For several years, our ability to fulfill the vision of providing a quality education to the children of poor Tanzanian pastors, and to AIDS orphans, has been somewhat limited because we could not house students from outlying areas.
The dormitory allows us to help many pastors and their children who previously had been unable to attend the school…but now we need to provide the scholarship assistance they will need.
A full dormitory scholarship is $600 a year, inclusive of ALL costs: education, dormitory, food, books. Everything. That is $50 a month. When the dorm is full, it will house about 120 students, most of whom will need scholarships.
Please be praying for provision of this critically important need. Thank you.
YOU CAN SUPPORT THE LION OF JUDAH ACADEMY EVERY TIME YOU DO AN INTERNET SEARCH!!
How?
By using GoodSearch.com!
GoodSearch is a search engine, powered by the Yahoo search engine (and therefore giving the same great search results) designed to help internet users support their favorite IRS approved charity.
Signing up is simple, and when you designate The Lion of Judah Ministries as your charity, then every time you do an internet search, 1 penny is contributed to the school.
Now, one penny doesn’t sound like much!
But look at it this way:
-- 11 people, doing only three searches each day, will generate enough pennies to provide a full scholarship for one student!!
-- 55 school friends, making only three searches each day, would provide a full dorm + tuition scholarship for one student!
And the search results are great!
Check it out by going to http://www.goodsearch.com/
Note on GoodSearch from Hart – Lynn and I have been using GoodSearch for about a month, because I wanted to try it before recommending it to others. We’ve been very pleased with the search results and ease of use. I’ve set it up on both Lynn’s computer (she uses Internet Explorer) and my computer (I use Firefox), and setup has been easy and straightforward. The Yahoo search results are very good, too, though I have occasionally wanted to supplement my searches with a Google search, as well. I’d be happy to try to help you set it up, if you run into any problems. I’m not a computer expert, but if I can help raise money for the school, I’ll try!
NEWS FROM THE U.S.
The U.S. based Lion of Judah Ministries exists to support the ministry and work of the school in Tanzania. It is very much, “behind the scenes.” But some important things have been happening over here, as well, and we want to keep you up to date with that news.
The Combined Federal Campaign – The Lion of Judah Ministries has been approved for inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign. Not sure what that is? We weren’t either, until one of our supporters, a federal employee, suggested we apply to be included in the CFC.
That’s when we learned that the CFC is the world’s largest and most successful annual workplace charity campaign. The CFC is for federal employees, including postal employees and military personnel, who raise millions of dollars each year for charities of their choice. Pledges made during the campaign season (September 1st to December 15th) support eligible non–profit organizations throughout the world.
The Lion of Judah Ministries will be one of those eligible charities in 2007.
This is especially important to know if you, personally, are a federal employee, or if you know federal employees who might like to support the work of an organization like The Lion of Judah Academy. We will remind everyone of this opportunity, as the campaign season comes near.
Here is a link to the CFC website, if you’d like to know more: http://www.opm.gov/cfc/
If you have a suggestion for us, please don't hesitate to pass it along!
Audit of The Lion of Judah Ministry Books – In January, The Lion of Judah Ministry books were audited by Ambrosi Donahue Congdon and Co., a CPA firm in Newburyport, Massachusetts.
You may recall that we had earlier asked for suggestions and assistance because we very much needed an official audit, for ourselves and for others.
Several of you made suggestions – and thanks to all of you who did! The one which actually worked out was with Ambrosi Donahue and Congdon. That opportunity included an audit of the books for 2005 and 2006, and it was completed at the end of January, 2007.
The audit itself is now posted on the website for anyone who is interested (click here), but the important thing is we can report, “we passed”!
One result we are particularly pleased with is the fact that only 1.25% of our expenses were used on administrative/overhead purposes, while 98.75% went directly to support the ministry of the school! And, all of the administrative costs were paid for by contributions designated specifically for administrative expenses. In other words, every penny contributed to the school and to the children, actually went directly to the school and the children!
Our goal is to always be able to say that to you.
We are especially grateful to Ambrosi Donahue and Congdon and Co for significantly discounting their services to us, and to one of our committed supporters for providing the funds to pay the balance of the costs.
Incidentally, our inclusion in the Combined Federal Campaign is only possible because we can provide a certified audit. We believe that is the first of many doors which open to us, thanks to this audit.
GIFTWORKS Database Program – as the ministry of the school has grown, and our list of friends and supporters has increased, the tasks related to communicating, bookkeeping, accounting, and the like, have become literally overwhelming.
You have been very patient as you have waited for contribution receipts and endured long periods of hearing little or nothing about what is happening at the school. None of those delays resulted from disinterest on our part…but the entire process had grown so large it was, very literally, out of control.
Finally, after looking at and testing several different software programs, we have ‘bitten the bullet’ and purchased GiftWorks, a database program for charitable organizations like ours. We’ve spent a lot of time transferring all of our lists, spreadsheets, and information into the program, and we are now using it. In fact, this April, 2007, update communication is our first major use of the mailing component of the program.
It’s probably going to take most of this year to get the entire process running at “full speed,” so to speak. But so far, we are very pleased with how it is working, and with the opportunities we believe it is going to provide for more effectively and time-efficiently carrying out the many varied tasks which are part of the work of The Lion of Judah Ministries.
We hope that, in the end, it will not only keep us in closer contact with all of you, but also allow us to spend far more time doing something which is very important – telling people about the amazing things God is doing at The Lion of Judah Academy.
