How I wish that each of you could have personally shared in the joy of Saturday’s preschool graduation, at which the 27 precious children received your gifts!

On Thursday, we assembled the gift bags with the appropriate gifts for each child. On Friday, we received the tailor-made uniforms. I’d planned to add the uniforms to the gift bags upon arriving home late that night, but since the uniforms weren’t well-labeled with the children’s names, we had to leave that task for Saturday.

Early Saturday morning, we loaded the car and drove to the preschool. On the way, we picked up the tailors who had made the uniforms. We spread out the uniforms, and, using their notebooks and measuring tapes, they succeeded in identifying which clothes were for each child. We put the primary school uniforms in the gift bags, and dressed the children in their graduation uniforms and the shoes you gave them.

During the graduation ceremony, my director spoke on the gospel and parents’ duty to train their children, in the national language with translation into the local language. The graduates demonstrated what they had learned by singing, writing their names, identifying letters of the alphabet, and answering questions from their enthusiastic teacher. The parents, friends, and distinguished guests in attendance were delighted with the remarkable development brought about in the students’ lives by means of the preschool.

Each child was called to the front, with his parent, to receive his diploma and gift bag and pose for a photo. The teachers and assistants were also presented with gifts. The preschool coordinator, the neighborhood leader, and the director of the primary school in which these children will enroll each gave their congratulations. The closing prayer of the ceremony also served to give thanks for the feast to follow.

I oversaw the serving of the meal to the honored guests indoors, where the children were also seated and given plates of food. Everyone else ate outside. As they finished, the students and their parents excitedly explored the contents of their gift bags, and many youngsters walked home wearing their new backpacks.

Please pray that these children and their families will come to know Christ as their Savior. Pray that the parents will embrace their responsibility to care for their children. Pray that the children’s academic and spiritual education will continue. Pray for God’s provision for the preschool as it prepares to add two new classes when the school year begins in February. Pray for the four new teachers who are currently attending a month-long training program. Pray for the preschool’s coordinator as he plans to visit the children’s homes in order to personally minister to their families.

Thank you so much for showing Christ’s love to these little ones, and thank you for your prayers!

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