Merry Christmas!

“So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you. PATIENT ENDURANCE is what you NEED NOW. So that you will continue to do God’s then you will receive all that he has promised.” Hebrews 10: 35-36

Those of you who have followed my life journey the last few years will remember that the last few years the Lord has been teaching more and more about PATIENT ENDURANCE. I have discovered that the secret to endurance is trusting and obeying God even when we are not sure what the next step in life.

I recently finished a Bible Study on the Book of Jonah. It focused on Jonah and his journey with interruptions in his life. At the same time, we looked at some of the interruptions we experience in our own life. This certainly has been a year of interruptions for me and Grace English School. With all the interruptions, God has been teaching me about patience, trusting him, letting go and listening for his direction.

It has been a year of “yes you can open your school, sorry we need to close your school” and then “yes you are allowed to open up on a limited schedule for a few weeks”, but then it was shut down again. Which brought us back to the teachers having to deliver the lessons again. Thankfully in the middle of November we were allowed to return to Class, and we are now finishing up our school year for 2021.

But even with all the interruptions I have seen the hand of God in all of it. Our school in strong, all our staff are healthy, and our children are doing great. Recently, our staff got together at the end of the school year to celebrate Christmas. They had a wonderful time enjoying each other’s company, some great food, gifts, and time to relax and just be together.

Thanks to our generous supporters, we were able to continue to pay our teachers every month, continue with a couple of more food distributions to our families and finished a few more projects.

2022 is looking like it will hold some awesome changes for our new school year! Thanks to a matching gift of up to $15,000, we are taking a step of faith and adding three more grades to our school. We will be adding 6th, 7thand 8th grades. We are now in the process of getting our certification for the new grades. To Start with we will be shifting some rooms around and believe we can squeeze in our first 6th grade class. Our 5th grade students are very excited that they can continue to attend Grace English School. Then over time as finances are provided, we will add the 7th and 8th. You will hear more about this matching gift campaign in 2022, but it you wish to donate now; we certainly would be very grateful!

Many of you have been wondering when I am going back. I had hoped to go to India this last spring when it looked like the virus was going to slow down and things began to open again. But then the Delta strain came along, and things closed again. Currently India is expecting to open international flights January 31, 2022. Lord willing, I will be heading back to India early next year. I cannot wait to be back at the school again.

PRAISES:

1. Even with all the interruptions God has been evident in so many ways.

2. Our staff and children continue to stay healthy even with all the new variants that seem to want to interrupt the life of the school.

3. It looks like I will be able to return to India in 2022.

4. Thank you everyone who gave so generously this year. We could not continue this ministry without your prayers and financial support.

PRAYER:

1. I need clear direction for the right timing to return to India.

2. Wisdom as we go through the process of getting certified for the next three grades.

3. With the increase in grades, we will also see an increase in our school budget needs that will need to be met.

4. For my own personal support to increase as I look forward to returning to India and will be adding the expense of travel and living expenses in India.

To Contribute to Carol Alexander's ministry support

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Choose Designation: INDIA / #40-108

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First Baptist Church

267 N Mills Ave, Lodi, CA 95242

Memo: LEARNING TO HOPE (include this account number) #40-108

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