Today’s guest post is by Chad Moore, who recently came on board with MAF as a teacher. He and his family just moved to Indonesia so Chad can teach at the Peningki Hill School in Tarakan, Kalimantan.
To learn more about the Moore family and their life in Indonesia, visit their Mission Aviation Fellowship webpage.
Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6
Up until April 15th of this year, I’d never even heard of MAF, much less Peningki Hill School in Tarakan, Kalimantan, Indonesia. With that being said, I somehow believed that this was going to be a great school year. Fast forward almost five months and I find myself sitting in a basement classroom reflecting on the first three weeks of school. I guess in some ways teaching in Tarakan is quite a bit different than teaching in the States. But, most of those differences have to do with geography. The cool thing is this, kids are kids and God is amazing!
Some of the students at Peningki Hill School
Within the first week of arriving in Tarakan I noticed the most peculiar thing. They don’t have an Office Depot or a teacher’s store here. This caused me to reach deep down and pull out all of the creative juices that I possess (that didn’t take long). My classroom pretty much consisted of four concrete walls and a small white board. My next realization was that I was going to be a bit challenged without all the tech tools I’ve come to rely on. Gone were my Smart Board, Document Camera, and high speed Internet. In many ways it felt like I was walking back into my first classroom almost 15 years ago.
The kids love playing basketball with the school guard, Pak Herson.
After a few weeks of cleaning, organizing, and planning, I finally felt prepared for our open house. As I looked around the room that evening I began to see the familiar sights that the beginning of school always brings. First, I saw two other awesome teachers who are willing to pour everything they have into a fresh group of students. Next, I saw a supportive group of parents who care deeply about the spiritual, social, and academic growth of their children. Finally, I was able to spend some time with an amazing group of kids who were extremely excited about a fresh start to a new school year!
We are now three weeks into school and I can’t even begin to tell you about all the amazing things God is doing in our school. However, I can now state with full confidence what I only believed a few weeks ago: This is going to be a year to remember at Peningki Hill School!
I asked the students what the best part of school has been so far and I was blown away by their responses. Here’s a sample from Hattie Underhill.
“The best part about school at Peningki for me is that I get to go to a school where all the teachers have committed their lives to God, and they truly will do anything and everything in their power to serve him and bring him glory. Right now bringing him glory means that they teach us all that we need to know to become adults and grow in the Love of God.”