Use your god-given Talents and Professional skills to 去产生影响 为着福音的缘故

“Cheryl and I (Walt) Spicer met at Calvary University. I was an education major and Cheryl was a nurse. We believed God called us into missions, specifically in the support role of teaching missionary children. We joined New Tribes Mission (now called Ethnos360).

We believe that God called us to serve at Faith Academy and it has become our home: Cheryl grew up attending Faith Academy, starting first grade at FA and graduating from FA, having many fond memories of FA and the dorm; this is where all five of our children attended and graduated, and this is where we still serve–myself as the Deputy Head and Cheryl as a school nurse. It is only by God’s grace that we continue to serve, but we are confident in the school’s vision and mission. It is aligned with God’s Word and our calling in life–worthy to give our life for.”

“Faith Academy is my spiritual home, I am serving and being served in the community. It is encouraging to build the next generation’ faith in Jesus Christ. children are precious in Jesus’ eyes, their hearts are so sensitive and soft, any planted seeds in their hearts will grow. What we concern is not only about their academic growth, but also their souls which Jesus cares about. Your partnership makes this happen for some staff.”

Name of staff withheld for security purposes

“From the time I was born until I was 12, I lived overseas as a missionary kid, first in Kenya and then in the Philippines. In fact, I went to 5 different elementary schools on three continents, including four years at Faith Academy.

Transitions and new experiences were all I knew, it was what I felt formed my identity. However, when I was 12, my parents sensed God calling them to stay in the United States. My life as I had known it changed completely – I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my friends and life here at Faith Academy because the decision was made while we were on furlough. Needless to say, as a young teen uprooted from all I had known (even as that had changed so often), I became angry at my parents and at God. I felt that if there even was a God, surely He must not love me, since I had such a hard middle school experience. I did not understand my classmates in the US, most of whom had rarely been outside the state of Colorado, and they did not understand me, this strange girl who had lived all over the world. God used that hard transition in my life to make my heart tender towards the transitions missionary students go through. God also gave me a heart for middle schoolers, even though I first vowed I would never teach that age group, because of my own negative Middle School experience. But God knew those experiences would lead me to seek out the hurting and left-out students while working with their classmates to include them.

That is why I came to Faith Academy in 2013; I hope I can be a consistent person in students’ lives and identify with them through their struggles. When I share my story with my students, especially new middle schoolers, they seem to breathe a sigh of relief that someone understands what they are going through. I love being an encouragement to them and seeing them become more comfortable with the community here at Faith.

The students are what I love the most about Faith. I love how they bring such a richness and diversity of thought to their studies. I love how they are so grateful and that I can build relationships with them on multiple levels, both inside and outside of the school day. I pray that God can use me to show students that their identities don’t come from being a missionary kid, or a business kid, or even a Faith Academy student, but that their identities are rooted in the fact that they are beloved children of the King of Kings.”

“The reason that I am in the Philippines is to serve at Faith Academy, and because of that, I get to live in this beautiful country! Getting to teach awesome students on school days and explore during breaks? What could be better?

我最喜欢的地方之一是在马尼拉外的Sagada。几年前，我和朋友们在马尼拉以北乘坐夜班巴士前往Banaue，只为了去探索吉普尼往返Sagada的最后一站。我们不想与山间美丽的梯田失之交臂，我们请求坐在吉普尼的车顶上，在狭窄的道路上缠绕并徊转，穿过寒冷多云的，点缀着美丽的水稻梯田的山脉，这是我做过的最令人兴奋的事情之一。我把它比作骑在一张优美绝伦的明信片上。

住在菲律宾并不意味着我只能在“山区或是海滩”之间做选择。作为一名狂热的浮潜和深潜潜水员，我爱上了巴拉望岛上美丽、平静、温暖的Coron水域。我永远不会忘记退潮时游泳穿过石灰岩下的缝隙，到达一个美丽而宁静的海洋湖泊。Coron是我最热爱的潜水体验之家！我曾和朋友一起潜水穿过一艘二战时期被鱼雷击沉的，侧卧在海底的日本船只。我们在不同的楼层和房间里进进出出，穿过鱼雷洞，花了一些时间欣赏占据船只的美丽珊瑚。潜水真是太棒了！

I will always and forever love visiting the island of Corregidor! I love the history. I love the jungle-hiking. I love the pier-jumping. I love the hammock-sleeping. I love the monkeys (but not foolishly so – if you know, you know.) Ever since my first Corregidor Outdoor Ed, I envied the site staff who got to ride their motorbikes around the island all week, and this his past Christmas, I was able to fulfill a dream of mine by renting a motorbike for a couple of hours to shuttle people around Corregidor island!

While these are three of my favorite places to visit in the Philippines, in all sincerity, my favorite place to be is in my classroom at Faith Academy with my amazing students – the entire reason why I am here!”