Paid in Full!

So, is it cheesy or ironic or poetic or amazing to realize on Good Friday that God has literally paid it all??  Yes, salvation and redemption!  But He even takes the small things of life and unburdens us.

I have never been on a foreign mission because I never felt I had enough money, nor did I really want to ask my friends to pay my way. I decided to serve in Teaching With Jamaica because the call was so specific and special. I prayed daily for God to help wth funds, but I waited a long time before actually asking others for help. 

Most of my team began talking to friends in October. I waited until January and February because I just didn't know how it would work. And in 2 1/2 months, my trip is fully funded!!

Paid in full!

Mostly from people I don't even know--friends of friends and family from far away. Thank you so much to all of you who contributed financially. And thank you to all of you who prayed and will continue to pray. 

He is amazing, faithful, and good. 

<3, D'Anne

The Work That Comes First

Before we can assemble to new school library at Catherine Hall School, we need to get all the materials ready.  We have approximately 200 boxes of books that were all donated to Teaching With Jamaica.  Over half will go into the library and the other fourth or so will be donated to the Jamaican teachers for their classroom library.

Each woman I am traveling with will have a different role.  We have broken into teams: Upper Math, Lower Math, Upper Reading, Lower Reading, Special Education, and Library.  While the other teams are working on what strategies and techniques they will teach to the Jamaican teachers, the Library Team is getting all the books shelf-ready.

To get the books shelf-ready, we need to sort all the books by fiction and non-fiction, sort them by author, label each book with a library spine label and pocket, and input each book's information into a spreadsheet that will act as the "catalog" for the school library.

Here is my work space today:

It takes me about 45 minutes per box to catalog the info into the spreadsheet.  Our goal is to create a real, working library for the school.  So we can't just donate books and put them on the shelf.  This library will be organized and ready for classes of kids to search the paper catalog (no internet!!) to find a book they like, locate it on the shelf by the call number, and check it out using the card system (remember that old system??)

I have 12 boxes in my car to work on over Spring Break.  And so does each of the other ladies on the team!  Abundance is a blessing even when it means an abundance of work!

Thank you for praying that we can get all these books ready to ship on time.  The books will be boxed and sent in May to ensure that they are there at the library waiting for us in July.

If you recall, the school we are working with is Catherine Hall Primary School.  Here is some information about the school itself.

Catherine Hall Primary School is located in the Westgreen Community, approximately 2 miles from Sam Sharpe Square, and to the west of the Fairfield intersection.  The school opened in 1976, with a Principal and 30 teachers, and provides primary education for students between the ages of 6-12 year old.

This complex also houses a Kindergarten Department, which caters to infants within the 4-5 years age range.  There are five classes in this department; 2 for 4 year olds and 3 for 5 year olds.  The programme is designed to equip students to function effectively at the Grade 1 level. 

There is also a Special Education Department, which was built through the instrumentality of the Dutch Government, and 1 teacher. The programmes are designed to meet the needs of students in the Region who have special needs that affect their ability to learn.   The students are grouped according to their abilities, and are later mainstreamed when sufficient improvement has been made.

(From the Catherine Hall Primary School website.)

 

And an update on my fundraising:

THANK YOU, THANK YOU to all of you who have generously given to my trip.  I have raised $1050 of the $1300 I need.  

God is good!

Thank you for support and prayers!!

Dear Friends and Family,

I am excited to share with you how God has answered a prayer for me.  

As many of you know in the past I have pursued spreading God’s Word to children by teaching Sunday School, leading Vacation Bible School, and, most recently, by returning to the public school system to teach and be a librarian.  I am in my fifth year working with the Wylie Independent School District.  My first two years I taught 7th and 8th Grade Language Arts, and now I am in my third year as Library Media Specialist on a 5th and 6th Grade campus.  But I have been praying for God to show me how I can step out of my own arena and make a difference for His kingdom.  I have concentrated my witness to my “Jerusalem”, but I want to extend that to other parts of the world.

“You shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:8

Pictures of my school here in Wylie, Texas

I have been presented with an opportunity to participate in a different type of mission trip in July 2016. I will be a part of an organization called Teaching with Jamaica through Jamaica Link Ministries. As a group, we will develop, plan, and present a 3-day education training conference to 120 teachers from Western Jamaica. Our mission is to collaborate with Jamaican educators and empower them with additional teaching strategies and resources to ensure that the children of Jamaica are receiving a superior education.

Because of my expertise as a Librarian, I will be working on a special team to build a school library for the Catherine Hall School for Primary Grades, Infants, and Special Education.  We are currently preparing hundreds of donated books from picture books to chapter books to professional learning material to be available for the teachers and students of Catherine Hall School.  

Pictures of Catherine Hall School and the room that will be transformed into a school library!

Jamaica is a land of tremendous beauty and warmth. However, there is also tremendous need in this vacation paradise. Poverty abounds and most families struggle to survive. Many of the schools in Western Jamaica lack the basic materials such as crayons, construction paper and teacher resources that we take for granted. Here my students have thousands of books to choose from and build their reading abilities and imaginations, but in Jamaica the idea of having a library stocked with age-appropriate books is profound.  

Pictures of past Teaching With Jamaica Mission trips

I am writing to ask for your help in 2 major areas.

First and foremost, I ask you to pray. In September, we began planning teaching sessions, collecting needed materials, communicating with the Jamaica team, collecting library materials and processing those books to be ready for the library shelf.  Please pray as you are led and for these things specifically:

• Join me in thanking God for the blessing of so many donated books.  We have so many that we cannot accept more.  But now we must get the materials ready for library circulation.  
• Please pray for us to get all the books prepared in advance and for company sponsors to help pay for shipping all the books to Jamaica.
• Please pray for our safety when we are in Jamaica.  We will fly out on July 16th and return on July 23rd.  
• Pray for Claire, Charlotte, and Carris to be content while I am away.

In addition, I would also like to ask you to consider providing financial support. I am responsible for raising $1,300 for my expenses and needed materials for the conference this year. Would you consider supporting me with a donation? I have included my address below if you feel led to contribute.

Should you feel led to contribute, all payments are tax deductible and our treasurer will send you with a tax receipt. There are 2 easy ways to contribute financially:

• You may send me a check, payable to Teaching With Jamaica. Please be sure to put my name in the memo line to support my account.
• You may go on PayPal and send a payment to teachingwithjamaica@yahoo.com . Again, please be sure to put my name in the notes section, and send it as a gift so that the organization does not incur any fees.

You may also simply write a check to me, D’Anne Mosby, but know that if you choose that option your donation will not be tax-deductible.

I am so grateful to have your support and prayers this year. I am extremely excited about the opportunity to use the gifts God has given me to help other teachers and children.

Please send me an email at mosbyfamily@gmail.com if you would like to receive updates throughout the year and after the trip.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these."  Matthew 19:14

In Christ,

D’Anne Mosby

1600 Redcedar Drive

Wylie, TX 75098

Thank you from my family as well!