Darlene Carey Christian Academy — In June, the building will be officially completed and dedicated. When I was a little seven-year-old boy, I knew of the WMA (Women’s Missionary Auxillary) as “those ladies who brought cookies to our Sunbeam group on Sunday nights.” As a local church minister for over 42 years, I knew the WMA as “the go-to mission group in our church.” The old saying in local churches was “If you need something done, call the WMA.” As a missionary in the Philippines, I know them as “dream fulfillers!”
When the Darlene Carey Christian Academy was first selected as the new WMA project in 2020, we knew this would be the help we needed to get our “dream” off the ground. Then COVID hit, and our project needed to be postponed. It was the right thing to do, but it made our dreams diminish just a little — “But God,” as Editor Emeritus Diane Spriggs always used to say. Never underestimate the WMA — church WMAs, local association WMA’s, state WMA’s and of course our national WMA! At the close of this year’s books, over $57,000 will have been raised for the Darlene Carey Christian Academy, making the project completely paid for and a dream fulfilled.
Master’s Degree — When we needed help getting four of our college teachers trained with an accredited master’s degree, the BMA Theological Seminary (BMATS) stepped in to help us. What began as a project directed at 4 possible students has grown to 15 students. We will now welcome BMATS Academic Dean Dr. Philip Attebery in May and BMATS Professor Dr. Thom South in July to help these students finish their master’s degrees.
From Stan — May is going to be extra busy as we close a very fruitful school year. As the Lord leads, please remember the following events for us: May 4 — choir sings in chapel, pre-registration for fall classes and senior music recitals; May 5-6 — BMAP association meeting; May 15 — mission dedication, baccalaureate and Jimmy Walker arrives; May 16 — Awards Ceremony, graduation; May 18 — Dr. Attebery arrives; May 19 — Carey Academy Dedication; May 20, staff development; May 21, Jimmy Walker departs; May 23-June 3, Master Class.
From Donna — We are looking forward to lots of events happening in the month of May, especially welcoming guests from the United States. Because of COVID, it has been a long time since we’ve had any visitors, so there will be lots of trial and error for these first visits after the pandemic.
We got word that our new visas and i-cards have been approved, so we will have our passports back any day. This means we can now travel again, even out of the country. Stan is planning to visit our missionaries in Japan, and I hope to travel home to check in on our family, house and love on our kids and grandkids. Yay!
