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Dear Friend,
I would like to take this opportunity to let you know how much God has blessed us, with special detail for the current term here at Eliyah Language Center (ELC). Allow me to provide some background leading up to this moment in time, to help you understand the full significance of these blessings to us.
Background
By God's leading, my wife, two sons, and I came to work at ELC in time for the second quarter term of last year. At that time, ELC presented some great challenges. The financial picture for the school appeared almost disastrous, with total revenues never having reached sustainability and having declined for one or more terms prior to our arrival. Student enrollment had also declined, and at the start of the new term we had but 35 students.
In spite of the obvious financial sacrifice, one which seemed unreasonable given we had no profits at all and the creditors nearly threatened to extinguish the flickering candle of our presence in this university district, I asked the manager to please pay tithe on the gross tuition income for the students in my classes at least. He said, "We'll do it for all the students!" This showed dedication and faith.
We hand delivered our tithe to headquarters after the first wave of students had enrolled and classes had begun. To me, the tithe represented our trust in God for His blessing and for success. It meant that when success came, He deserved the praise, not me, the American native-English, certified teacher who might otherwise face the temptation to credit myself. While I would do my best, God would bring success.
God indicated His approval of this plan in sending 10 more students to register shortly after we paid that first tithe. Our enrollment increased to 45. Still, with two teachers, an accountant, and a custodian for the school, in addition to the large amount required for rental of the building, the financial picture looked bleak and daunting. The payment of rent for an entire year loomed in August, and we simply didn't have it. No amount of worrying would do any good, of course, so neither of us talked much about it. Yet, as the date approached, we began to discuss our options more in earnest.
Those who had come before me had begun writing a proposal for additional support from the union and division levels. However, negotiations and arrangements, including the usual rounds of committees and approvals, had not yet reached a point where we could hope for any kind of aid before our deadline, and as this stark truth became clear, we began fundraising--about three weeks before "D-day." Would we get the funds we so desperately needed? To make matters more interesting, the manager's birthday coincided with the day we must have them! We all prayed about it.
I had already seen the importance of this school to the Lord's work in this community and for the country of Laos. The school location, just across the street from the campus of the National University of Laos, afforded ideal access to potentially thousands of students. Not only did the university itself, boasting of graduations as grand as 8,000 students in a single day, provide us ready access to a large student base, but students also came from a large number of additional schools, financial colleges, and monasteries in the surrounding area. Because of these special advantages, and the fact that this college town had become a mecca for those seeking an education from all parts of the country, many of whom would return to their own provinces following their education here, my eye had caught a piece of God's vision for our little language center.
I had faith that God would supply the rent money we so desperately needed in order to continue. The manager, having less experience walking by faith in financial matters, worried. At the last minute, God came through for us, and we received word of donations to cover rent for another six months. Equally providential, the landlord agreed to accept a six-month term for payment, in place of the usual year. So, we threw ourselves into our work for another term that October, and as we had time to consider it, we continued to work on the proposal for funding.
By this time we had already begun holding worship services in our home each Sabbath, and we invited the students to come in the afternoon for free music lessons. The music drew them to our home where we had opportunity to spend more time with them and speak more freely. From its humble beginnings, the plant has grown, and recently we have enlarged the meeting room through some remodel work on the home. I could spend several pages telling more about this exciting part of our work, including the Bible studies and baptismal classes that we have enjoyed having, but for now, let us focus on the school.
January came and went. The six-month period ended in February. Another test of faith came, and once again God provided just enough to keep us in business. The landlord had only relented to the six-month arrangement for that one year, and in August he expected us to have enough for the next full year again. As we discussed the situation, we knew how impossible the financial picture looked come August (2014).
The contract required a two-month notice prior to the end of the term if we wished to vacate, which meant we needed to know in June that we would have the funds in August. We stepped up communications with the various levels of the church to whom we would send our proposal, in the hopes that we might receive funding before the deadline came. We received the assurance that if we continued to work with the church following its system, we would have no need to worry. As the landlord had expressed some dissatisfactions with working with us (over our requirement that he pay his taxes properly so we could get my visa), we wondered if he might contact us before the two-month notification period had passed to tell us we had to leave. We waited to see what would happen.
Whether of faith, or of presumption, and we hardly knew which, we decided not to give notification, expecting to receive some aid in time for August. We depended much upon the success of the proposal sent to the Division and the Union levels for approval. The monies received through it would amply cover our costs for rent and other basic expenses, including helping to support another volunteer teacher or two from America.
But several things occurred to stall the proposal's progress. First, after carefully following the directions given us in terms of the organization of our budget proposal, misunderstandings prevented its approval. In one example, the committee members misunderstood parts of the financial plan. They confused our projected tuition incomes per teacher with teacher salaries, though we had followed the exact template provided for this. Because of this misunderstanding, they felt we had apportioned ourselves with excessive pay. Furthermore, they noticed that our projections did not reach ultimate sustainability--one of the conditions they required. Therefore, they rejected the proposal.
While the salary matter later resolved, the sustainability question did not. Even the manager and I did not know how the school could ever reach such a worthy goal. The building contained only three classrooms, and most students had free time for only a few hours each evening to study, following their regular school classes. This meant that as much as 70% of our income came from three hours, 5:00 - 8:00 pm, in two classrooms. Even if we had another full time teacher, that three-hour window would hardly cover his or her salary. A volunteer who did not ask for pay taught Korean during that time to a small class of four or five students in our third classroom.
In all honesty, the proposal's rejection hurt me. I felt it keenly. I had lost sleep more than once over that proposal, and it represented our best effort to do what we felt we needed to do. We had prayed earnestly over the matter, and that God would help us with the proposal. Had God rejected us? We received some encouragements to make amendments to the plan and resubmit it, but, not having much time, and, quite frankly, feeling emotionally drained over it, we did not immediately respond.
The next term came. We increased tuition a little more. Our enrollment edged up slightly. We did careful budget calculations and realized that we would have enough to pay the rent in August for six months again provided that the landlord accepted such terms and provided that neither the manager nor I would receive any pay. I had not received pay in a long time already, so this presented no novel challenge to me. But the manager would go without for the first time. We could not afford to withhold pay from the others, for they lived a more meager existence. The workers must have their wages--only we teachers would experience this sacrifice.
About this time we received invitations to attend a special gathering in Cambodia for supporting ministries throughout the region. I felt deeply that both the manager and I should attend. Yet we had no money. A few late-registering students gave us a small reserve that might suffice to cover half of the cost for one of us, but did we dare use it? Should we apply in faith that the money would come? The Division said they would help us. After negotiating the amount with them, we had enough for one of us to go. At nearly the same time we received a donation from America for the other of us. Praise the Lord! We now could both attend together! We purchased tickets and notified our students of adjustments to the term schedule so that we could spend that week in Cambodia.
God continued to bless. The landlord agreed to another six-month payment term. We paid him of our own funds, perhaps for the first time, but we knew that we really could not afford to go indefinitely without pay just to cover the rent. In any case, the financial immediacy had passed and we looked forward to opening for at least one term more.
On August 4, 2014, I began to experience a constant headache. The headache continued, night and day, never ceasing but varying in intensity at times, for three weeks--right up to the time we went to Cambodia. Up to this time, I had rarely had a headache. I had no idea what this could mean, but the research I did online sobered me: a brain tumor? I knew I had pushed the envelope with my health. I had burned the candle at both ends, and engaged in a great deal of mental labor without sufficient physical exercise. My life came to view before me. I struggled greatly. I fasted and prayed one day a week. The headaches continued unabated. I became convinced that I had not much longer to live, and my greatest struggle concerned my priorities, especially which projects to complete. It seemed impossible to do all that I had hoped to do before my time would run out. What would happen to Eliyah Language Center? What would happen to my computer projects? How would I finish all the other things I needed to do? And, most of all, what would become of my family? This experience forced me to reexamine my life, my goals, and my priorities on a level I had never considered before.
This "near death" experience backdropped my trip to the meeting in Cambodia. Just before traveling I learned of the possibility that the symptoms I experienced had come from arsenic poisoning. If true, this would mean I could seek ways to reduce my intake of arsenic and increase its elimination--in other words, it would mean that I did not face a death sentence. Of course, I still did not know for sure, but I began taking the antidote to arsenic poisoning, selenium, and seemed somewhat improved.
At this time, my life's focus centered upon the work that God would have me do with the few and precious moments I might have remaining to me. Did God want me to continue at ELC? Should we remain in Laos? Should I, as my physician and father had counseled me, return to America for a few months for medical care?
Just before we had confirmed our travels to Cambodia, we had applied for my one-year visa and working permit for Laos. For over a year we had lived here without this legal document on account of paperwork woes that could fill a story of their own. We had finally received the last document needed before applying for the visa, and had gone forward toward it. But now, too late, we realized that we did not have adequate time to process the visa before the trip! How could the visa possibly come in time? We had already purchased the non-refundable plane tickets! Could we expedite the visa paperwork? We called to find out. The answer dashed our hopes. It would cost an additional $300 to expedite the visa paperwork. (We didn't ask, but we guessed this equated to "money under the table.") In any case, we could not afford it. What should we do? Finally, realizing the more than equivalent loss of the airfare, I told Ms. Air to just go ahead and do it. We would somehow find a way to pay for it. I felt God wanted us to go to Cambodia. We must have the visa and working permit before that!
Ms. Air, perhaps with some divine prompting, decided to check the office first which would process the working permit. To her delight, they offered to expedite their part, in just one day, for a much lower figure. She went right away. After receiving my passport back the next day, she proceeded to the visa office. The agents there, remembering her questions by phone on the previous day, asked her, "Do you want to expedite the processing?" She said "No." "Really?" they asked. She said "We still have eight days." The eighth day landed on the Friday before our Sunday flight. We had had trouble with this same office once before in obtaining a visa on a Friday for another volunteer. But we could not afford the surcharge for expediting, so we placed the matter in God's hands.
Remembering that former experience with this visa office, and realizing that these agents probably stood to benefit personally from the expedition fees and that they had hoped to receive them, I felt almost certain that we would need to pay something come Friday to get the passport in time. On the Wednesday before, I prayed, asking God for a sign.
"Dear Lord, you know what I should do, but I don't. I need to know what You want me to do. If You want us to stay in Laos, please give me a sign: please help us to get my passport back on time with no extra fees. But, Lord, if we must pay extra on Friday, may this show that You approve of my leaving Laos, at least for a time, and returning to America for medical care. Amen."
The next morning, on Thursday, I arrived at the school in time for my 9:00 am class as usual. Upon entering the building, Ms. Air stepped forward and handed me my passport, along with those of my family.
I stood speechless for a moment, then asked "How did you get these?"
"The visa office returned them this morning, before eight o'clock," she replied.
"But, did you go there so early this morning? Why did they come a full day early? Did they charge you any extra?" The questions all seemed to come at once.
"They said they had business further north today, and could just give them to us on their way through. No extra fees. They hand-delivered the passports to the school and didn't charge us anything."
This represented an unprecedented, out-of-character kindness on the part of the government officials toward us that I would never have imagined possible. It could only mean one thing: God wanted me to know that He desired us to stay in Laos for awhile more. "Thank you, Lord!"
This further strengthened my resolve to continue in the work here in Laos, though I knew not how to solve all of the pressing challenges. I trusted that God would take care of my health, if He so willed, and that somehow we would have enough money to survive.
The experience in Cambodia proved a great blessing. The opportunity to fellowship with like-minded workers for God, people struggling with some of the same things we faced here, encouraged me. Perhaps I focused almost too intently on getting the most out of the meetings. My urgency came of my recent experiences, however, and I found myself frequently speaking in defense of what I perceived as the truth, in ways I had not even expected.
One issue, in particular, came up that I had not anticipated: pressure from the church to form MOUs (memorandums of understanding) with all of the supporting ministries. We had, of course, tried for over a year to do just that. We especially needed the monetary support we thought the church might give. Yet, in the end, we felt let down, having experienced rejection at every church level at least once in the process. We tried to find time to meet with certain ones while in Cambodia, but some of the key individuals appeared too busy to talk with us.
Yet, something about the manner in which the leadership pressured the supporting ministries to form MOUs with the church organization didn't feel right to me. I have to admit, I had not studied much into the matter before. I had assumed that no harm existed in such an arrangement. But I began to feel a need of researching what Mrs. White had to say about such things.
Back in Laos, as soon as I had returned from the spiritually refreshing meetings, I studied the matter. What I found surprised me. I had expected Mrs. White to say that laity and church officers should work together and that agreements to do so would work to this end. While they should certainly work together, she said nothing of the sort with respect to making agreements. She said positively the opposite!
I found many statements saying the same thing: Do not sign such an agreement! The most convincing statements, seeming to apply directly to our school situation, came from a chapter in the Spaulding and Magan collection titled "The Signing of Agreements." I include a few excerpts below.
For several years I have been warned that there is danger, constant danger of men looking to men for permission to do this or that, instead of looking to God for themselves. Thus they become weaklings, bound about with human ties that God has not ordained. {SpM 366.6}
I saw agreements drawn up for presentation to our people. In these agreements there were terms and conditions that should not be accepted. On no account should our brethren bind themselves by agreeing to such propositions. I was instructed that we know but little of what is before us, and that God forbids us to bind ourselves by contracts in order to secure means. {SpM 367.2}
I saw a paper unrolled before these brethren, and one of dignity arose and said, "Put not your name to any writing that binds you to do or refrain from doing certain things in business lines. It is not God's plan that you should sign such agreements. . . . For you to sign an agreement saying what you will do and what you will not do in the future is not in God's order. He who knows the end from the beginning understands what is in man's heart, and what are the dangers of the men to whom God has entrusted great responsibilities." {SpM 367.3}
Those who seek to bind up the work in distant fields with the work at Battle Creek, by means of these agreements, are assuming too much responsibility. They must not take to themselves power that God has not given them. They must not place themselves where the people will look to them instead of looking to God. {SpM 368.2}
Christ did not follow any human model. He says to his servants, Break every yoke that men may seek to bind upon you. Do not accept any yoke that will hinder your present or future movements in my service. Stand free. Take only my yoke. . . . {SpM 368.3}
These statements (and others like them) persuaded me of what I then wished I had known many months earlier. How much time and toil might I have saved if only I had known! No longer would I feel free to sign any agreement except as God specifically led me to do so.
I spoke with the manager and he agreed with me that we ought to obey God rather than men. But he had yet to see the certainty of the situation as I saw it. When a leader came to discuss the MOU with us soon afterward, the manager retained an openness to the possibility that God might speak through fellow Christians and leaders of the church--or maybe, just maybe, he did not yet have sufficient faith to see through the dark tunnel ahead, with nearly all of our sources of funding having dried up, rendering us unable to meet payroll. The prospect of church funding seemed the only solution.
the manager has managed the school ever since I came. Though many years his senior, I felt no need to take the management from him. Instead, I have mentored him and shared my ideas as we worked together. So, I let him decide. I made my position clear, and then left it to him to make the final decision about whether or not to continue with the proposal. He needed time to think and pray about it. He did not tell me immediately about his decision, but I later learned that he had also dropped the pursuit of the proposal.
Praise the Lord! We now walked entirely by faith. The support we had formerly sought had never materialized, and God led us now to depend solely upon Him. What joy we have when we trust God fully! No other peace can compare with that of simply taking God at His word.
That brings us up to the start of this present term.
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