June 2026 Update New

After a fruitful year of building connections and encouraging deeper thinking, the school year has come to an end.  Read on to see what transpired in our last quarter at GIS.

In Advisory, we discussed transitions and how we all are in different parts of transition.  Working in an international school, there are students who are always moving either back to their home countries or to other countries for different ministry work.  As a middle schooler, this can be difficult.  We were able to discuss the different types of transitions we could be in and discussed who was moving away or taking a long break (some families were going on furlough for 6 months or a year).  It was helpful for students to recognize where they were and that the feelings they had were natural.  We were also able to pray for those who were going to be away.  

Last day of school:

“Mrs. Ridgley, can we take a selfie?  Please?!”

– Yuul

Our inner thoughts can affect who we become.  Many people do not realize what they are thinking about themselves and just allow it to influence who they are.  In Advisory, we also talked about how we think about ourselves and who we want to be.  We looked at scripture at the beginning of each class and reminded ourselves of how God wants us to think, then we did our lessons about self-concept.  Students created an idea of who they wanted to be in a year and then wrote goals for how to get there.  It was encouraging to see them ponder some of these ideas for the very first time.  

“My hope is that students think on these ideas as they mature and grow”

– Jessica

The seventh graders read The Giver by Lois Lowry and had some great thoughts about freedom, love, and free will.  Students explored the idea of why people desire perfect places and how to create them.  While reading The Giver, their ideas changed.  Many began with the idea that the community was perfect and good; however, as they learned more about what it really took to create this “perfect” community, they realized that there was no love or sense of human value.  One of our final activities explored the idea of memories.  In the book, only one person in the community holds the memories or history of the past.  Only that person really knows pain, suffering, joy, and love.  Students were asked to think about human history in groups and decide on memory that they thought was most important to pass down.

Groups came up with great ideas.  Most passed down events from World War II because they thought it was important for people to remember how evil humanity can be so that the same mistakes would not be made.  One group, however, chose a different memory to pass along.  They chose to pass along the memory of the soldier who stood at Jesus’s side who witnessed the crucifixion and declared that he must be God.  Their reasoning was because it would let everyone know that Jesus was their savior. 

Students were actively engaged in connecting characters, settings, and ideas from the novel.  They explored ideas such as liberty, love, pain, fear, etc.  Each student was pondering deeply about how these connected to the people and places in the book.

The Legacy of Anne Frank was our last unit in eighth grade.  Students pondered the question: What can God teach us through tragic events?  We read the play The Diary of Anne Frank, a few excerpts from her diary, a speech from a Holocaust survivor, and two poems that spoke about the fragility of life.  At the end of the unit, students wrote personal narratives that involved a treasured object.  These are real stories that have happened in their own lives.  

Great themes were presented in these stories.  Here are some: lean on Jesus when in frustrating situations; your life matters and is worth standing up for; and we should remember those who have passed and live out their legacy.  Many stories were very moving and showed great maturity in students and what they could learn through difficult times.

Students ended the year by being able to choose their own fishbowl topic (discussion topic) and have their final discussion for the year.  The question that was created and won was: Is a perfect society possible?  After the discussion, I asked students to write down an “Aha moment” they had during the discussion.  This is like an epiphany.  There were some really great ones.  Below are a list of some of them.  It was a great way to end the year!

Heaven is a perfect society, and we all need to strive towards that  Everyone has different thinking and worldviews, which limits us on having a perfect world.

This last quarter of the year was a busy one for us as a family.  Each weekend, we had something going on.

If you remember from our last update, we were going to get Reese tested for ADHD.  That was done, and she has been diagnosed.  With this diagnosis, we hope to get some accommodations for her next year and are looking at other ways to support her.  We are excited to see how she can thrive with the support she needs.  Also, she became a teenager!  We celebrated her 13th birthday with a sushi dinner with family and then took her to a movie.  It was also the final spirit day at school, and she dressed up as Michael Jackson.  Also, at the end of the year, we got to experience her progress playing her trombone as her class performed in the choir and band concert.

Paige finished her junior year and is now a senior!  There were many events she attended as the seniors passed down traditions and leadership to the juniors.  We went to a candle lighting ceremony where seniors and juniors are paired up and the seniors light the candle of the juniors signifying the passage of leadership.   She also attended graduation to say goodbye to the seniors who positively influenced her.   At the end of the sports season, there is an awards night.  It is only for varsity players and their families, so both Paige and Asher went.  Paige received the Most Improved Player award for soccer.  Her coaches commended her on her passion for the sport and her team spirit.  They talked about how she encouraged not only her teammates, but those on the opposing teams as well.  She is excited to be a part of the team next year and hopes to be a captain!

Asher has made it his goal to earn that award for his team next year!  He loves the sport and tries to find as much time as possible to play with his teammates and friends.  We look forward to watching him improve in his skill as he pushes himself to do better.  One new thing that Asher has started is an applesauce business.  He wanted a way to earn money for his soccer trips, so he thought about what people like, but don’t have easy access to.  Applesauce came to mind as he loves it.  He sold out his first batch in a couple of days and is looking forward to developing it more.  Another new event for Asher is ROTC.  In order to avoid the Thai draft, he must do ROTC for three years in high school.  This last month he took a physical fitness test which included push-ups, sit-ups, running, and a health check-up.  This summer, he will begin the official ROTC with a ten-day camping trip.  We are hoping that he can find joy even during this time.

Thank you for taking the time to read our update and for partnering with us through prayer, encouragement, and support. We are grateful for the ways God uses your partnership in this ministry.

In Christ,
Elijah & Jessica

If you know someone who might be encouraged by hearing about this ministry, we would be grateful if you shared this update with them.