Shalom School

A couple years ago, Tomomi started taking our children to Shalom Kindergaten's Moms-and-Kids class once a week. Through it, Tomomi and the kids have made some very good friends and had lots of fun. The church that runs the kindergarten started an elementary through high school a year and a half ago. At present they have fewer than ten students, but I'm sure that will change. I spent a day in the class last year and was very impressed. The teachers are all volunteers. They obviously love the children and are devoted to their education and to raising them in God's ways. The kids interact so well with one another. It's a one-room school so the younger kids have good role models in the classroom and the older kids have opportunities to serve and teach. Since we won't be doing much with the New Hope School this year, I offered to help teach English at Shalom. It's a small way to pay back the kindess that they've shown to my family, and it will also be a good chance for me to get experience in a pioneering school before we start our own. For now, I'll be going once a week.

The entrance ceremony was held today (Japanese institutions have a lot of ceremonies). They introduced the new students and welcomed them. The principal/pastor gave a message about the triumphant entry with outstanding animal sound effects. The older kids sang a couple songs, one of which was the Lord's Prayer in English. I'm really excited about working there.