Prayer is the foundation for the success of Nicolás Fund for Education! Please join us as we meet to pray for all our students and staff on the third Saturday of every month at 8:00 am. The meetings take place at Evergreen Covenant Church, 3200 78th Ave SE, Mercer Island, WA 98040. Students submit prayer requests for us to pray for. This is a great way to get to know students and their stories!

Applications are being accepted now for the July 20-30, 2018 NFE Impact Team trip, and those applications and instructions can be found at nicolasfund.dream.press under the tab “Your Impact at Work”. The dates for the fall Graduation trip are November 8-18, 2018.

Thanks to the Ten Talents Scholarship fund administered through Nicolás Fund for Education, Twelve students are attending college at the University of San Carlos in Nebaj! Ten of these students are participating in the Ten Talents Scholarship Program and will repay a portion of the scholarship. Those repayments are critical to funding scholarships for future graduates of Nicolás Christian School. Another student is in nursing school in Nebaj. An additional student is receiving a college scholarship through a different organization, FEP Maya, and is studying in Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela).

[spacer height=”20px”]How might Nicolás Christian School serve communities too remote for students to attend our school? Some of these communities might only have a school with a teacher but lack the resources for junior and senior high school curriculum. Nicolás Christian School hopes to share the blessing of our excellent teaching staff by making DVDs of classes that could be distributed to other schools or as part of a Nicolás Christian School distance learning program. One example would be English classes presented by our own Professor Moises, who is one of the best English teachers available in this region. The majority of teachers in this area attempting to teach English have a poor grasp of English themselves! Other classes could include mathematics, information technology, etc. This is more cost-effective for remote villages because they can have one teacher running a junior high school instead of employing eight or nine teachers for specific subjects. This concept called telesecundaria is quite popular in Mexico and Central America as a means to reach distant small villages without resources to build or operate a school. In some cases, classes can be streamed live if internet capacity exists. Where internet does not exist, all that is required is a TV and a DVD player and electricity or a generator. A local teacher oversees the program and the discussion period that goes over the material after it is shown. Even more benefits A side benefit of this program would be the education our Nicolás Christian School students would receive during the filming and editing process that could prepare them for potential future employment in the field of communications.

The Nicolás Fund for Education Board made a final decision concerning the location of our new school, and the location will be close to Cotzal. Our current lease in Nebaj ends in 2019, and by then it is anticipated that our student body will exceed the space available in our current location. The decision followed prayer, and the NFE Board felt God’s clear presence and direction in this decision. The Widow’s Olive Oil The Board shared a devotional on 2 Kings 4, “The Widow’s Olive Oil”. In this passage, Elisha advises a widow wondering how she and her sons will survive with so few resources. All she had was a small container of olive oil. Elisha advised the widow and her sons to go and collect as many containers as possible from her home and from all her neighbors. Elisha instructed the widow and her sons to shut their door and begin pouring the olive oil into all the containers. The widow filled all the containers until there were no containers left, and at that point, the oil ceased flowing. The widow was able to sell the oil, pay off all her debts and she and her sons were able to live on the remaining funds. God’s supply was as large as the widow’s faith and obedience. As long as we are without greediness or improper motives, God will supply. We are imperfect earthen vessels, so we must empty ourselves of priorities and goals and then present ourselves as vessels to be filled (controlled) by the word and spirit of God. As the Board contemplated this passage, we felt the assurance of God’s financial provision for His plan. The Board …

Did you miss the Nicolás Christian School 2017 Graduation? Watch it here!

[spacer height=”20px”] Nicolás Fund for Education is participating in Giving Tuesday on November 28th. Giving Tuesday is a global giving movement where individuals can help others through volunteerism, donations, donation of goods or spreading a positive message about Nicolás Fund for Education through social media. Giving Tuesday hopes to counteract the rampant materialism of the holidays by celebrating America’s traditions of generosity, entrepreneurism and community!  Every act of generosity counts! Please consider making a generous donation to NFE on November 28th! Donations can be made at NicolasFund.org. We are kicking off our campaign to increase donations through the end of the year starting with Giving Tuesday so that we can fully fund every student that wishes to attend Nicolás Christian School in 2018! Help us to make their educational dreams come true! NFE is actively seeking volunteers in the areas of hospitality, social media, communication and educational program development. Let us know if you’d like to help! I’d like to volunteer!

[spacer height=”20px”]A team of eight NFE Impact Team members flew to the Ixil on August 21, 2017. [spacer height=”20px”]The team is praying for and encouraging junior and senior high students at Nicolas Christian School, and presenting information about DNA structure, hydropower, accounting, computers, lessons on frequency and amplitude, the physics of sound, gas laws and math. The team will also meet with students to discuss AlaTeen, a US based 12 step program to support children of alcoholics. As in the US, there are students attending our school whose families suffer from the scourge of alcoholism.  We hope to explore the level of interest in developing an AlaTeen program at Nicolas Christian School. July Impact Team Activities The team and Nicolas Christian School will also sponsor a regional teacher professional development workshop and approximately 100 educators are expected for that event.  The July team hopes to visit La Bendicion, La Esperanza, Villa Hortencia 1, Cajixay, Belen and San Nicolas. July Impact Team Members Traveling with the team will be Bill Safstrom, Heidi Reynolds, Becci Merritt, Gretchen Hawley, Hank Wysong, Cathy Bachmann, Albert Naranjo and Eastside Academy graduate Phebe Martinez. BelPres members on the trip include Becci, Cathy, Gretchen and Albert. Bill attends Evergreen Covenant Church. Phebe attends City Church and Heidi attends Menlo Park Presbyterian.  This will be a first NFE trip for Hank, Cathy, Albert and Phebe. Please keep the team in your prayers! Travel with Us Virtually We hope to post daily on our NFE Facebook page: “Nicolas Fund for Education” so that you all can virtually travel with us!

NFE Begins Planning for New, Larger School Nicolas Fund for Education currently has a lease on a property owned by a church in Nebaj.  This has made a terrific starter home for Nicolas Christian School. Based on current enrollment projections, however, we will exceed capacity for that leased building in a couple of years. NFE has heard from school parents that they wish our school was closer to their home villages based near Cotzal, rather than in Nebaj. [spacer height=”20px”]NFE Board members on the July 2017 Impact Team will continue the process of looking at available property in or around Cotzal. Based on earlier investigations, there has not been property large enough in Cotzal that we could lease for the school. We also need adjacent property space for sport fields. This has led us to believe that we will likely have to build. [spacer height=”20px”]NFE will seek grants and individual donations to help fund the new school when our plans are finalized. Please pray for us during this process of investigation and planning, and that donations to build the facility will become available when the plans are finalized. We endeavor to be good stewards of every dollar donated!