Guest post: Timothy Project

So this began last Thursday (see more here) when I realized that I had failed to share with you about a very special project...I then decided that I would put aside the next couple Thursdays to report more about the vision and successes of this "maiden voyage". ;)

Here is a little more about TEP from the visionary herself:

Many of you should recall what it felt like going to school on your first day of the school year. Everyone in the classroom is comparing their school supplies. Checking out each other’s shoes and bags… Well… how would you feel if you showed up on your first day in a soiled tshirt that you stole from someone else, some flip flops, a plastic bag with an exercise book and a ‘half’ of a pencil? That’s what these kids feel like.

My heart for the Timothy Education Program is based on the fact that I think every child deserves a fair chance at a successful life. But they can’t do that without support. In the Timothy Education Program, not all the children have parents. Some have single parents or guardians who are unemployed. Some have lost their parents to diseases such as HIV/AIDS. They have no one. In one household, the eldest daughter left school to take care of her other siblings, because the mom was mentally ill and has not been able to get treatment. In another, the mother is a street worker, gone for several times at once. Many of the kids don’t know what it’s like to have everything they need for school. They sometimes don't even have food and proper housing either.They are disadvantaged. Underprivileged.

That’s why I wanted to do this project. I don’t think it’s good enough to give kids backpacks and then send them on their way. I don’t think that we should pass out a whole wad of money to governments to help those at the bottom, because God knows, the people that need it don’t even get it.
I want these 25 kids in Guyana to know that they are loved; that they are not forgotten. I know that the United Nations and all these other organizations are doing their ‘thing’. But what about God’s people? Aren’t we the ones called to touch the lives of others? Aren’t we the ones called to show God’s love? I want the next generation to know that they are loved. Loved by God. Loved by others. We need not get deep about showing God’s love. It’s His mandate. When Jesus was here on earth, He visited the sick. He went. And that same commandment He has given to us: Go…And when He went, He empowered people to change.

If we are going to change this world we are going to have to sacrifice something. Each of us will have to do our parts. I am sacrificing my finances, my time, my energy so that these kids can be helped. More than just sending them to school, I want these kids to surpass their previous generations. I want them to break the cycle of poverty that has gone on before. There is a spiritual part to that. But there is also a natural part. And it starts with getting rid of ignorance. It starts with a sound education.

So this summer, four of my colleagues will ‘go’ to Guyana and minister to the needs of 25 children. We will give them supplies including backpacks and stationary supplies. But we will also give them their uniforms, their shoes, their undergarments, their socks. We will sit with them and their families and talk to them to understand their needs. Yes we will pray. But we will also create and implement strategies to ensure that the kids are successful in school. Some of the kids live in swamp zones and can’t even get out to a bus route. Others can’t afford to take buses. We’ll arrange for a bus to pick up everyone each morning so that they can get to school and back. We will recruit an academic mentor and a career mentor to work with the children. We will have spiritual mentors in place to pray over them and encourage the kids. And we will do this on a continuous basis, until they all graduate.

I think one of the best ways to succeed, is by knowing that you having a support system to fulfill your dreams. I want that for these kids. And my ministry is to help them dream and realize a bright and successful future. So at the end of this month, I will be going along with a pastor, a counselor (your very own, Gia Jones) and an academic mentor to start something new. Showing more than anything else, that God has not forgotten, and that each of us is the apple of His eye. ~Schantal

In the words of some wise person, "Be the change you want to see in the world"!

Grace peace and love,
Gia