All about: ministry at El Camino Academy
Who: El Camino Academy is a school to about 300 students from Pre-Kinder to 12th grade. Over 25% of the student population are children of full-time Christian workers.
What: Ed teaches middle school math and Sarah is the elementary principal. Besides teaching responsibilities, Ed leads a small group for middle school boys.
Where: The school is located in the northern part of Bogota, Colombia.
When: They started working at ECA July 2012 and plan to continue for the foreseeable future.
Why: El Camino Academy is more than just a school. It is a Christ-centered community where each student is intensely discipled to be a life-long servant to Jesus Christ. Most of the students are Colombian, and are the future political and church leaders of this great country. ECA involves the whole family and is a place of accountability and support for Christian families in Bogota- many of whom are first-generation Christians. It is a privilege to not only provide a quality education, but build and invest in the lives of their students and their parents in a deeper, spiritual level.
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All about: Ed and Sarah; our story
Ed graduated from Western Oregon University with a degree in Education. Sarah graduated from Oregon State University with degrees in Human Development and International Studies. Recently Sarah graduated from Regent University with a M.E. in Christian School Administration.
They started dating the last term of college and then moved to Mali to be teachers at a missionary kid school in the capital city of Bamako. Throughout the year they grew closer together and when they returned to the States during the summer of 2011, they got married. Ten days after the wedding they returned to Mali for a second year of teaching. In March of that school year, a military coup took place and they were forced to evacuate- ending the school year a quarter early.
In July 2012 they moved to Bogota, Colombia- beginning the next chapter of life at El Camino Academy, an international school for missionary and Colombian students. They live in the big city of Bogota-almost 10 million people. Both sense a deep commitment to the school and work hard to provide stability and use their experiences to strengthen the education of the students. Although it can be challenging to live far away from home, God has given both of them peace and passion for the work He is doing at ECA.
All about: raising support
Why support raise? There are 3 main reasons they raise support in order to work at El Camino Academy:1. Because the school's priority is missionary families and families in full-time ministry, the school cannot charge the full cost it takes to run to run a school to all families. To account for the difference of income, the school offers teachers a minimum salary to cover some expenses and have teachers raise support to cover the rest of living expenses. By supporting the teachers, missionary families and low-income families in ministry are able to receive a high-quality, English education they would not have other-wise.
2. In order to maintain a focus of ministry and discipleship towards the students, the school needs teachers who see their work of teaching as a ministry. Having teachers raise support enables those teachers to build a network of believers who hold them accountable and lift them up in prayer. It's more than just the teacher, it is about the body of Christ working in Colombia.
3. Working with a mission agency for support provides teachers with the ability to focus on their work and not manage the logistical details on their own. Working with a mission provides training, health insure and financial accountability to their supporters.