Grad. Mexi-style

Shar and I went to the most unique- and by far most significant- high school grad type of occasion yesterday.

Rebekah Hoople is the daughter of fellow Canadian Missionaries- Rod and Cheryl Hoople. She has also been babysitter to our kids and they have fallen in love with her. Shar and I were asked to be her "Patrinos" which is kinda like god-parents. So we had an opportunity to say something to encourage her at the end of the program.

At this school she attends (Highland Prince Academy) in order to graduate she needs to write a thesis and a tesina. The tesina is basically a plan outlining your goals, vision and mission describing how you plan on getting there. She had to give the presentation in front of 4 Judges (teachers from the school) and about 20 family and friends watching.

With poise and youthful professionalism Rebekah outlined the final project that had taken her a semester to explore, pray about and Seek the Lord on. It has been a great excercise for her. They helped her to identify her strengths and weaknesses- and how to overcome the weaknesses and take advantage of her strengths- and what types of careers and post-secondary training would fit her desires, goals and values.

It isn't officially a "Christian school" ( don't think you can have such a thing in Mexico) but it was started by a church and the teachers are all believers and followers of Jesus. The judges asked some tough questions of her and encouraged her greatly. We had a chance to tell her how much she has meant to our family and encourage her to lay all of her plans before God allowing Him to guide and direct her steps.

This was one of the most impactful things I've ever seen! They helped Rebekah to look over her life and the people and events that helped influence her and she now has a very clear picture of who she is in Jesus and how He can use her to be His hands and feet in the world. She is returning to Canada to work for a year and upgrade English (Spanish English wasn't good enough, I guess!) and then is applying to Prairie Bible Institute's nursing program. We prayed for her and with her parents for God to guide and direct her and for her to make good decisions and this excersize was instrumental in doing that. She now knows her values, vision and mission and will weigh er decisions based upon those- rather than upon a whim, or the suggestions of a peer. I wish EVERY kid had the chance to do this!

We were blessed to be a part of it and are looking forward to seeing how God uses Rebekah in the future. She has a desire to go to Africa but it has not worked out as of yet. As she was checking out Prairie Bible Institute she found out that they offered a 1 month internship / mission to Africa as part of the program. She is a far cry from the old song please don't send me to Africa!