You can read letters from students below:
Year 12 Graduates 2013/2014
Recently COL received the following email from Isabella Pakkering (Postmus) regarding some of the Year 12 students who recently graduated:
“The Year 12 students from the Reformed Theological Senior High School have just graduated. There are 8 religious senior high schools in Sumba. The three top students from 'our' Christian Reformed SHS have taken the top three students place marks/results in the final national examinations in Sumba, and the top three highest results in Sumba from these types of schools. What a blessing. We also have the highest average pass rate of all the schools, and the highest lowest-pass-mark student with a 68% pass average. The lowest pass in Sumba was 54%. So we are very grateful to the Lord for these blessings with the first 'crop' of students.
The Year 10 and 11 students are now doing their final end-of-school-year examinations. We pray for the Lord's continued blessing on their work and study and on everyone's prayers and work.
Greetings in the Lord our God,
on behalf of the Soli Deo Gloria organisation,
with love, Isabel and family.”
Letters from Students
Letter from Nuryanti
Shalom!
I, Nuryanti Utu Hunggu Hamu, would like to express my thanks to our donors and sponsors who have assisted us greatly here at the Reformed Senior School in Kanjonga. I give thanks to God that I can attend this school under the auspices of YASDEG [Soli Deo Gloria Committee in Sumba]. It is by His grace alone that I may receive this education.
So how is the Reformed Senior School different to public schools?
Firstly, every day we read and meditate on God’s Word. We have devotions every morning at 4:30, and also every evening at 7:30 before we eat dinner and do our own independent study. There are also many rules here by which we are governed. We are not allowed to use mobile phones, we may not smoke, and we may not use bad language. Our break times and wash [shower] times are always ruled by the clock.
During this past school year I completed Year 12. I had many experiences at school, both good and bad. When we were in Year 10 we had to study using a chair but no desk, instead just a board to write on. In Year 11 and 12 we were allowed to use a desk and chair. I was very thankful to God for this blessing!
At the boarding home we take part in many activities e.g. making tables and benches for the sitting/eating area, and planting vegetables etc. Pak Sam always encourages us to be creative and to use our spare time to do something worthwhile.
In closing, I ask for your support and prayers for the upcoming national exams to be held in March-April 2014. Please pray that I may be able to answer the questions well and in a way that is pleasing to God!
May God bless all of us!
Letter from Angelia
Greetings to you all!
I would like to tell you a little about our new boarding home at the Reformed Senior School in Pandawai.
The first time I arrived at the boarding home, I did not really like what I saw. Wherever I looked, to the right or the left, all I could see were barren fields. The dormitories were ugly, the bathrooms narrow, and there was no grassed area to play on.
However, it turns out that I was wrong to think this way, because I was only considering the physical aspects. After living here for some time, I began to like the boarding home and our way of life. I also learned to discipline myself to follow daily routines: wake up, do devotions, study and work independently, and use my time in the best way possible.
At the boarding home we also have house parents – Bapak Samuel and Ibu Otati. At first, we thought they were very harsh house parents, but again we were wrong. We know that when they become angry or discipline us, it is not because they hate us but because they care for us. They wish for us to become people who are obedient, humble and successful – people they can be proud of.
Each day is much the same – we see the same friends, and eat the same type of food. However, all of this teaches us to be content, unselfish and to look out for each other.
After living at the boarding home for a number of months I began to notice a change within myself. I had begun to think like an adult, and had gained a deeper understanding of who I really am. Whereas before I had been lazy and sloppy in my work, these characteristics had disappeared. I had also learned a lot about God, in Whom I trust, since every morning and evening we were doing devotions, and I was also learning about the Reformed doctrine at school.
I feel very blessed that God has placed me in this boarding home – somewhere I can be taught and trained in the truth.
That’s all from me for now about my life at the boarding home. God bless you all!
Angelia Christian Pariamalinya
Mardianus Dundu Tay (Mar 2014)
I was brought up by my parents in a family where we lived a very simple lifestyle. I lived with my parents until I graduated from school and entered the SMTK (Reformed Senior School) which also has a boarding home. When I first moved into the boarding home at the SMTK I gladly followed the instructions of the staff. Since I had never lived in a boarding home before, I enjoyed discovering what boarding home life was like and I felt free there. Consequently I tried very hard to do what was asked of me willingly, without being forced by anyone.
However, I did not feel so free anymore when I began Years 10-12. I had broken many of the boarding house rules and I bore the consequences of that. However I did not feel too upset about this since I realised that these consequences were not in place to spoil my time there, but to grow my character into becoming disciplined and intelligent; an obedient person toward the boarding house staff as well as my parents and others in positions of authority.
My time here at the boarding home has benefitted me in a variety of ways, including:
· Teaching me to live a disciplined lifestyle
· Being able to study in a comfortable environment
· Enjoying being able to eat without working for it
· Living in a tightly-knit community
For these blessings I thank those who guided and taught me; the donors and teachers who had an active role in my schooling, and also the boarding home staff who cared for me. I can never repay them for their role in my life but can only offer my heartfelt thanks - To the donors for providing the necessary funds, to the teachers for educating me, and to the boarding home staff for acting as parents during this time.
As I look to the future I want to strive in all that I do to become successful. I cannot do this in my own strength, but in God’s strength I can. The efforts and diligence of my teachers at school, YASDEG as the administrators of the school, and the donors as the source of funding for the school will not be wasted. I will continue to strive to become successful and to do justice to your hard work. The diligence you have shown is my motivation to energetically strive for success.
Middle School Graduates (Mar 2014)
We would like to express our gratitude to the donors and sponsors who supported us so that we were able to complete our Middle School education, and who are now continuing their support as we progress to the Reformed Senior School.
As God has blessed the toil of our donors who supported us, we also will support you in prayer, that God might enable you in your daily work. May the love of God be with us all, and unite us in faith, hope and love.
God bless you!
Novianus, Simon, Apris, Marinus, Ester, Resnia, Korlina
Tay Hinggiranja - Teacher at the Boarding School
(Nov 2013)
‘Becoming a teacher is both a calling and a choice. It can be considered a calling because not everyone is called to be a teacher. People also choose the profession of teaching from the options they have because they feel called by God to educate young people who will be the future leaders of the church.
Because of that, I, Tay Hinggiranja, as one of the staff members who handles student matters, have been trusted to take moral responsibility to help the students at SMTK to strive to grow in knowledge and skills, so that after they graduate from SMTK they will become useful members of their church and family, and responsible citizens in their country.
As a teacher, I also have the desire to develop their abilities and shape their characters, along with their civil responsibilities, which is essential in the framework of developing our nation. Besides that, I also wish to give the students a role-model, to strengthen their motivation, and to develop their creativity as active participants in the process of their education.
I would also like to thank YASDEG who have trusted me to be a staff member to handle the student matters while also being a teacher at SMTK. I am very happy to be able to work as a teacher in our Reformed School in Sumba, as I am gaining much experience here. I am also happy to be living on campus, as this gives me the opportunity to talk to the students outside of class.
I would also like to thank COL Australia who have helped and supported the activities of SMTK by working together with YASDEG, so that this school could get the first step of approval from the government.
That is all from me about my experience as a teacher in Sumba. Thank-you all for your support.’
Dhartini Yulius – Student at the Senior School
(Nov 2013)
Happiness for me is living in the boarding home. Happiness for me is the way I am taught to live closer to my Creator. From the beginning I began to understand how important this life is. I am always taught and guided in the way forward by the staff at the boarding home. We are always encouraged to study, study, and study! Finally, at report time I received very high results. This made me proud, however it is not due to my own efforts, but everything comes from God who is always with me, wherever I am.
I am glad to be able to live in the boarding home, especially because it is helping me, bit by bit, to change the negative aspects of my character, and so I am very grateful to my sponsors who continually support me. With their help, our school activities can be carried out smoothly.
Once again, we all express our thankfulness to our donors for supporting us here, and we pray that God will bless you for the kindness you show to us.
Thanks very much!
God bless you all!
Translation by Miriam Eikelboom