Greetings
everyone as we bring to a close another week and month of learning and
teaching, albeit in a very different way.
This past week we could also begin a new month of instruction from JCS
and in your homes. We can rejoice in
another sunny, spring day as we go about our respective tasks with student
learning at home. Please take time today
to get outside and enjoy the beautiful day.
May our Heavenly Father continue to bless the work of parents and
teachers as, together, we instruct His covenant children in the fear of His
Name. “Behold, the fear of the LORD, that is wisdom, and to turn away from
evil is understanding.” (Joh 28:28)
Just a quick follow-up to the memo from earlier this week; parents,
if you have a question, please don’t hesitate to contact the teacher, and
please continue to do the best that you can in your respective home situations. Please continue to pray for the staff as they
continue to pray for you. We put our
hope and trust in our Heavenly Father and pray that He will continue to guide
our endeavours. May the Lord continue to
grant His blessing on all you do with respect to student learning at home.
I
would like to share this brief reflection with you that was shared with our
congregation by one of our pastors. In a
time like this I am sure the question has been asked of parents, how are the
kids doing? In many ways, things are so different for them and all of us right
now. And for them these times can also be trying. They are not hanging out with friends like
before. They are staying home. They can
go outside but they can’t go out. They
are noticing certain stores which they like are closed. Perhaps their grandparents are not visiting
them and they cannot visit them. You can
see why the little children but also the teens and those in between are asking
why social distancing is happening and not liking it one bit, and being even
anxious about what is going on in this world.
Thankfully,
there is one who never practiced social or physical distancing while he was
here on earth. Just listen to how our Lord Jesus Christ responded when children
were brought to him that he might lay his hands on them and pray. The disciples rebuked the people for doing
this, but Jesus said: let the little children come to me and do not hinder them
for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 19:13-15) We see that the Lord Jesus was also there for
the children of believers. The reason Jesus gave for ordering the disciples to
stop hindering the little ones from coming to him is: for to such – that is, to them and to all those who are in humble
trustfulness like them – belongs the Kingdom of heaven. Indeed all the
blessing of salvation belongs to these little ones, born to us who believe. They belong to God’s covenant of love and His
promises of salvation in Jesus Christ have been sealed to them in their
baptism. So may they and we all respond by trusting in our Saviour and Lord, also
in these times of uncertainty because of COVID-19. May we, younger and older confess that our
Lord Jesus rules over all things from heaven on our Father’s behalf and directs
everything for our well-being. May our children and teens remember they are
children of our heavenly Father who will safely lead them by the hand. They are royal children – called to serve
their Lord and King Jesus Christ. A King who said as He was about to go to his
throne in heaven: behold I will be with you always, even to the close of the
age. And so may they and we all seek our Lord Jesus in prayer: asking him to be
near in every way.
May the Lord continue to provide
for those in our community who need Him in a special way; be it those who are
sick, who are impacted by the corona virus, who are dealing with difficult
family situations, or those who are grieving the recent death of a loved one. Once again we think of the family of Mr.
Herman Poort and Mr. and Mrs. Henry and Marilyn Breukelman (brother and
sister-in-law to Miss Breukelman). This
week we also think of Mrs. Connie Stieva, a former member of this community and
for years a bus driver and teacher at Guido.
She is also my wife’s aunt and a relative to others in our school and
church communities. She was a passenger
on the Zaandam cruise ship and contracted the corona virus. The ship has docked in Fort Lauderdale and
she has been transferred to a hospital in the area. Please pray for her and her family. May our good and gracious God surround them
and us all with His love and care.
As
school community, we were planning a Spring Food Drive in support of West
Lincoln Community Care. If you are able,
instead of bringing non-perishable food items to the school, perhaps you can
bring them directly to West Lincoln Community Care. The needs of the community have grown with
the outbreak of COVID-19.
Grade 3 submission: Thank you parents for
helping us teach your covenant children. Your prayers, emails, texts, pictures,
videos, and telephone calls are much appreciated. We continue to pray that the LORD gives you the strength
and wisdom to continue in this new way of education. We miss the children
so much and pray for their growth as well. To God be the
glory, great things He has done. So loved He the world that He gave us
His Son. JB/MP
Reminders:
*The welcome evening for parents whose first
child is entering Kindergarten or Grade 1, which was scheduled for the evening
of April 2nd, has been postponed until further notice.
*The ASC spring meeting scheduled for
Thursday, April 30th has been
cancelled.
Enjoy
your weekend everyone and have a blessed Sunday as you worship from home. The Lord willing, we will touch base again
next week Thursday.
G. Hofsink
