March 2, 2007

Juan and Rachel Curling March 1, 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

So far, 2007, has proven to be a very busy yet productive year for us personally and at Macedonian Christian Academy. In case you have not heard, we are expecting a baby girl. She is due in late July. We praise and thank God for His goodness to us in this way. We are very excited to meet the new addition to our family. Please pray for God's hand of protection on Rachel and the baby during this time.

We thank God for a full house this semester. Not only did Emily Zeizer, our missionary intern, return to minister at our school and live with us for another semester, but also we are thrilled to have Rachel's Grandparents, Bob and Ethel Sharp, visiting us from Michigan. All of our houseguests have been wonderful blessings to us.

Emily has taken full charge of preparing our students for the Regional Student Convention in the area of Drama. She is directing seventeen drams in all! Three of which she personally wrote for our students. On top of preparing for the Regional Student Convention, Emily is also writing and teaching a high school writing curriculum. We could not have asked for a more competent and motivated person in this area. We are very fortunate to have her with us this year.

Rachel's grandparents have also been a big help. Grandpa, with his experience in machine operating, has been a huge help during the installation of our new playground. He operated a backhoe and dug the holes for our new swing set. He has also been helping Juan assemble the new playground which we've included pictures of. Grandma has been a huge blessing to Rachel this semester. She helps with the cooking, cleaning, gardening, laundry, grocery shopping, and much, much more. This has really taken a load off Rachel during her pregnancy and has allowed her to spend a little more time helping the students prepare music for State Competition. Their company has blessed us.

Macedonian Christian Academy is a busy place right now. In January, we took the Juniors and Seniors on a trip to South Carolina to visit Bob Jones University. We also visited the Georgia Aquarium and went snow skiing in North Carolina. Many of our students had never been skiing before and they had a blast. We praise God for his provision and safety during our trip. Although we broke down three times, the Lord provided a way for us to reach our destination every time. He also allowed our van to be repaired three separate times by three separate ministries! We are so thankful to all those who helped us. The student had a wonderful trip.

As soon as we returned from the Junior Senior trip, we had a Mission team of five men arrive from Faith Baptist Church in Linden, Michigan to begin construction on a new classroom. They built this beautiful twenty-four by twenty-four foot classroom in just seven days. The same mission team also blessed us with beautiful landscaping at the entrance of the school. Last Friday, after the carpet was installed, Rachel's Jr. High class moved in and they love it! This new room has allowed us to divide the high school into two separate rooms whereas before, they were all packed into one room with very little space to stretch. We are extremely grateful to Faith Baptist Church for giving of their time and money to build us this new classroom.

Just Days after the mission team left Juan began installing the new playground set. We praise God for the generous givers who have made this playground possible. The excitement level among our students is amazing right now. After about a week of digging and assembling, our students are finally able to enjoy the new playground! We still have to install the swings and finish a few details, but the students are having a wonderful time playing on the completed portion. Again, we praise God for this huge blessing.

On top of the building projects, we have also been preparing for the ACE Costal Plains Regional Student Convention. There, our students will be competing in music, drama, art, academics, basketball, volleyball, archery, photography, poetry, sewing, woodworking, and the list goes on. The convention begins March 5 and will go through March 9. Please be in prayer for our students as they seek to do their best. This can be an awesome time of spiritual growth and development for our students.

As always, God has been good to us these last few months. We have seen the school grow and change in ways we never thought possible. We especially praise God for the spiritual growth that is taking place among our students and staff. Please continue praying that God's will be done in all we say and do at Macedonian Christian Academy.

In Christ,
Juan and Rachel Curling
P.O. Box 206
Alamo, TX 78516