December 7th marked the conclusion of our third full year of operation here in rural Nicaragua. While each year gets better, we are constantly learning more and making adjustments. In 2014 we will add 5th grade and hopefully move the library to a larger facility. We finished the year with 150 students (amazingly we know all their names), and plan for 175 in February when the new school year starts. We still are praying for those long term missionaries to help especially in the English area.

The highlight of the year is, of course, the preschool graduation with 26 kids being promoted to first grade. We are already looking forward to our first 6th grade graduation in 2015.

A few random pictures:

We appreciate so much all those who monthly support the school, the teachers, and us personally. For those of you who might be interested, we do have some special projects that need doing in the next few months. If you'd like to cover one of these or just help some (like in case of the construction), you can by sending donations to the address listed at the end of this letter or at the website NACE website. Some of the more pressing needs are:

Equip the new 5th grade classroom: $2,000
Paint the original building:               $900
Paint the roof of second building:     $500
Bathrooms repair and maintenance: $400
Installing rain gutters:                    $700
Installing speed bumps:                  $400
Construction                          up to $70K

If you have any old iPads or tablets that you no longer use, we'd be glad to put them to use here.

A few random videos:

Kids repeating end of class prayer in both Spanish and English Prayer

Kids learning the ABC song in English ABCs

Every day starts with prayer and the national anthem. Here the second graders sing, and some act up. Anthem

Preschoolers learning the days of the week 7 days

A few blast from the past videos:
  "Little man" presentation during basketball     camp Little man
  Singing "Te Doy Gloria" at GraceKids Te Doy