In June of 2015 we have finally raised all of the funds to complete the high school and vocational school and fully stock them. Only a window or two need to be installed and a few cosmetic details completed. We were also able to have an air-conditioned computer lab with 15 state-of-the-art computers installed that will help with all of the schools. IT, web and graphic design courses will be taught at the vocational school as well as English courses. It will also serve as a test tasking center for the government mandated tests students must pass in order to graduate junior high school and high school. New AV equipment, AC units, tables and chairs were also purchased. Amazingly and yet again we were able to build and stock everything for way less than we thought. We thought it would take around $31,000 to do all of this but it only took around $15,000. They also have some money left to throw a huge party for grand opening. God is good with loaves and fishes.
Posted with this news are a few pictures. One picture is of the computer lab and the other is of the 2nd floor of the high school that still needs some finishing. When we have everything completely done we will receive some more pictures which we will post. A lot of people have asked me recently about how we do things so inexpensively. One person even told me that it sounded too good true. One of the things that I find beautiful about the whole thing is that we have the people there in the community and school who already have all of the connections with the local contractors, construction workers, supply stores and the like. Because of this they get deals that we would never be able to get. The US dollar is also extremely strong against the rupiah and keeps getting stronger. For instance, we sent a little over $3,000 USD over recently. The exchange rate on this came out equaling 40,000,000 rupiah. That buys a lot of stuff. Another thing that I haven’t mentioned before is that the buildings are very modest and utilitarian. The junior high school consists of four rooms and the high school and vocational school also consists of around four rooms. They are also built to look like the rest of the neighborhood which is quite poor. The school needs to blend in and not stand out in order to be effective and be a true part of the community.
By the way, this is Casey writing this. My wife, Loryn and son, Greyson will be traveling to Indonesia again later this year to visit, check on the school and will take some more pictures and video. We’ll update the site with some of these things down the line. My wife is from Indonesia and having her knowledge of the culture, language and needs of that area also goes a very long way in helping us be effective with our money and plans. Having been involved in this project since 2011 and seeing what can be done with so little money, I am truly seeing God’s hand in the whole thing. Thanks for reading and helping us with all of this. I’ll update with news again when we have it. -Casey
