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It has been over a year since we’ve visited our old ministry and home in Savannah Sound. Since we moved home, both dorm parents resigned from the school, and all the NTM missionary teachers finished up the 2017 year and moved on to other ministries. Due to decisions of personnel and management, the school has had to make some adjustments, and I have failed to hear much if anything positive from the transition. Therefore my expectations were completely bare as I returned to see with my own eyes how our old ministry was fairing.
Without knowing what to expect I walked on to the campus to find the office empty. One of my old Chemistry students recognized me and ran over to catch up and see if I needed any help. I asked where everyone was and he kindly escorted to me the chapel where preparations were be made for the upcoming fund raising banquet. As I entered I was delighted to have the horde of my old Chemistry students (now all grown up seniors) surround me with squeals of excitement as it was a complete surprise to them that I was visiting. The unexpectedness of their hugs was one of my favorite memories, and after they calmed down they showed me to Ms. Gibson who kindly offered to buy me lunch for the fund raiser.
After Rosie and I sat down and talked in her new office, (which is our old house) she took me to meet the new Principal and to see the Schrags. I learned that their enrollment was still within the margins of where it was when I was at the school, and the new secretary was also a large improvement to the office. All in all, I must say that I was pleased with how the school appeared, most of all in the character and attitude of the students. It seemed they didn’t have even one bad apple. This was a continual work in process to define the school as a safe, healthy, and state of the art environment to attract polite and hard working students.
The rest of my time at WHS was spent working to repair whatever I was asked to help with. Top of the list was the wifi. After some past augmentation and recent tinkering from BTC, they had lost all functionality and some of the staff were frustrated with it. I ended up stealing one of the old routers from classrooms 5/6 and relinked everything to a single network along with the printers. I’m happy to say that when I left we had green bars across the entire campus (although I heard later on that it went down again… never-ending battle I swear). Ms. Gibsons car even broke down after school ended and I got to fix it for her (some things never change!).
My overall impression from my short visit is that WHS is indeed God’s program and problem, and He alone will preserve or close it. The staff had a recognition for Stan and Carol Schrag to name the drive up to the campus after them and in their honor for 40 years of service. I’m thankful God allowed my family to serve there for the time we had, and I’m thankful it is as it has always been in His hands.