Raking For Our Friends In The Philippines

Written by: ZCS Parent, Leah Geenen '96

Each year, families and students at Zeeland Christian sponsor more than 85 students at Grace Christian School in the Philippines. Every grade is responsible for raising $500 to send one student to school for the year. This year, the third graders found a way to bless even more people. They asked their friends and families to donate money as sponsors while they raked lawns for the neighbors around ZCS. The students decorated cards and wrote notes for the neighbors and then set out to rake the lawns. It was a fun and exciting morning for the students!

While their goal was $500, they far surpassed that and were able to sponsor their assigned student as well as two additional students that were waiting for sponsors! This will be a huge blessing to the students in the Philippines, and it was a great way for the students to raise the money themselves.

Another unexpected blessing was the response that one couple had when they received the cards and notes. Mitch and Sharon VanDerHulst live near ZCS, and Sharon shared that the students did an awesome job and made beautiful cards. It was a fun surprise to hear that Mitch had attended ZCS in the third grade as well! It is amazing to see God working in so many ways through one morning of service by the third graders and their teachers!