2019-2023
Our family moved to Žilina, Slovakia, in December 2019. At the time, Asher was eight, Lincoln was five, and Beckham was three. One of the considerations for choosing Žilina as the home base for our ministry was the schooling options for the boys.
Initially, our kids were planning to attend a bilingual charter school started by a partner church in the city. A few months before we arrived, we found out the school had decided to close! It was not possible for us to enroll our kids in another school until we arrived.
The next school on our list didn’t have any vacancies. Our third choice was a new Slovak Montessori school. Asher began attending the Montessori school, while Lincoln and Beckham began attending a different Slovak preschool.
A couple of months later, in February, Covid hit, and our Zoom homeschooling journey in Slovakia commenced. We survived those first couple of years, but the boys did not pick up the language as we expected, and they started falling behind academically.
The combination of not getting into the school we anticipated, with the added complications of COVID-19, left us wondering how to best educate and support Asher, Lincoln, and Beckham academically long-term.
2023-2024
In the summer of 2023, we moved from Žilina to Bratislava. One of the many considerations for moving to Bratislava, the capital city of Slovakia, was the number of schooling options available. We were confident that the best thing for Asher was going to be an English-speaking school. In Žilina, there were no options; in Bratislava, there were at least ten to choose from. But they were all private and all very expensive. We decided to try it for a year and reevaluate.
Lincoln and Beckham would go to a Slovak-speaking school because they were keeping up at an adequate pace. The only problem was that we could not find any schools that would accept them, primarily because Megan and I were not fluent enough in Slovak to be able to communicate with the teachers. So, in the end, we made the decision to send all three boys to Cambridge International School.
At Cambridge, our kids began to enjoy learning again. They began thriving, especially Asher. The fog of the past couple of years started lifting, and the stress of navigating the Slovak school system dissipated. This was a game-changer.
The top five reasons international workers don’t survive long-term are:
Finances
Team conflict
Kids struggling
Spouse struggling
Health problems
2024-PRESENT
Private Education is expensive, but prioritizing the health and well-being of our family is a top priority for keeping us in Slovakia long-term. After years of Slovak education through Covid, an education in English is what our kids need to prepare them well for the future and prevent them from falling behind again.
Cambridge International School has been such a blessing to our family. The teachers and school culture are amazing, and it is even within walking distance of our house!
AN UNEXPECTED SURPRISE
We now see our presence at the school as a strategic missional opportunity for relational evangelism and discipleship. Megan recently began working part-time as the School Health Coordinator and is gaining the favor of her colleagues to share her faith. Praise God for opening this door!
We are grateful for the generous partners and donors who helped fund Years 1 & 2 at Cambridge. Please join us in prayer as we pursue additional financial support to help fund Year 3 and beyond for Asher (13), Lincoln (10), and Beckham (8).
GIVING OPTIONS
$50,000 OF ONE-TIME GIFTS NEEDED FOR THE 2025-2026 SCHOOL YEAR
Gifts made through the Gibbs INLD fund will be directly applied to the Education Fund and are tax deductible.
Email Aaron to let him know your gift is on its way.
Gifts made through Paypal will be directly applied to the Education Fund but are NOT tax-deductible.
Add the note “Education Fund” to your donation.
Email Aaron to let him know your gift is on its way.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
