As our past semester has come to an end, we have many things to be thankful for. Students graduating, a slower pace of life for us, and opportunities to reflect on what God has been doing in our lives and in the lives of our students.
In light of this, we would like to share some of Grady’s students’ reflections as a testament to the work the Holy Spirit is doing in their lives. As part of AP Research, a course Grady taught this past year, students not only conducted year-long research projects but also reflected on how their work shaped the way they understand God, His world, and their place within it.
Below are a few excerpts demonstrating how students are learning to see God’s world through the lenses of justice, community, truth, beauty, stewardship, and restoration.
AP Research Reflections
| Special Education and Parent-Teacher Communication in Different Types of Schools “As I read up on research papers related to General and Special Education, it confirmed what I already knew about the access public schools have to support their learners. Despite being the sector that provides education to most learners in the Philippines, it is the most underfunded and under-resourced compared to private and international schools. My pursuit of researching the Special Education field ties in with … justice seeking, because through my research, I ultimately sought to restore the brokenness I found in something I considered to be the most important backbone to society … This project cemented my resolve to work in the field of Special Education in the Philippines because I believe that my desire for restoration of a broken world can do a lot of good work for a lot of people.” Differences in Belonging among Multilingual and Monolingual Students in International High School Communities “When I found out my results were statistically insignificant, I was sad for the fact that my hypothesis was wrong, but happy that our school was a community where language barriers don’t play a factor in forming a sense of belonging. I was surprised by how the school’s environment was working well for all students because the mean score of belonging between monolingual students and multilingual students had almost no difference. I believe that this environment at my school has been influenced by Christianity, where many students are intentional about following Scripture and trying to live as God intended …This research has challenged me to associate with and show God’s love to different people, whether they have a different ethnicity from me or different cultural backgrounds.” |
Art Interpretation and Meaning-Making in the Filipino Context“The people I interviewed were appreciating the artwork for the unique meaning they assigned to it. They were commenting on the beauty of the artwork, relating it to the human experience, and that struck me as an instance where beauty was created because man was made in the image of God. The way that people were able to resonate with artworks they called beautiful or felt a deeper connection with made evident the impact art can have on people … Through seeing how people interpret art that expresses beauty and brokenness, it is evident that artists have the ability to participate in worship through their own work.” Technology Use and Sleep Habits“I expected my results to support the hypothesis that I came up with at the start. However, through this I came to realize that research isn’t about trying to get the answer that I already had expected, but rather it is about discovering what is actually true. This helped me to change the way I think as a researcher because I came to realize that sometimes the answers we expect are not always the ones that are true … More specifically, I expected that there would be a clear causal relationship between the two factors of sleep quality and technology use. However, I realized that it isn’t that simple. This reminded me that God’s creation is complex and there is order that is waiting to be discovered. Through the process of research I realized that researching isn’t only for academic purposes but rather it can be used as a tool to understand God more through understanding His creation.” |
Lenin, Dostoevsky, and Visions of Social Transformation“Ultimately, this experience reinforced a personal belief that societal transformation can only be achieved by transforming hearts instead of systems. Even though this is a lesson my dad always taught me, I always felt like the redemption of society was within our hands. By analyzing the early Soviet Union, I now understand why earthly means of transforming society fail. Lasting transformation occurs when people pursue God’s kingdom rather than a human-made utopia.” River Pollution and Environmental Engineering“I chose my topic because I wanted to serve my community in some way, which I identified as pollution in our local rivers. The process wasn’t always the most comforting since I had to get dirty sometimes, but doing the dirty work was moving things forward. This research taught me Christlike humility through service. Moreover, this experience also revealed to me the importance of God’s world, and its importance to take care of it as well. Overall, I came to see that research can bring light to God’s truth and reflect His goodness in the world.” |
| Reading these reflections was deeply encouraging for us. Whether studying education, language, art, science, history, or engineering, these students were learning not only how to conduct research but also how to see God’s world more clearly. Thank you for your continual support that allows us to walk alongside them as they grow in both knowledge and wisdom. |
Some recent family pictures! Mia has loved being an older sister to Kai. “Big sister” in Tagalog is “Ate”!
Prayer Requests
- Prayer for continued growth, protection, and unity in our marriage.
- Prayer for love and wisdom as we parent and disciple our kids. Pray that Jesus would soften their hearts to Him and draw them near to Him.
- Prayer that we would have a sweet time with family this summer. Pray that we would delight in the goodness of God together.
- Prayer for Faith Academy. There will be several new people stepping into leadership roles at our school. Pray for smooth transitions and lots of grace as we all adjust to these changes.
Thank you so much for your prayer and support. It really means a lot to us! Please let us know if we can be praying for you in specific ways.
Much love,
Britt and Grady
