Elementary School

Welcome to Eastern Christian Elementary School!

Reading for a Cause

This year the students at Eastern Christian Elementary School have been getting to know God with their heads, learning to love Him more deeply in their hearts, and seeking opportunities to serve Him with their hands. The recent news of the earthquake in Haiti provided the second grade students one such opportunity to serve God with their hands. Beginning shortly after the earthquake, the second grade students started praying for the earthquake victims in Haiti. During our prayer times, we have been praying for God to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the Haitian people, and asking Him to show us how we can help. Sure enough, God answered our prayer and revealed a way to get involved.

On Tuesday, January 26, Nancy Powers from Bethany Christian Services was invited to speak with the second grade students. Nancy spoke with the students about Bethany's two orphanages in Haiti, the impact of the earthquake, and the needs of the children.

Following the presentation, the second grade students were presented with a way they could help Haiti. That same day we kicked off a week long read-a-thon (beginning at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, January 26 and ending at 8:20 AM on Tuesday, February 2). The read-a-thon required children to work and sacrifice. Despite this, the second grade students showed great interest in choosing to read for the sake of Christ during times when they would typically play a video game, watch TV, or play outside.

However, the second graders were not the only ones involved in this effort to help Haiti. Local businesses were asked to join us by sponsoring our read-a-thon. Several businesses answered the call – including Visbeen Construction, Reiner Group, Inc., Capstone Advisory Group, V&S Floor Covering, Novartis, and Urdang and Company. These businesses pledged various amounts of money that were based on how many pages the second grade students read as a collective group in one week. In addition, many friends and family members of second graders chose to donate to the cause. We are extremely grateful to these businesses and individuals for their interest in encouraging young people to make a difference in Jesus' name.

After a week of reading around the clock, we are pleased to report that the second graders have read over 10,000 pages! They far surpassed their highest goal of 2,000 pages. As a result, they earned nearly $4,000 for the Bethany Christian Services orphanages in Haiti.

On Thursday, February 4, we concluded our Read-a-Thon project with a celebration in the gym. Nancy Powers joined us again, along with second grade parents, and many of the business people and individuals who supported us financially. It was a time of celebrating the second graders' hard work, thanking God for the privilege to serve Him, and a prayer time for the people of Haiti. It was a God-filled time of worship. The read-a-thon was an awesome opportunity for all who were involved, and a true testament to God's provision and faithfulness.