We are now in the third year of the Roca Blanca Trade School. The Lord has given us vision and the grace to implement and instruct the following six workshops this school year to the more than 90 students: Carpentry, Welding, Handyman, Cooking, Sewing and Music. We can give each Bible School student 6 hours of training. This is a great beginning!
For the coming school year, we will be taking a different approach to our first-year program. Each student in first year Bible School will be required to choose 4 workshops. Each student will then receive 10 weeks of training in each of those workshops. This will let them taste 4 different areas of training and then in their second year they will be required to select one trade program in which they will be focused until they graduate, receiving 240 hours of training each year. In the third year they will also receive training in business ethics and administration.
We are about 50% finished with the construction of the 9,000 square foot training facility! The projected cost of this new building is approximately $250,000 US dollars. This new space will allow us to offer students more trades, such as Nursing / Lab Technician, Auto Mechanics, Aluminum Window Door Manufacturing, Multimedia / Communications, Beauty (Hair / Nails), Horticulture, Business (Restaurant / Gift shop), Driver Education, and English as a Second Language. We have seen small setbacks in this project as the Mexican workforce has left this area of Oaxaca in search of a better financial future in the US. Also, the introduction of the US dollar into this coastal region has made building materials more expensive, which caused our initial projections to be inaccurate. We are continuing to trust the Lord to complete the work that He has called us to do.
We have been given a long-term vision to begin a two-year, full-time vocational program with a secondary focus in discipleship. We can clearly see that not every body member is called to be a Pastor or Worship leader. Most of the Christian body is just solid Christians that support the work of advancing the name of Christ to the ends of the earth. Our pool of students will come from the Churches. In order for this to come to fruition, we will need more housing facilities here at the Mission Base, not only for students, but also our instructors.
You Can Give Your 5 Loaves and 2 Fishes!
If you have skills that you could teach in the Trade School to benefit the rising generation of ministers, contact Ben & Hannah Clark (Short Term Missions Directors) at rocaguests@gmail.com or Steve Roberts (Trade School Director) at fish4men2019@gmail.com
Your tax deductable gift can help train a Bible School student in a stustainable trade.
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