2008
   Welcome to a new year! A year to make a change, a difference, a statement! 2008 could be the year that will make or break you, help you or hurt you. So how will you start off your new school year? Making a resolution is a good start. You could resolve to make better grades, do your homework, or overall work harder in school. It’s your choice, so what will it be? On a lighter note, here are a few fun facts all about this new year:
Did you know…

• That 2008 is the International Year of the Potato
• That the 44th president will be residing in the White House come November 4
• That NASA’s Phoenix spacecraft will land on Mars
• That Bill Gates will step down from daily duties at Microsoft Corporation after over three decades
• That the world’s tallest building, Burj Dubai will hopefully be completed

• That 2008 is the International Year of Planet Earth

Enjoy the New Year!

Fall Festival
            The fall festival is an annual fundraiser that will be held on October 10th. On this day Students will be allowed to wear jeans and a Christian T-shirt to school. School will be in session for a half day and at 12:00 the fall festival will begin! Not only will it raise money for our school, but it will also be a fun time for people of all ages! There will be a bake sale, blow up rides, candy, prizes, a cake walk, BBQ plates, concession stand, booths for games, and much more!!
            After all of the activities there will be an auction held in the gym. Grades 6th-12th have been given a theme for their baskets that will be auctioned off. The following are the assignments: 6th grade-“Pamper Me”-female Basket, 7th grade-“For God”-Christian Basket, 8th grade-“A night at home”-Family Basket, 9th grade-“Is it a boy or girl?”-Baby Basket, 10th grade-“Bon Appetite”-Italian/Cooking Basket, 11th grade-“GO PIRATES!!”-ECU Basket, and 12th grade-“GO TARHEELS!!”-UNC Basket. (Other assorted items will be auctioned off as well.) So join us for a day full of fun and fellowship!

St. Croix
                On July 31 a group of eighteen young men and women accompanied by five adults flew from out of the RDU airport all the way to the small island of St. Croix, to go help a small Baptist church and school similar to our school to help them with things such as painting, cleaning, and remodeling.
                Besides helping the school and church we also helped the two missionaries and their families. One of the two missionaries families were the Nelson’s, Kent Nelson, along with wife Jeanna, son Nick, and daughters Anniston and Awilda, have relocated to St. Croix, Virgin Islands, where Brother Kent has assumed the pastorate at Free Will Baptist Church. Kent has a degree in Pastoral Training and Bible from Free Will Baptist Bible College and attended Southeastern Theological Seminary. He comes to Home Missions from the pastorate at Cross Creek FWB Church in Olive Branch, MS. The Nelsons are excited about working with the long-established FWB work in St. Croix and look forward to continuing the ever-growing ministry there. The other family is Stephen and Rejyna Beck who are working as associate missionaries in St. Croix, Virgin Islands. Stephen is employed as the principal of the Christian school there and will be assisting the pastor in the total ministry. Stephen attended Free Will Baptist Bible College, Lincoln Theological Seminary, University of Alabama (Huntsville), and obtained a Bachelor of Education degree from Vanderbilt University. Rejyna was raised in the FWB Home Missionary family of John McClure and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this ministry. Both Stephen and Rejyna are a vital part of the St. Croix team ministry effort. The Becks are blessed with four children, Opal, Foster, Linton, and Fletcher.
                We dedicated a week of our time, which isn’t much compared to the years these missionaries have give to the church there in St. Croix. From July 31st through August 7th, we were doing the Lord’s will and hopefully implanting God’s word in the hearts of the people in St. Croix.  Some people say that it’s just a waste of time and money to go to a place like St. Croix to clean and paint instead of going there and preach the gospel, but in my opinion we spread the gospel through our actions which hopefully was implanted in the hearts and minds of the people of St. Croix. 
                We thank everyone who supported us through there prayers and financial tithes, this trip would have never been possible with out ya’ll.

 Dr. Ronan Tynan

                Dr. Ronan Tynan was born on May 14, 1960 in Dublin Ireland. He has proven over his lifetime to be a man of many talents. He has shown his great determination, knowledge, and faith in God through all the stages of his life. He has also shown how a person can come from difficulties and become make great things happen despite of their problems. He has achieved worldwide fame and respect not only for his story but also because of his career as one of the worlds most recognized tenors.
                When a lower limb disability left him crippled at birth he decided to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor. His parents say that as a boy he was “As wild as a March hare.” He enjoyed riding horses and racing motorcycles despite his disability. At the age of twenty he was involved in a car accident, and much more harm to his legs had occurred. He decided to have his legs amputated, and weeks after the accident he was walking with his artificial legs. Within a year of using his new legs he was competing in the international Paralympics. He won eight gold medals and broke fourteen world records between 1981 and 1984. He then decided he wanted to help other people by earning a medical degree.  With the aid and encouragement from his parents he reached his goal and was accepted as a student to the National College of Physical Education where he studied for two years in the prosthetics industry. He became the first person with disability to be accepted at the college. Shortly after, he became a student at the Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. He received his degree from Trinity College in the year of 1993 specializing in orthopedic sports injuries. As a boy Ronan always enjoyed singing, but he never considered it as a career.  Less than a year after he began voice study Ron won multiple competitions the John McCormack Cup for Tenor Voice and the BBC talent show Go for It.  He began to sing with the Irish Tenors, but shortly after he decided to follow his dreams and launch his solo career. Being a devout Ronan Catholic many of his songs reflect his faith and love for God.  He also performs many songs taken from famous operas, such as Madame Butterfly and Handel’s Messiah. He won the International Operatic Singing Competition in Maumarde, France only a couple after he began taking vocal lessons. 
Ronan is also one of the nations most sought after motivational speakers, and he presents usually around 50 speeches for companies and organization year round. In February, 2002 he wrote his autobiography entitled Halfway Home.  Ronan considers Americans to be fantastic people and he considers New York to be his home away from home. He can be seen singing God Bless America at Yankee Stadium during regular season, playoff, televised, and opening day games. He also performs at Buffalo Sabres NHL games. Ronan began the Belmont Stakes by singing New York, New York. Ronan has performed for many of the Presidents including George H. W. Bush’s eightieth birthday, the prayer service for George W. Bush’s second inauguration, the 2008 Presidents dinner, and for Presidents Ronald Reagan’s funeral where he performed Amazing Grace and Ave Maria.

Brazil Missions Trip 2008

                This summer some of our students from Parkers Chapel FWB Church went on a missions trip to Barbacena, Brazil. The teens were Steven West, Casey and Cody Holland, and Ramsey Covington. It took them nine hours to get there by plane. They spent seven days in Brazil while it took two days to get there and back. The missionary they went to help out was David Aycock and his family. They have seven baptist churches there, one which was just damaged by a hurricane, and have native pastors for all seven of the churches. They went to a different church for every service that they had. They sang for the special music and Steven and the twins preached to the people after the singing. They did a lot of sight seeing also. They went to different towns to shop and learn about Brazil. They said that there were a bunch of huge catholic churches in about all of the cities. But there is only seven baptist churches.
                We asked the twins (Casey and Cody) what was the purpose of the mission trip. They answered by saying, “We went to fulfill the Great Commission, and be challenged to a lifetime of serving God in the missions field.” The Great Commission is,” Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the World.” Casey said,” While I was in Brazil I answered the call to be a missionary and have a growing a burden for the lost.” Cody said,” Dog on it you took mine”. He is going to be a missionary too.  Steven West said that what he saw in Brazil gave him a better appreciation of what we have here in America. He also said that the most exciting thing to him was the scavenger hunt and playing drums with the brazillian teenagers.