{"id":1697,"date":"2017-01-19T09:41:50","date_gmt":"2017-01-19T08:41:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/?p=1697"},"modified":"2017-01-19T09:41:50","modified_gmt":"2017-01-19T08:41:50","slug":"a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2017\/01\/19\/a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"A New Year with New Opportunities and Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As we enter 2017 there are new possibilities and new challenges that face each of us no matter where we live or what we do. \u00a0As I think about my challenges for this year, I can become discouraged at the number of them or their difficulty. \u00a0However I am finding myself encouraged to look beyond myself and to those around me who face even greater challenges. \u00a0I am challenged to keep up with marking and planning assignments, but the Cameroonian parents of students in the Northwest and Southwest of Cameroon face the reality that teacher strikes may end the school year for their children and all the sacrifices they have made to pay school fees will be wasted. \u00a0The students themselves face a lost year. \u00a0Suddenly my challenge seems much smaller.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2017\/01\/19\/a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/250px-cameroon_cia_wfb_2006_map\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1698\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1698\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2017\/01\/250px-Cameroon_CIA_WFB_2006_map.png\" alt=\"250px-Cameroon_CIA_WFB_2006_map\" width=\"250\" height=\"268\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2017\/01\/250px-Cameroon_CIA_WFB_2006_map.png 250w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2017\/01\/250px-Cameroon_CIA_WFB_2006_map-140x150.png 140w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The need for teachers at Rain Forest International School is great for next year. \u00a0The science and math departments are looking pretty empty. \u00a0As Jeff and I head to the US on home assignment in June, we leave empty holes that need to be filled.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2016\/10\/20\/growing-yeast-and-individuals-at-rfis\/14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-1621\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1621\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2016\/10\/14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n.jpg\" alt=\"14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n\" width=\"960\" height=\"698\" srcset=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2016\/10\/14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n.jpg 960w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2016\/10\/14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n-150x109.jpg 150w, http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/76\/2016\/10\/14642134_10209339033090107_3447773277720719203_n-300x218.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 960px) 100vw, 960px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The challenge to the school is, however, an opportunity for someone to come and serve in this beautiful country and with some amazing students and colleagues. \u00a0Perhaps it is \u00a0<em><strong>your<\/strong><\/em> opportunity to come and teach in Cameroon?<\/p>\n<p>I am excited that after a year it looks like God is providing hostel parents for the UBAC hostel. \u00a0Please pray that they would raise their needed financial support quickly and that they would build a great base of prayerful intercessors.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-report-this\"><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker?moderation_action=report_form&object_type=post&object_id=1697&width=250&height=300\" class=\"thickbox\" title=\"Report This Post\">Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; As we enter 2017 there are new possibilities and new challenges that face each of us no matter where we live or what we do. \u00a0As I think about my challenges for this year, I can become discouraged &hellip; <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2017\/01\/19\/a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":100,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>A New Year with New Opportunities and Challenges - Stoker Stories<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/jcstoker\/2017\/01\/19\/a-new-year-with-new-opportunities-and-challenges\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A New Year with New 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