Study in America

Another hopeful group of English students

A text message came to us while we were still in the US:  

“Teacher, I passed the BAC with mention!”

We were super excited.  Himu is one of our favorites.  (We know, teachers aren’t supposed to have favorites, but what can you do.)  We’ve known Himu for years.  We’ve seen him grow up.  He was a kid when he first started studying English and we’ve seen him shoot up both in height, maturity and English.  We’ve had a role to play with his family.  When it seemed like Himu was getting involved with the wrong crowd, Himu’s father asked Tom to talk to him.  Himu has been a regular at our English club, and someone we’ve enjoyed immensely.  For him to pass the BAC—the big exam that allows islanders go on to university—and to pass “with mention” — the island way to say “with honors”—is a big deal.  It means doors opening for Himu.  It means opportunities to study—most likely abroad.  It means great possibilities for his future, and we were excited for him.  So we weren’t surprised to hear from him a short time later.

“Teacher, I’m traveling to France for University.”

We rejoiced with him and wished him many blessings, noting, with a bit of sadness, that we might not see him again for many years.  Then when we arrived back in the Islands I got a phone call.  

“Teacher, it’s me, Himu.  I’m at the French Embassy and they won’t give me the visa.  Only people with connections can get the visa.  Can you help me?”

No distancing here!

We talked about it for a little while.  I still don’t really understand why he was having trouble getting the visa.  He had been accepted to a university, given a scholarship to study in France.  Why should it be difficult to get the visa?  I suspect that COVID has something to do with it, but I can’t be sure.  It could also be a matter of corruption.  Whether the former or the latter, his question was a valid one—Could I help?  In the islands, many things happen because of relationships, not because of merit or fairness. We are people with connections, and Himu reached out to me for help.  Unfortunately, our connections are not French connections.  We asked around, but we just don’t know anybody with connections to the French Embassy.  A few days later I got another message from Himu:

“Hello Teacher, I need to ask you a small important question.  As I did not get the French Visa, can I get a scholarship to go to the Untied States?  I got my BAC with mention!!!  If yes, how do I do it??  Thanks.”

What can we say to our student and friend?  How realistic is it for him to study in America?  He is a young man, from a relatively poor family, from a poor African country.  Even the process of applying is expensive.  But he is smart, maybe he could make it work.  So I wrote to him:

“Himu, there is no easy answer to your question.  To go to a university in America you must first pass the TOEFL exam.  Then you must apply to a university and for a scholarship.  All of these processes cost money.  Finally you must be accepted both by a university and for a scholarship and find the money to travel to America.  So it is possible, but it is not easy.”

Over the years, we‘ve had a great many students ask us these same questions.  Most of the time these discussions do not go anywhere.  The students don’t really think they could go to America.  It is an unrealistic dream, an unsurmountable mountain—they don’t really plan to climb the mountain, they just want to know how high it goes.  But could Himu be the rare one ready and able to climb the mountain?  We admit to be sadly skeptical, but we will have to wait and see. 

Our son's lego armada

PRAYERS ANSWERED
 Our island brother’s mother passed away this week.  We were able to go to the funeral and share with him our condolences.  Another group of brothers and sisters will go to visit this week.  We are thankful for the community that exists and that our brother does not need to face difficulties alone.  The potential teammate has bought her tickets and should arrive at the end of this week.  We continue to see people and reconnect with many of our acquaintances.  We are blessed to be loved and appreciated by so many here. We are also so excited to learn just today of two new island women becoming sisters!


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Many of our requests are the same as last week.  As the potential teammate and our island leader will be traveling to visit us this week, we are hopeful that their travels will go smoothly.  We continue to figure out our new routines and are getting ready to start our English club & English library again.  Our front door is being repaired which means people can only come to visit us via our backdoor.  It would be better and more convenient if the front door were fixed, but the landlord is waiting for a specially made door. Please pray that this could happen soon.  We also still need to find a new place to live.  Pray that word would get out that we are looking and that we would find a new home without trouble.