Bourofaye Christian School in Senegal gives missionary kids a safe place to learn, grow and belong. Ruth tells us what brought her to BCS and what teaching there is like.
‘I had been teaching at a school in the south of England for four years and I was starting to feel I should be moving on. I had been exploring teaching in Lebanon, which didn’t work out, but I was convinced that God wanted me to teach overseas. I found out about BCS through the WEC website and decided to give it a try. I was cautious and only wanted to commit to a year, but I ended up staying for three, and when I returned to the UK, my desire was always to go back to BCS. After a spell at Bible college and doing some supply teaching, I completed WEC candidate orientation and arrived back in Senegal in August 2013.
I find it a real privilege to spend time praying with the students and to be able to talk freely about our faith.
‘I love my job here! I am a trained primary teacher and am teaching a class of seven-to-ten year-olds at the moment, but over the years I have taught children as young as five. Alongside the teaching, I have all sorts of other duties as well, so there’s not a lot of time for boredom! I have taught some of my class for nearly three years now, and it is wonderful to see how they have changed and grown. I find it a real privilege to spend time praying with the students and to be able to talk freely about our faith. While I’ve been here, I have learned so much about myself, too. And I enjoy being away from the materialistic attitude you find in the West, and working with a team who are so committed to serving God.
‘That’s not to say that there are never any challenges. When you live, work and worship with the same people, it can create tensions. And my class are energetic and loud, with a number of strong personalities, meaning we don’t always see eye-to-eye. But even when life is hard, I still know this is where God wants me to be, and there is a real peace in knowing that.
‘I have no thoughts on what I will do after I leave BCS. I have never been one for making plans and I am happy to rest in God’s plan, knowing he will let me know the next step when I need to know it. I’ll be here until God tells me he wants me somewhere else!’
Is God calling you to serve missionary kids? You can find the latest opportunities with BCS here.
And did you know we run a training course for anyone working with TCK's? Get in touch to recieve details about the next course.
