Cedarville Magazine, Spring 2014

Whom does CCA serve? CCA is a bilingual Christian school offering classes from preschool through sixth grade. The school was started seven years ago by a missionary couple with the purpose of reaching local Nicaraguans with the Gospel through Christian education. Fewer than 25 percent of our families are professing Christians, but many parents are interested in the school because their children can have a better future if they can speak English.This is an opportunity for us as volunteers, teachers, and administrators to be a light in this community. In addition to daily Bible classes and weekly chapels, teachers integrate Scripture into every subject. Whenever we have school concerts or celebrations, we clearly share the Gospel with all who attend. How did you get connected? I had visited the school two years ago on a missions trip and decided to meet up with the missionaries again during my senior year. They told me they needed someone with a business background who could help with the finances and advise on how to make school operations more efficient. I smiled and told them I would pray that God would send the right person; but the more I prayed about it, the more evident it became that God wanted me to be that person. What part of your Cedarville experience prepared you most to take on a job with so many varied responsibilities? Looking back, I can see how God began preparing me for this throughout my four years at Cedarville, starting with the annual Involvement Fair my freshman year. There was a Chinese church in Dayton looking for Cedarville students to help with its youth group, and I was the only person who signed up that day. I ended up leading a ministry team for four years to Agape Chinese Evangelical Church on Fridays and Sundays to help with the youth group, Sunday school, and Sunday worship. The team eventually grew to more than just me, and today the youth group is flourishing. This opportunity not only taught me how to work with people and lead a team, but I also learned how to start, lead, grow, and hand off a ministry. I also tookpart inamissions trip through the School of Business Administration. A group of business students from Students in Free Enterprise (now called Enactus) went to Bolivia to counsel people on budgeting and financial management.That experience prepared me for the daily work I do and also helps me be a good host to the incoming missions teams that come to the school each summer. I had many leadership roles at Cedarville, including being the President of an Integrated Business Core company, Editor-in-Chief of the yearbook, and two years as Class Treasurer. These opportunities gave me experience and the confidence I have today to lead teams of volunteers at the school and work with the teachers. Among your many experiences at Cedarville, what most prepared your heart for ministry? I really enjoyed the Bible and missions conferences that Cedarville holds at the beginning of every semester. Dr. Rob Turner was probably the one speaker who influenced me the most. I still remember his message on Paul’s “thorn in the flesh.” We are broken people and unworthy tools, yet God chooses to use us. It was comforting to know that no one is perfect, but by God’s grace we can still serve Him. Cedarville provided the perfect incubator and balance for me to develop both academically and spiritually. The end result is that I am willing to go wherever God leads and use the skills He has given me. A day doesn’t go by when I don’t use the tools and experiences I gained at Cedarville. Stuart Li ’13 is an Administrative Advisor at Carazo Christian Academy in Dolores, Carazo, Nicaragua. Learn more about this ministry at nicca.org. Prepared to Serve Q&A with Stuart Li ’13 A year ago, as a senior business major at Cedarville, Stuart Li ’13 didn’t imagine he would be helping run a school in a Third World country. As Administrative Advisor at Carazo Christian Academy (CCA) in Nicaragua, Li manages the school’s finances and budget, teaches kindergarten and fourth-grade English, solves IT issues, and works with volunteers and missions teams. And when he’s not doing all that, this former yearbook editor takes school pictures. How does a recent grad gain the experience and the mindset to take on such a challenging role? By making the most of every opportunity at Cedarville. 32 | Cedarville Magazine