Three Educators in the U.S., Kazakhstan, and Colombia Share Their Highlights in Christian Education

By: Josh Worden

Dr. Michael Mosley, Superintendent of Rocky Bayou Christian School in Florida

Dr. Michael Mosley was at a crossroads in March 2020.

“I was getting ready to lay off half my staff after sending home all the kids for Covid,” he said.

Before he made that decision officially, Mosley attended one of ACSI’s Public Policy & Legal Advocacy Zoom meetings.

"They said, ‘If you’re at a Christian school and you’re getting ready to lay off all your people, don’t. There’s something being discussed in the Senate that may keep you from having to do that.’ That was the Paycheck Protection Program,” Mosley said.

Thankful for the timing, Mosley did not lay off his staff.

“Never in the history of American legislation had anything been written for Christian schools that would provide means for us to not be wiped out economically," he said. “The worst week of my career turned into hope.”

Mosley felt Rocky Bayou Christian School’s enrollment was “pretty full” before the pandemic, but the school has grown 50 percent since 2020.

“God is working even in what seemed to be disaster,” he said. “We’re all flesh and blood; we tend to look at our circumstances and decide if we’re doomed or if we’ve got it made. And really, God is on the throne.”

Dr. Hans Fung, Head of School at Tien Shan International School in Kazakhstan

Dr. Hans Fung started his career in Christian education as a Principal at Dalat International School in Penang, Malaysia.

“My prayer was that the alumni would return to our school or other missionary schools to serve as teachers or school leaders,” he said. “That was my prayer 31 years ago. The Lord has answered many times. It took a long time to wait for that, but I’m over the moon.”

Beth Afanador, Longtime International School Educator in Bogotá, Colombia

When Beth Afanador moved from Illinois to Colombia in 1981 to teach in a secular school, one of her goals was to improve her Spanish.

“My first year I lived with a Colombian family,” she said. “I’d come home from school every day and we had electricity rationing, so there's an hour or two of darkness. Their three boys would sit on my bed with a candle, and we would talk for an hour or two. That was my daily Spanish class.”

That immersion helped her become planted in Colombia for longer than she expected. She stayed at her first school for nine years, married a Colombian, had two kids, and helped plant a church.

“I was involved in small groups, discipleship, women's work, evangelistic outreach, and children's work,” she said.

Another highlight: Volunteering at ACSI member school El Camino Academy.

“I had just had our second baby and during my pregnancy leave from another school, I started going a couple hours a week to help out,” she said. “I had a basket in my office and I'd close the door, nurse the baby, sign checks, and help with the administrative work.”

Just like she stayed in Colombia for longer than she planned, she became much more involved at El Camino Academy than she anticipated. After starting part-time with El Camino in 1992, she spent 33 years as the school’s Director.