Dear Mr. Director,

For just over two years you have been leading the school where we work and call home. Today is your last official day as the director and I have a few things to say…

When our little crew got on a plane almost four years ago you didn’t have a very clear idea of what you’d be doing.  But you jumped in and did what you could to help with strategies and budgets and systems and all things important to keeping a school running. And then you were asked to take over. It wasn’t something you were planning or wanting but we felt like it was the right thing and again you jumped in. From corporate retail life to leading a little school in the bush, you could hardly have two different jobs, but you used your skills and leadership to keep MICS moving in the right direction.

You led meetings, you hired people, you made hard decisions, you taught in chapel and grade 7 math, you helped make budgets, you met with community leaders to learn from them. You had the hard conversations that scared me and also challenged me to do things that weren’t easy. We didn’t always agree but you always listened to my point of view and we always ended up on the same page somehow. You were calm and wise when I was stressed and reactive. I’ve learned to become a better leader because of you!

I will miss having our desks a foot apart. I will miss the little things you say throughout the day to make me laugh while I plough through the administrative work I don’t love. I will miss our musings between interview candidates and seeing if our first impressions were in alignment.  I will miss walking home together at break time for a snack. I will miss watching you teach because few things make me prouder.

But we are both ready for a new phase and I’m excited to see you use your gifts in new ways, while still getting to enjoy life in a part of the world we love. I look forward to missing you a little when we don’t spend almost every minute of the day together and missing you a lot when you travel. I look forward to sharing about our days because they are different and we haven’t been constantly updating each other on every little thing. I look forward to  watching this little school continue to grow and thrive under new leadership and the ways you’ll give guidance in that process. And I still look forward to your advice as I come to you with all the changes and challenges that a new year brings.

I am so proud of you and grateful for your willingness to lead and the ways you have impacted MICS, along with the amazing team we’ve worked with everyday. I’m just sorry for you that you no longer get to boss me around 😉

With love,

Mrs. Director (as you affectionately call me) xo

It is pretty quiet here at MICS these days. Report cards have been handed out, classrooms are closed up, and students have gone home for term break. But even though it is quiet right now, it has been a busy month at MICS. In fact, we want to share with you two big pieces of news.

First, we are thrilled to announce that after a long search, we have found a new Director to lead MICS. Mr. Sinamwenda is currently a teacher and boarding master at Macha Girls Secondary School. He is also a leader in the local BIC church here in Macha. On January 1st, he will join us at MICS as our new school Director. We are so excited to have him join the team and know he is going to make a great contribution to MICS.

Second, we have decided that as a family we are not quite ready to leave Zambia. So even though we have a new leader to replace Joel, we will be remaining here in Macha for another year or two. Julianne will continue in her role of mentoring teachers and helping with curriculum development. Joel is going to be making a transition back to the corporate world and doing some retail consulting working remotely from Zambia. This will allow our family to become self-supporting — we will no longer require donor support for our work here. Joel will also remain available to coach Mr. Sinamwenda as he learns the ropes in his new role.

We are feeling great about what these changes mean for our family and for the school. 2019 is going to be a great year at MICS. 

One of the impacts of hiring a new local Director is that the school needs to find additional funds in the budget for his salary. We are seeking to raise $24,000 over the next 2 years to assist with this cost. To make a contribution online please click HERE and select “CE-104 MICS Salary Increases” when prompted to choose a project from the drop-down menu. Or to learn about other ways to donate email joelpercy@gmail.com.

Thank you to all of you who have supported and encouraged us over these past four years. It is a true privilege to serve here at MICS and it would not have been possible without all of you.