A teacher’s job is never easy. On the contrary, standing in front of children every day, addressing school bureaucracy, collective dynamics, and even such banalities as trying to find a parking space can be exhausting. It’s no wonder that sometimes a teacher can feel like a squeezed sponge—bent from use and without water!
Janka Bosáková, pastor of Lutheran Academy in Martin, used the illustration of the dry sponge to convey the difficulty and often unappreciated work of the teacher. “The sponge is beneficial only if there is water to soak up.” What is true of teachers is also true of other people—water is essential for life, but not just regular water. It is the Living Water that is needed—the Lord Jesus Christ. “We must be constantly filled, especially when life is not meeting our expectations.”
At the beginning of the new school year, Lutheran Academy (LA) teachers were invited to partake of the living water through the Lord’s Supper. Some of our American partners, those who have supported the idea of a Lutheran Academy since its very inception, joined this special worship service for the teaching staff. “Eleven years ago, I came to Memorandum Square in Martin and I saw the headmaster, Josef Sopoliga, and two teachers with LA’s very first students,” said longtime partner and supporter, Gene Ryan. “Today, I stand before you as a witness of a miracle!”
Our American friends came to Martin, and together we experienced the dedication ceremony of the new classrooms in the newest building of the LA,–the former printing house, Neografia. Gene Ryan noted that although the building once served as a publishing house, in a sense, this is still the case. “This building will once again be a ‘publisher,’ because the Word of God will be spoken here and then spread to the masses of families and cities.”
