m o u n t a i n
m i s s i o n
CHALLENGER The Quarterly Newsletter of Mountain Mission School
FALL 2016
ALIVE AND KICKING REACHING ASIA Life Coach Grundy, VA USA
Serving kids in need in the name of Christ since 1921.
Alive and
Kicking
eggy Caler was one of the first people to see Nick when he arrived on campus as a 13-month old: “He was very small and weak. He didn’t crawl, and couldn’t even hold himself up.” Born in Richmond to a single mom with a drug habit, Nick had spent most of his infancy confined to a crib with little stimulation, severely hindering his development. Nick’s grandparents heard about Mountain Mission through their church and arranged his road to rescue. With daily loving care from Miss Caler and others at Mountain Mission’s Toddler Hall, Nick began to develop and catch up with the children around him. “Once he could finally stand on his own,” Miss Caler recalls, “he would just stand and
“The people here treat you with love, and you know they love you just because of the way they treat you. Actions mean more than words, all the time.”
-Nick
watch the other boys throwing the little basketball in the playroom…and soon he was throwing it, too!” Today you’re likely to find Nick kicking and blocking on the soccer field, having developed into an enthusiastic athlete. “MMS not only makes you excel academically and physically,” Nick says, “but also spiritually and mentally. This school forces you to go beyond your limits of what you think you can do.“ The secret to Nick’s success is something Miss Caler first showed him 15 years ago. “The people here treat you with love, and you know they love you just because of the way they treat you,” Nick says. “Actions mean more than words, all the time.”
MMS ALUMNI
A DIVINE
DIRECTION n the summer of 2013, Nelson was an angry, rebellious teen facing homelessness on the streets of Roanoke, Virginia. This summer, though, Nelson returned to Roanoke a different man—serving as a college intern at First Roanoke Baptist Church. What changed? God changed him, through the joint efforts of members of First Roanoke and Mountain Mission School. “We had this Bible class at MMS,” Nelson recalls, “and it taught me who God is. God is love, God is faithful, God is strong, God is powerful, and all those things just make me admire Him more for who He is.” Nelson graduated from MMS in 2015 with a very clear aim. “I’m hoping to be a preacher,” he says. “I’m going to college, and then going to seminary, and just let God use me in that field.“ Fittingly, Nelson concluded his internship with a fiery plea for the church to live out Christ’s greatest commands: Love God, love people.
Nelson in his days on campus at MMS.
MMS ALUMNI
A
Reaching ASIA
Artwork by: Paula Giltner
s a boy at Mountain Mission School in the late 1950’s, Johnny Johnson recalls hearing MMS founder Sam Hurley say, “It’s just as easy to be the engine as it is the caboose—learn to lead!”
to help with translation, printing and distribution. There are now five books in the series, with a total of 37,000 copies in print, reaching China, Korea, Cambodia, and the Philippines.
Responding to Hurley’s words, Johnny graduated from MMS with the inspiration to become a pastor, and eventually to become a founding board member of Christ Reaching Asia Mission. While visiting China, he was also inspired to advance an incomplete project that a friend had begun years earlier: the creation of an illustrated life of Christ, suitable for overseas missions.
Soon there will be even more. Recently, Global Gospel stepped in as a partner to expand the books into 40 languages and put the contents into electronic formats for even greater distribution.
The Lord quickly brought into Johnny’s path contacts in Asia who were able
“I don’t look at this as doing anything big,” insists Johnny. “We’re all just water drops, dripping into a bucket—but after a while, the bucket is full of lifegiving water.”
Life l Wilson serves as MMS’s head basketball coach and its Director of Student Development, and he sees those roles as two sides of the same job. “There’s really no difference in the roles, because either way, my job is to mold young people to be the best they can be, following the example of Christ.” Ultimately Wilson serves as a life coach to the kids at MMS, teaching them to build their lives on three pillars: Character, Integrity, and Accountability. He also helps teach life skills, from mastering a firm business handshake to dealing with ethical dilemmas. What does he hope his legacy will be? “That I was used by Christ to affect the lives of many. I want the Lord to say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
home
eC L
ife skills are taught in many ways at MMS. One way is our Home Ec class for 6th and 7th grade boys and girls, which teaches:
• Cooking & baking • Basic cleaning skills • Washing, folding & ironing clothes • Dining etiquette • How to be a polite houseguest • Washing & vacuuming a car • Basic consumer finances
“We’re covering skills they’ll carry with them throughout their lifetime,” says teacher Susan Slone, “no matter what career path they choose.”
Fall 2016
1760 Edgewater Drive Grundy, VA 24614
mission school
mountain
T
H
E
Sam Hurley Society
A Legacy of Hope As Mountain Mission School approaches its 100th Anniversary in 2021, we are ever mindful of our beloved founder, Sam Hurley—a self-made man who started Mountain Mission School with a simple vision of “reclaiming the child.” Generations later that vision continues. By including Mountain Mission in your will, your own legacy lives...and makes it possible for more children to live a life filled with faith, hope and love. Will you consider providing a Legacy of Hope by including MMS in your will?
For more information about joining the Sam Hurley Society, please contact: Jayne Duehring, Director of Advancement • (276) 645-1457 • jduehring@mmskids.org
Find more MMS stories on