ELEMENTARY THE WAY
JOHN 8:32 JOHN
JOHN
THE TRUTH
14:6
17:3 THE LIFE EXIT ONLY
The House of Love Takes a Detour A planned road trip, a surprise detour, and unexpected blessings
A
By Phillip Bridges, Director of Marketing and Communications
April 24th, 2020 - The Elementary School had plans for their biggest Grandparents Day yet! The theme was set (ROAD TRIP!) and this was going to be the first Grandparents Day in the brand new Warrior Arena. When the day came it was even a perfect 75 degrees in Little Rock. But like so many things this semester, plans were halted and the route for Grandparents Day took a detour. Back in summer 2019, Ann Chami, Head of Lower School, had the idea for a Road Trip theme for the entire Elementary Building. The theme would mirror Dr. Arnold’s school-wide theme of Three Things. Jesus is the Way (John 14:6), the Truth (John 8:32), and the Life (John 17:3). Little did Mrs. Chami know that the planned road trip would not quite go as planned. Everything changed the third week in March when due to safety concerns regarding COVID-19, Little Rock Christian switched from in-class instruction to AMI (Alternative Method of Instruction). There were suddenly so many questions among LRCA administrators and teachers as well as parents. “How do we continue the mission of LRCA virtually? How do teachers continue to pour into students without a daily faceto-face? How do you replicate an Ann Chami prayer at home?” From daily videos of morning devotions and bedtime stories to homeroom Zoom sessions, Elementary teachers did not miss a beat! "We went from business as usual to a full-time production studio cranking out multiple videos for our students each day," says
4 THE WARRIOR • SPRING 2020
Mrs. Crabill, Director of Elementary Student Life. “We knew we had to get our teachers in front of kids even if we couldn’t be together in person.” During such a unique and uncertain time, Elementary brought a sense of calm and normalcy to each family’s new routine. Students opened each day with Mrs. Chami’s morning devotional and prayer, spent time on their individual classroom assignments, then closed out the day with a video bedtime story - a surprise guest reader each night. In the midst of the uncertain and challenging times, God has provided many unexpected blessings. This can be seen in the extra time families have had together, collaboration among teachers, and having fun with themes and project-based learning. Mrs. Chami said it best in one of her morning devotionals to students, “Things didn’t go as planned for our road trip. Things didn’t go as planned for our school year. God’s plans are not always our plans. Sometimes God’s plans are different. It can make us sad when we don’t understand. Feelings are okay - but what we do with our feelings is what we have to be careful of. God’s plans are always best because God always does what is right. While we didn’t get to finish the road trip we can trust God’s plans, because God’s going to do what’s right. God always does what’s best. We are on a new trip! Not what we thought, but God is leading and we will follow his plan together…”
