Principals Josh Taylor and Hope Fahoyelmarey join Pastor Walton this week to discuss teaching, learning, and the first day back at Harvest Christian Academy.
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Episode transcript:
Chris Harper: Welcome to Harvest Time. My name is Chris Harper, and our host on this program is pastor Gary Walton, the lead pastor of Harvest Baptist Church. Every week, we spend these 25 minutes together telling you the stories of our church by interviewing our members and other friends of the ministry. We’d like to invite you to join us at Harvest Baptist Church this week. We have two services, 1 at 8:45 AM, the other at 10:45 AM.
At the 10:45 AM service, we have Japanese and Korean translation available. We hope you can join us then. That’s also when we have our livestream at 10:45 AM on hbcguam.org, hbcguam.org. Let’s begin today’s Harvest Time by welcoming pastor Gary Walton. Hi, pastor.
Gary Walton: Hey. Hafa adai, Chris. It’s good to be back, with you. Glad that you’re listening to us, here in the radio today. And I’m thrilled to be able to have 2 of our, administrative team at Harvest Christian academy with me on harvest time.
So I wanna welcome both Josh Taylor and Hope Fahoyelmarey. Thank you guys both, for joining us today.
Josh Taylor: Buenas. Hafa adai. Thanks for having us.
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Thanks for having us, pastor. It’s good to be here.
Gary Walton: We’re getting ready to launch school. In fact, when we’re recording, this will be a couple days earlier. We will, we are one day away, t minus, I don’t know, about 20 hours and, counting. So, the campus is abuzz with a lot of things happening. When you hear this on Friday, we’ll have a couple days in or Saturday or Sunday morning.
But, yeah, a lot of things have been happening as we’re getting ready for school here at harvest. Right?
Josh Taylor: We have start we start our teacher in-service, with bringing out doctor Brian Carruthers from, Bob Jones University in South Carolina, and we had, 4 days of very, intentional, teacher development, with a, you know, best practices, teaching models, and setting some goals. And so that was a very good start to the year as far as our teachers being students. And then, we spent the next several days just getting the classrooms ready. And the best part about being here at Harvest Christian Academy, under the, the guidance of Harvest Baptist Church is preparing our hearts, so that we not just provide the the the challenging academics, which is one of our core values, but also the life mentorship in that Christian environment.
Gary Walton: I didn’t start off by introducing you. I mean, I feel like everybody on the island knows you. I’ve been watching you walk around during the orientations and, all the kids, all the parents of course know you. But Josh Taylor is our middle school principal, also the lead principal. And Hope is our lower elementary principal.
Josh has been here at Harvest for 20 how many years now?
Josh Taylor: Yeah. Since 2002. If they if on radio, I still think that even through radio, they can sense my balding head. So they they they pretty confident with who I am.
So but yeah. Since 2002, just in time for Pongsona. And now, it’s really cool to be able to say I’ve I’ve had a a daughter that’s gone all the way through the
Gary Walton: Yeah.
Josh Taylor: Harvest Christian Academy program from from nursery all the way up, through her senior year and actually getting ready to start her sophomore year at college. But, hey, I’ve got 6 more that are working their way through. So we’ll be here for a while.
Gary Walton: Josh, you were a long term 6th grade teacher, before we asked you to take on the the the principal role and the Lead Principal role. I’m not sure, do you have, former students now with kids in the school?
Josh Taylor: Yeah. We’ve that’s really been even the last couple of years, being able to see that. I remember, John, he, showed up last year with his son, going into K3 and, he was in my very first, 6th grade class. And then, I mean, it was just a couple of weeks ago with Bruno and his family came through and, with their with their child getting ready to go into, pre-k. So that’s really cool.
It’s when they, it was it was, two weeks ago when one of my, students from my 3rd or 4th year came through with his 6th grader. Okay. It used to be awesome. Oh, look at you. Got your 3 year old.
Okay. Now oh, you’re you’re you’re you’re 11 year old. I am officially. I’m beyond old. I’m I’m past the middle age.
Now I’m getting, borderline into cranky. So, but it is it it was very awesome to sit there with, with his dad Yeah. And with the son saying, hey, you just let me know if you need any any information on your dad because I because I got it for you. So
Gary Walton: Well, it really is a great testimony. You and Bethany, your wife is, the executive director of Harvest House. You guys have served here for a long time and the experience shows in so many ways with relationships that have been built and investments. So we’re thankful for that. Hope, you’ve been, well, you grew up on Guam but been back here in the teaching role for how long now?
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Going on my 8th year here at Harvest.
Gary Walton: Okay. And this begins your your 2nd 3rd year as, lower elementary principal. It’s been fantastic watching you grow into that role. Tell us about growing up on Guam.
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Well, there’s no place like Guam, that’s for sure. It has a very special place in my heart. I love the community that we get to build here. Kind of even echoing what Josh said, the relationships that you build, you know, it’s really neat, to see familia on the island, you know. I haven’t had quite the experience of having a 6th grader show up in the classroom.
But, you know, even my mom was an educator here at Harvest as well and several of her second grade students, I’ve had the opportunity to teach their children in 2nd grade. So just really, really special.
Gary Walton: We have a fantastic team, that God has put together across the ministry, but particularly with our our teachers. And this year again, in fact, I’ve told many people this is not just going on the radio. I’m just so amazed by the group that God has put together of qualified, excellent teachers that, love students, love education. They appear at least to me to love being here and teaching at harvest.
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Absolutely.
Gary Walton: So, we have a number of teachers that are long term, been here a long time. Josh is not the only one that’s been here a long time. We got teachers just with a lot of experience here. But then we have some brand new teachers. Hope tell us tell us about new teachers.
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Yeah. We have a couple new teachers here at Harvest who are really excited about this year and getting started. One of, which is miss Kords. She’s in 2nd grade this year, and I know her heart is so excited. We just had parent orientation and meeting all of her students and setting up her class room.
For her, it’s such a privilege to be here. She loves little people and loves investing in them and, she’s excited to start this year.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Yeah. It’s good to see that kind of represented across there. And then, Josh, we do have experienced teachers. Been here a long time.
Josh Taylor: Yeah. And and that’s actually one of the really neat things that the Lord has provided for us this year is we have I’ve got in, in 6th grade, I’ve got a brand new teacher who has 5 years of teaching experience, in the states and coming with a master’s degree, so incredibly thankful for that. In 4th grade, I’ve got a 1st year HCA teacher who was actually an administrator at a school in Pennsylvania. So new teachers so when you they see new faces in the classroom, we also have several that are new faces, but they’re coming from, quite a bit of experience, stateside.
Gary Walton: You know, education is such an important thing. It’s important on our island. We talk about this a lot. I mean, we care not just about the students that God sends us here at Harvest. We really do care about the education across the board of the young people, of Guam.
As we get ready to launch, in fact, our our church family will gather praying for specific students that are going to be here at Harvest. But at the same time, we’re praying for teachers all across the island and you know, multiple different schools. We have teachers, that are members here of the church, that are teachers in other schools and GDOE systems, and so we’re burdened for that. There’s a, there’s a lot of challenges to education, right now. A lot of opportunities, but some challenges too.
Anything specific you guys could talk about that, you know, just are things that we’re trying to work through?
Josh Taylor: The the biggest thing by far is always getting, that individual teachers getting their classrooms set up. Mhmm. And, so it is it is fantastic to see to see the transformation that goes from 3 days before, parent orientation to, 2 days to one day to it’s here, and the rooms look just sparkly clean. And, they very few people get to see the before picture. And so I was talking with one teacher as well.
I was like, this you’ve you’ve done so much work in this classroom in the last 72 hours while when we came in, and we had to the lockers were the lockers were genuinely upside down. So because of new carpets, and so the furniture gets moved. And then, every yeah. It just gets it gets, it gets rearranged. And so to be able to take it from I’ve got upside down lockers and missing furniture to you can’t even tell that anything was happening in here, and it’s just looking fantastic.
So that is that is a big deal, and we’re very thankful for our facilities department and all that they do.
Gary Walton: Yeah. They really have put in a lot of time and work. Campus looks great.
Josh Taylor: Yep. Very thankful for that.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Hope, so I was walking around talking with some kids, students, parents yesterday. They’re excited. Tell me what a teacher is feeling kind of getting ready for the 1st day of school. I don’t know everybody’s different, but are they excited?
Are they scared? You know, what’s going on in the in the mind of a teacher?
Hope Fahoyelmarey: In the mind of a teacher. There’s a elementary book that a lot of us read on the 1st day of school called The First Day Jitters. And I think just across the board, that’s just what you feel. You have a little bit of excitement, nervousness. You’re thrilled for what this year holds, but also, you know, a little nervous.
You’re not sure what, you’re getting into the first couple days. But really, we become like a family. In our elementary department, we have what we call our 3 l’s. We love God, love others and love learning. So we really try and exemplify that on the 1st day and get them excited about learning, excited for coming to school and hopefully they don’t ever wanna miss out.
Gary Walton: Yeah. Yeah. It’s so good. Well, we’re excited about, you know, full classrooms, here. Our, admissions team has done a fantastic job.
I think the story of Harvest is a story that’s, you know, it’s being expressed across the island. So we’re full. We got, in fact, waiting lists in most classes. We’ve got a few spaces in in, a few of the a few classes, but we’re full. Right, Josh?
Josh Taylor: Yeah. We always we we will never say no to interviews. We want families to come in because, again, that’s what makes Guam Guam is families, make their unexpected transitions due to a job transfer or, or family matters that, they just they need to go. So we’re we’re always ready and willing to take the interviews, and then we will do everything we can to to get you a spot. And sometimes, it’s a matter of waiting, a semester.
Other times, it’s a matter of waiting two days before we find out we’ve got an opening for you. So, right now, there are very few grades where we, with the magic of of Leah and her scheduling, miss Bere, where we couldn’t, couldn’t find a way to make sure that that we have a spot for you.
Gary Walton: So we’re excited about that. And the teams worked hard and ready for school to to, to get launched. Hope, let me start with you on this. So, a lifelong learner and teacher, God’s given you opportunity in leadership now. Why is teaching so important to you?
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Well, teaching encompasses so many different components. There’s a social emotional, there’s the academic lifelong mentorship, kind of what Josh talked about with our 3 pillars. Teaching is like a mentorship. You’re getting to pour, into these little lives and really see them grow. And our goal is to do it in a way that glorifies God, but also challenges them academically.
I think teaching is an art in a sense. It, there are so many different forms. There’s some are creative, energetic, all these different things. I think I just think teachers are just special people.
Gary Walton: Your mom, you said, was a teacher. Have you always always wanted to be a teacher or did that have to kinda grow in you over some time?
Hope Fahoyelmarey: You know, actually, I think she ignited that love in me, for, for me. I have a lot of experience with little people all throughout my life because she was a teacher. You know, our home was often open for babysitting opportunities as well. And just watching her interact with, little people, her love for them, her, she was a big advocate for them as well. Just watching her, really ignited that passion, I think, for me as well.
Gary Walton: Josh, I’ve heard you say I think I think I have heard this, that God made you a teacher. When did you know that? How did that, you know, come about in your mind? And did did God call you to that or just kinda…
Josh Taylor: It was, it was not because of the openness and tenderness of my heart. I remember sitting in a study hall as a senior, sitting next to Kayleen Briggs, Jeremiah Gross, and Elise Luke. And they, Elise was, okay, so what do we what are we all gonna do once we graduate here in a couple months? And, Kayleen, usually a shy individual, she was the first one to speak of and said, I am going to study and be a teacher. And I laughed out loud.
I said, you have just finished 13 years of school and you’re gonna go to college for another 4 years so that you can spend the rest of your life in school. Are you kidding me? And six months later, I was studying to be a teacher, at Northland Baptist Bible College. And, primarily, again, it was a process of elimination. Like, I wasn’t one of those ones that had long term goals.
It was a, okay, I picked a college intentionally, that I knew would shape me, and and then they also had very limited options of what you of what you could be. And so it was pretty much by default, okay, and that leaves me with teacher. Alright. Lord, I don’t I have no idea, why, but, but within, within that year it was it was very clear. Did a a a summer ministry at camp and then I was like, okay.
This is, I think God can use me, in this way and, yeah. Now, I wouldn’t I wouldn’t change it. It took me again, it still took me a decade to realize that God did make me a teacher, because it wasn’t a it wasn’t an innate skill. It wasn’t just something I was I was good at. You have to work quite quite hard at it, but you gotta let God, work in your heart because education is not the it it doesn’t put you really high on the prestige pole, except in the lives of those students
Gary Walton: Right. That’s it.
Josh Taylor: That we all look back. And when you say who would what who’s who’s who’s a teacher that made a, impact on your life and it is almost universal. There is a name that comes to mind or there’s one or two names that come to mind. It’s like, okay. God, if you can let me be one of those people to somebody, then that’s what makes education worth it.
Gary Walton: Yeah. I ask that question a lot to people. You know, in your life when you look back, who are the top 3, 4, 5 people that had the most influence on you and what was it about them? And I love that question because it helps me. It challenges me every time.
But it’s not unusual for that name to be a teacher. Mhmm. And, and I’ve said this a lot of different times, but, it’s all all there’s almost always some similarities in the name of the influencer. One is that they knew what they’re doing as far as a teacher. So, they were excellent in their ability of knowledge of the subject matter and the ability to communicate that in a way that brought a passion, you know, to the student.
And then it comes with an investment of life. I mean, that’s it just happens every time that this person pressed me and pushed me in and that and that was good. So Josh, let me follow-up with you. I think it’s so interesting kind of your the track that God has led you. So early on, that was it.
You know, that teaching was the only option. You began teaching probably early on, felt overwhelmed in some ways, but also some sense that, hey, you know, I’m making a difference. How has that changed over the last 20 years? I mean, are the motivations the same today as they were, you know, in 2002 or is it different now?
Josh Taylor: Yeah. One of the passages, I shared this with, the rest of our teachers yesterday during our our prayer time, and that was one of the questions that I asked, when it was very, very cool to have, a group of 60 teachers in there and to say to them who are teachers that made an impact in your life.
Gary Walton: Yeah.
Josh Taylor: And, again, it did not take them long at all to think of name, name, name, name. And then to have some of our alumni who are teaching for us, the name that they give is sitting in that room Yeah. With them. It’s like exactly. If if I were to pull in my children, they would the names of people that they would say were the ones that were sitting in that classroom, in that in that auditorium praying.
And so, for me, it comes down to, really Matthew chapter 5, Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, you know, His most famous sermon, but the way that, the Bible says that in Matthew 5:1, and seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain and when he was set, his disciples came unto him. So here you have Jesus and he’s he’s going up into a public place. He’s going into a place. It looks like he’s running away. He’s not running away.
He’s going to the spot where the the crowds can gather and the people came to him. He didn’t he didn’t ask them to come. They came to him because they knew if I go to this person, I’m going to get I’m gonna get truth, I’m gonna get wisdom, I’m gonna get answers, I’m gonna get help. And then in verse 2, it says, he opened his mouth and taught them. So it wasn’t a, pastor nothing against the preaching.
Preaching is is incredibly powerful. Please keep on doing that. Be here Sunday. But it was in this in this setting, he opened his mouth and he taught them. And then he goes on to explain the beatitudes and that that, incredible the all the truths that he gave and he tackled the very tough topics.
He tackled the incredibly practical and it was just here’s here’s how your life can be fulfilling and here’s how you can change other people’s lives and here’s how to deal with, just all the all all the the the the tough things. I mean, hope. What she deals with is quite, quite different, in laying the foundation for the students in the k three to 3rd grade. What I’m working with in 4th to 8th grade is so much social, impact on each other and is how do you how do you interact? How do you treat each other?
How do you think about others rather than yourself? And then how do you plan and prepare for future? And then what Leah and Andrew are working on in high school is, like, okay, you’re you’re not childish anymore. You can’t be childish anymore. You are expected to be prepared in shaping you into actual adults.
And just that that challenge that it that it brings in it is just a, it’s it’s incredibly, relieving to be able to look at Christ as the master teacher and say teaching was not below him. It’s actually what he did and that’s how he turned the world upside down.
Gary Walton: Yeah. I, one of my favorite connections with the academy is, the the couple weeks around graduation. I have, a couple opportunities to be with parents and students, you know, on some of the events that are leading up to graduation and, of course, graduation is momentous for everybody. But, my daughter of course, graduated 2 years ago. So you have very close relationships there and and, you know, those just those just grow over time.
But I’m always encouraged and, maybe motivated again by the comments of parents that are coming to say, this was just the best decision we made with our children. And I can think back as I say that I think back on specific conversations, where I was, you know, after graduation, what the location was and people. Some I knew very well, some I didn’t know very well. Some had their students, at harvest from, you know, k three all the way up. Others, you know, I can remember a conversation where it started 2 boys in 9th grade and, so really it’s all along the way.
But just that idea that, the investment that we’ve made in the education of our kids and what they received here, I just wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. And I think it’s such a tribute to well, the leadership. I mean, you guys that are here representing the rest of the administrative team, the principal’s team, but then those teachers that are in the classroom, every day and, you know, doing the work, caring, caring, compassionately and sacrificially for students. It really is a sweet thing to be able to watch and see and experience and be part of that. Hope, Josh had mentioned, a few minutes ago about our in service or orientation.
It’s a little bit unusual here. We have a extended period of time that, we are doing some, you know, training, teacher training. Really excited for some of the things that you guys had, but then just the training of the heart and then judge just mentioned the prayer times that we’ve had. What does that do for our staff?
Hope Fahoyelmarey: Well, you know, I think, you know, we never come to a place of complete arrival. We should always be growing and seeking to grow and I think for our staff, it just sets us all in a place of unity. We’re all on the same mindset, the same team moving forward with the same mission and purpose. And, you know, at harvest, we have at harvest Christian academy, we have our 3 pillars that we really focus on. We focus on the content, which is the challenging academics.
We focus on our Christian environment. You know, we God we want God to get the glory in what he does, and we teach things from a biblical worldview. And then we have that lifelong mentorship. We wanna life touching life.
Josh Taylor: And I
Hope Fahoyelmarey: think that’s even kind of the testimony that we’ve been sharing today is just the stories of caring and compassionate teachers who are making a difference.
Gary Walton: Well, I’m thankful for you guys. I know we’re in a busy season right now, so we’re getting ready to launch.
Josh Taylor: Piece of cake, pastor. Piece of cake.
Gary Walton: It’s all under control. Thank you for taking some time. We’re excited about it. We’re praying together for you, with you, praying for these families and, these kids as they’re, you know, they’re gonna come in droves, tomorrow. Excited to be able to welcome them and see what God does this year.
So praying for you guys as you as we launch and then as we, go through this year. Thanks thanks for serving together with us.
Josh Taylor: Thank you. And, yeah, and if you could specifically pray for just good weather during Caroline, that would be fantastic. It’s kind of a harvest tradition.
Gary Walton: I was gonna say, but it would blow the tradition, Josh.
Josh Taylor: But last the last 2 years, we’ve actually had 2 years in a row. We are on a hot streak of no rain during the 1st 2 days of car line and, fantastic. So we’re aiming for 3 in a row, 3 peat.
Gary Walton: Okay. We’ll we’ll come back to that later to see how we’re doing it to 3 peat. Thanks, you guys. Really appreciate you.
Josh Taylor: Thanks, man. Fantastic.
Chris Harper: And thank you for listening to Harvest Time. Of course, at this point in the program, we always want to personally invite you again to services at Harvest Baptist Church. There are two services on Sunday morning, 8:45 AM and 10:45 AM. During that 10:45 AM service, we have Japanese and Korean translation. We also broadcast that service live here on 88.1 FM and khmg.org.
We do hope to see you this Sunday. Thanks again for listening to Harvest Time.