This is Marcus with his sisters on his 14th birthday.

My wife and I first met Marcus about 11 years ago when he arrived with his family in America. Marcus, you see, is a refugee from the wars in Liberia. His family was forced to flee to Ivory Coast before he was born, where they were cared for by the United Nations as war refugees. They were offered a chance to come to the United States in 2004, where they were settled in St. Louis. Like many other African refugees in St. Louis, they heard about the church we attend, New City Fellowship, and began attending. My wife and I were active in our church’s tutoring ministry and I am a deacon in the church, tasked with caring for the physical needs of our attendees. We wound up heavily involved in Marcus’ family’s lives, and now Marcus and his two sisters live with us.

The City of St. Louis offers few educational resources for its citizens. Many of the St. Louis Public Schools have lost their state accreditation and those that are recognized by the state struggle with severe discipline problems in their student population. Marcus and his younger sister Rebecca have been attending a charter school since the first grade, but now that his high school years are here, the choices are bleak.

This past year we looked at a number of private schools in the St. Louis Area, and Marcus applied to and was accepted by St. John Vianney, a Catholic school with a good reputation for academics and a good athletics program as well. It is Marcus’ ambition to be a soccer super star and play in the World Cup for Ivory Coast, which he regards as his African home.

Marcus was awarded tuition assistance of $3000, which leaves $10,400 left to pay, an amount my wife and I simply do not have. We are already paying about $3500 per year for his older sister’s schooling and the transporting of three teenagers to school and activities every day is wearing out our two automobiles, a 1986 Cadillac with 316 thousand miles on it and a 1995 GMC van with 253 thousand miles on it. We are happy to give ourselves to our three African children (our four natural children are grown), but we do need help. If 100 of our friends will donate $100, we will have enough to pay for Marcus’ first year at Vianney High School. Please help us bless Marcus with a good education. Thank you!