Recently, Navi had the awesome opportunity to travel the globe in celebration of the 25th school year at NorthStar Academy. He left the USA and headed to Malaysia. While in Malaysia, he was able to visit numerous students taking NorthStar courses who are also enrolled in other schools. He was able to hang out with students, take photos with them, and even eat lunch with them. He also had the opportunity to visit a few NorthStar families during some of his travels. He was welcomed into the home of one of these families and was able to sample many different types of fruit. He was particularly a fan of mangosteen. It was so much fun trying something new! He also visited the beach and took tours of many different school campuses during his time in Kuala Lumpur and Penang.
Navi also visited the country of Thailand, specifically Chiang Mai and Bangkok. While there, he met more students and families from NorthStar! Navi was able to take NorthStar t-shirts and stickers with him, which he passed out to the students. He also saw students’ artwork, visited their classrooms, and took several elbow pictures. There were many hugs, laughs, and fun times had by all on this trip.
One of Navi’s favorite parts of the trip was sampling many different foods that he had never tried before while also seeing some incredible countries. He was able to once again sit around the dinner table with a NorthStar family and enjoy curry that they prepared for him. His favorite kind was Massaman Curry, which is a yellow curry. But, Navi’s favorite food was bubble tea! He was able to sample so many different types on this trip.
During his travels, Navi noticed that there are so many people who do not have a personal relationship with Jesus and do not believe that God is the one true God. There are many people living without the hope of Jesus. Instead, their hope is put in merit-based actions, statues, temples, and other gods. The darkness and lack of hope for so many people was overwhelming to see. It is very much a fear-based culture. In fact, the average amount of time it takes for a person raised with merit-based religious guidelines to decide to be a Christ-follower is about 12 years of contact with the gospel.
On the other hand, Navi was also able to hear about the different ministries that our families and schools are working with while there. Navi noticed that God is doing amazing things and working in every school that he visited during his travels. God has called some incredible leaders and teachers to Christian education across the globe. Navi is excited to see how all of these schools will network with one another, encourage one another, support one another, and provide resources for one another to develop a professional learning community
We have such a diverse body of Christ and NorthStar has an incredibly special role to play. It was so exciting to see that God is using openly Christian schools to minister to their communities and to see such a big world picture through NorthStar. One of the founders of a school that we visited, the International Christian School of Nonthaburi, said that people will see God’s love when we are kind. True kindness comes only through Jesus.
It is always fun when you have the opportunity to travel somewhere new. There are so many sights, sounds, and smells that excite you and show you that the world is bigger than what you see on a day to day basis. We have a unique opportunity to see a big world picture through NorthStar. Navi really saw firsthand how big the world is, and yet so small. There are so many people out there besides the little places that we call home. There are truly no words to describe the greatness of God. We are so thankful to serve a God who we can never comprehend.
After leaving Thailand, Navi flew back around the other side of the globe to America. He spent a good amount of time on planes and in airports! On this trip, Navi was able to actually start in one part of the world and fly all the way around it. To learn more, check out our podcast episode! Click here to listen.
Navi celebrates NorthStar’s rich history of providing an incredible education, but more importantly the truth of who Jesus is and pointing students to him. Jesus offers freedom through grace!
We have created a way for all of our NSA community to have their very own “Flat Navi.” “Flat Navi” is inspired by the book, “Flat Stanley” by Jeff Brown, where a boy named Stanley is flattened and goes on adventures in his community. To access your own Flat Navi, simply click the download button below!
We want to see your photos! We want so see what a typical school day looks like for you- Navi at your desk! Or, as you travel down the street or across the globe, take Navi with you! We want to see how God is using you and what cool experiences you are going to have. For 25 years, God has been building community at NorthStar. You are part of that community- let’s allow Navi to help us celebrate with each other!
