Have you heard of open.church?

Most Christians and even some non-Christians have heard of the Bible App. But did you know the makers of the Bible App also provide lots of great free resources?

They have curriculum you can use for preschool as well as training materials for the teachers! And it's all FREE!

Not only do they have resources for children, but they also have resources for church leadership!

• Develop me - Goal setting
• Church metrics - Great resource for pastors
• Online church - Start an online ministry
• Kids and youth - 5th-12th grade curriculum
• Worship music - Original music
• Creative - Graphics, videos, etc

Plus lots more! And did I mention it's free, lol! I hope you find something useful for your family, church, and ministry.

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Free or Low Cost Online University for Missionary Kids is Possible!

My daughter recently graduated from homeschool at the age of sixteen while living overseas in Belize. We were a little concerned about her continuing education but were trusting God to provide.

As missionaries finances are very limited, so being able to afford college as a foreign student just didn't seem possible and sending our young daughter to America without us was not an option.

The solution: Online university classes!

I started looking into different Texas universities that offered online degrees and classes. After contacting different schools, I found this informative website http://www.utcoursesonline.org/

I called and spoke with a lady who was able to direct me and helped me choose University of Texas of the Permian Basin as my daughter's home campus. I also came across this article claiming U.S. News and World Report named UTPB 46th in the nation and first among Texas public universities for online bachelor’s programs. 

I looked into their freshmen admission requirements  and since my daughter was homeschooled the entrance requirements were a little tougher. Also since we are currently serving in Belize, I wondered if we would still be considered Texas residents since the school fees are considerably higher for non-residents. In addition, we wanted to apply for financial aid. I called the school and the admissions clerk was very helpful. He explained to me that since we were still considered Texas residents with the IRS, DPS, banks, etc. we should still qualify for resident fees. To make sure, I also contacted FASFA and confirmed with a representative on the phone. She was very helpful and stated that we qualified as Texas Residents for FAFSA.

Once that major hurdle was out of the way, we started the application process. Thank God my daughter did well on her ACT exam because as homeschoolers we could not provide class rank or TAKS test scores. Within a month she was accepted!

Part of the reason we chose UTPB was because of The Falcon Promise. They promise free tuition for four years for Pell grant eligible students with an income of $60,000 or less. We knew we would still have to pay for her books, supplies, and miscellaneous expenses. We almost didn't apply for any other scholarships because most required for you to live on campus.

I'm so glad we decided to file for scholarships anyway. My daughter was awarded the Freshman Merit Scholarship Award and the Book Scholarship. We received the letter while our daughter was at our church boot camp in Texas. We almost missed the deadline to accept the award. The financial aid office was very helpful and allowed us to fax the acceptance letter along with a Home Housing Exception Certificate stating my daughter lived with us in Belize and would not live on campus.

Once she was accepted, we noticed she would have to attend freshman orientation and meet with an advisor in person before she could register for any classes. Well, that wasn't going to happen, so I called admissions once again. The clerk directed me to email to my daughter's advisor with our situation. The advisor was very helpful and immediately pulled the registration hold and advised my daughter over email.


So I guess the moral of our story is don't quit asking for what seems impossible. God is faithful and will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

My daughter starts classes next Monday, so please keep her in your prayers!

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Free Math Game Apps April 13th-16th only! By McGraw-Hill for Ipod Touch & Ipad

McGraw Hill states the following on Itunes app website: All of our Everyday Math Games Apps are available for FREE download during NCTM April 13-16 2011!
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/everyday-mathematics-divisibility/id428594346?mt=8#
I found 10 free apps by clicking on view more by this developer. When it opens in iTunes click see all, and then download all the free games.

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Free Foreign Language Courses

I recently purchased my daughter a Spanish course from Step by Step Spanish. It's the best we've tried and believe me we have tried plenty. My daughter is doing great! We have seen great results and she is only in unit 4. The actual name of the program is Programmatic Spanish. Since I want to learn French, I did a web search to see if anyone was selling the French version. Well guess what? It is out of copyright and in the public domain!
http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php
Not only is the French available, but so is the Spanish course I paid for!
http://fsi-language-courses.org/Content.php?page=Spanish
I almost feel like a fool for paying for something I could get for free, but I would never had heard of it in the first place if I hadn't bought it. It's a program developed by the government and covers 1 year of college Spanish or 2 years of high school level Spanish.  It includes the student textbook, instructor guide, workbook, and audio. Check it out!

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How to receive free faxes in Belize or elsewhere

I came across this great link while searching for a way to receive a fax from my sister.
http://personal-finance.thefuntimesguide.com/2006/06/best_free_faxes.php I signed up for eFax (free version not the free trial). It worked great! I received my tax papers very quickly from my sister.

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