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PROTECTING HOMESCHOOL
FREEDOM IN IOWA
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Serving Our Community
BY PHYLLIS TITUS, HOMESCHOOL TEEN SERVE PRESIDENT
The three simple words of the re-
scheduled 2021 Homeschool
Iowa Conference theme, “We Will
Reap,” are a powerful reminder of the com-
mon goal uniting all homeschoolers: We
all want the best for our children, and we
want each of them to reach the full po-
tential for which God created them. We
all chose homeschooling because we be-
lieved it was the best way to prepare them
for life beyond high school, and we want to
know that all our efforts will one day pay
off, and that “at the proper time, we will
reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
That goal keeps us going through all the
seasons of homeschooling, and it’s the rea-
son why we pour ourselves into building a
homeschool program that balances aca-
demics, spiritual training, and extracurricular
activities tailored to each child’s individual
needs. And when they find that something
is lacking in that program, homeschooling
parents make it happen, especially if they
believe it to be important in helping each
child reach his or her God-given potential.
Even when it stretches them beyond com-
prehension and requires a level of sacrifice
they never thought possible, they step out
in faith and make it happen.
That’s where two other homeschooling
moms and I were in the summer of 2006.
Our teens were doing well, balancing aca-
demics with various church and extracur-
ricular activities, but we were concerned
that they could become self-focused, and
we wanted to open their eyes to the needs
of others in our community. We wanted
them to become “others centered” as they
grew into adults, and we wanted them to
experience the joy of being the hands and
feet of Jesus for others less fortunate. But
when we found nothing in the Omaha area
that fit with these specific goals, we de-
cided to pool our efforts and start planning
community service projects for our teens.
We shared our plans with friends, and by
the time we gathered for our first project
in September, sixteen other homeschool
families with 28 teens were on board.
We loved seeing our homeschooled
teens serving together at our monthly
projects, and so did they. The joy of serv-