Snapshot 1: Spring 2019

“Mr. Lieben, Jon’s name has been dropped from my class roster yet again!” Sierra, one of our teachers, looked distressed and frustrated. “You have fixed it for me three times, and now his name is missing again. How am I supposed to post his attendance and grades when he doesn’t even show up on the grading website?”
“Mr. Lieben, I need help.” This time it was Maria, another teacher. “My student Jin is showing up in the roster of my 5 p.m. class even though she attends my 6:30 p.m. class. How did that happen? It would sure save me time posting grades if you could fix it so her record stays in the right class.”
In addition to other responsibilities on the Tai-Kadai project, Kaleb Lieben is our go-to person for information technology (IT). When our aging, poorly written software for student grading and attendance causes student records to vanish or appear in the wrong class, it is Kaleb’s job to correct the problem. This web-based program also tracks our student billing and revenue. Not surprisingly, the accounts-receivable reports are often inaccurate. Identifying and submitting lists of corrections to be made is a time-consuming part of my responsibilities.

Snapshot 2: Spring 2019

“Hi Lin,” I greeted our in-house accountant one afternoon. “How is payroll coming along?”
Like most Tai-Kadai people, Lin seldom shows frustration, no matter how difficult her day may be, but today I could tell that all was not well. “I haven’t been able to get on the payroll website all afternoon,” she replied. “Once the students come and classes start, I can’t do anything on the Internet.”
It was true. I had noticed that the wifi at the school was extremely slow during class hours. With all the students using our computer lab and teachers accessing the Internet for teaching resources, everybody’s access slowed to a crawl. Our student revenue and employee payroll programs are both web-based, which makes it difficult for me to be productive during school hours.

Snapshot 3: Spring 2019

“Sara, we need to close the 2018 accounting year soon,” commented Chloe, our school director, one day in early March. “Is there anything I can do to help you?”
I was at a loss for words. As the new business manager for the Tai-Kadai Project, I really appreciated her willingness to help. What I needed most was access to the accounting software during work hours. The school had relocated to a new building a few months prior to my arrival. In the subsequent computer reconfiguration, Lin’s aging computer, which froze up and crashed regularly, had sole access to the accounting software. Shortly after my arrival, Kaleb set up remote access from my computer to Lin’s, but with the school’s already overloaded wifi, this was an immediate failure. So, I was limited to using the accounting software only when Lin was not at work. However, with most of transaction descriptions in the Tai-Kadai language, I could make little progress working alone.

Snapshot 4: Fall 2019

“The new wifi routers are wonderful!” I commented to Kaleb one afternoon. “It’s hard to remember how slow it used to be. Lin got the payroll done in just a few hours yesterday afternoon even though classes were in session. It’s amazing!”
“Yes,” Kaleb agreed, “I’m really grateful for the funding coming in from the IT upgrade special project. Having the proper equipment makes all the difference in the world! Lin is loving her new computer and monitor. She hardly knows what to do with the increased processing speed and no crashes.”
“What a pleasant change,” I smiled. “As for me, I’d best get back to my office. Now that I have access to the accounting software from my desk, I’ve got lots of catching up to do. It’s such a relief to be able to work on the accounting program while Lin is here to answer questions and brainstorm solutions.
“By the way, Kaleb, could you please check the record for my student Jeff? He just disappeared from my roster. It will be so nice when the funding comes in for the new student-tracking program.”
“I whole-heartedly agree,” Kaleb replied. “The two big-ticket items on our upgrade list are the student-tracking program and updating our aging servers that keep going down.”

We Are Grateful For You!
A special thank-you to each one who has already helped fund our much-needed IT upgrades. With your help, each contributing what they are able to give, and all lifting up this project in prayer, we will soon reach our goal. Being able to work more efficiently will free us up to do what we love most—building relationships with Tai-Kadai people who have never heard the name of Jesus. You may not be able to join us here in person, but your dollars can be your representatives here on the gospel front lines. Thank you so much for being part of our team!

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