French may be a thing of the past at Wauseon High School, but the legacy of the French Club will live on through the generous gift of its members. Last year, the remaining members of the French Club chose to disburse the club’s remaining funds to benefit WHS alumni and former French Club members. Kim Hackett, former French teacher, had many French students over the years before the school made the decision to no longer offer French as a foreign language elective. Mrs. Hackett retired at the end of the 2013 school year, but returned to teach French 3 and 4 this past school year.
Her students enrolled in French III and IV who had previously been members of the French Club were given the opportunity to decide how the remaining funds from the French Club would be allocated. The French Club students had always raised club funds through their annual fundraiser of flower sales at Valentine’s Day. In the past, monies earned from the flower sales were always dedicated to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
Deciding that St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital already has a strong recognition through its national network of fund-raising activities; the students opted to go another direction with the remaining funds. They decided to support two fellow Wauseon High School student graduates, both of whom were active in French. They chose to make equal contributions to both Matt Sauder and Ashley Freytag. Both of these students took 4 years of French in high school, studied French in college, and have traveled to France. They also have both chosen to pursue missionary work and have stayed in contact with their former French teacher.
As missionaries, both Ashley Freytag and Matt Sauder are required to raise their support for their missionary work in the field. Ashley has been serving as a missionary in Southwest Mali in West Africa where she is learning the Yalunka language and culture and reaching out to the Yalunka people to teach them about God’s love. She is a member of Crossroads Evangelical Church in Wauseon. Ashley has a blog she invites you to follow on her journey:
http://belovedcomeawaywithme.wordpress.com/. If you are interested in supporting Ashley’s missionary journey, you can send contributions to FEC International Ministries, 1420 Kerrway Court, Fort Wayne, Indiana 46805, funds designated to Ashley Freytag.
Matt Sauder and his wife Christine have been appointed to serve in the Philippines. Matt will be the English pastor of the Butuan City Free Methodist Church. Matt currently works with International Child Care Ministries, as well as pastors in Indianapolis while Christine is a teacher. Both Matt and Christine have a desire to love God and to love people. The Sauder family considers Indianapolis First Free Methodist Church as their home church. They have a young daughter named Chloe. Their anticipated departure date for the Philippines is fall 2014. You can follow their blog at http://sauderfamily.com/ which includes a link to donate to their cause.
Graduating senior Sarah Mull explains, “We really wanted to disperse the donation in a way that we knew would be going towards a good cause. Once Madame Hackett told us about Matt Sauder and Ashley Freytag and everything they have accomplished so far, we knew with the donation going to these two people that it would help to continue their great work in making a difference in the lives of others.”
The French Club students involved in this decision include (grade level last school year): Juniors Taylor Vernot, Ashlyn Boyers, Eli Becker, and Seniors: Megan Beck, Reynaldo Lopez, Derrick Kamp, Justin Mourguet, Marin Schaffner, Cassidy Wells, Sarah Mull, and Kate Herring.