Tim and Janice Phillips

In 1999 God brought Tim to the Ivory Coast to teach for one year to relieve a missionary teacher for home assignment. God brought Tim and Janice together at that missionary school and they were married. In 2005 they took a survey trip to Niger, West Africa where Sahel Academy is. They sensed the call of God on their lives to serve Him there. Together with their children, Mikaylah and Jayson, God has called and equipped them to care for missionary kids at Sahel Academy, a school for Missionary’s children.

Located in Niamey, Niger, West Africa, Sahel Academy ministers to missionaries in West Africa by providing an excellent education for their children.

Sahel Academy was started in 1986 and today there are over 200 students at this school.

For many missionaries in West Africa the school is too far away for them to commute every day so most kids live on campus and they provide the “home away from home”. The missionary families say, the significance of this ministry to their children is what helps to keep the missionaries on the field.

The students are from Eastern Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and Burkina Faso.

The dorm operates like a large home. The kids have chores to do, homework to complete and “sisters and brothers” to play and work with.

For a missionary kid, having to say goodbye and helping them deal with this loss in a healthy way is one of our most challenging jobs. Every night we personally say good night to each child to help meet their emotional needs.

Besides the drawbacks of family separation, these kids have unique challenges and also enjoy many benefits of being a missionary kid.

We all need to be “fed” spiritually, we also need to “exercise” through service. After chores each day there is family time when they sing worship songs, study and memorize God’s Word and discuss our spiritual walk. Bible studies are taught for each grade level.

Last year five of the dorm kids followed the Lord Jesus in Baptism.

Every Sunday morning they worship together either in the dorm or in a nearby African church service.

Every Sunday evening they worship together on campus at the Niamey English Worship Service where several of the dorm kids serve on the worship team or in child care.

These kids are involved in service to orphans and serve at a children’s hospital that ministers to children with clubfoot or cleft palate.
These kids are also involved in outreach to fellow students, African workers, and go on trips outside of town to reach the unreached through evangelism, music and drama.

To meet the kids’ physical needs, healthy food, clean clothes, comfortable places to sleep, work and play in a home-like atmosphere are provided.

Tim and Janice love what God has called them to do. They count it a privilege and a blessing to work with and disciple these amazing, beautiful kids.