2025 TransformNation Homecoming Retreat
June 15, 2025
From June 16th–19th, 2025, the TransformNation Teacher-Training Program (TfN) will bring together trainees, interns, and alumni from across Indonesia. For the first time since the program began in 2011, they will reunite to refresh their calling, with special guests from North America joining the celebration. TfN Director, Elly, explains more below.
The storm hit while the Mentawai team of Mentawai is crossing the sea.
Why is this reunion important and how can it help strengthen TfN’s calling and connection in the field?
The TfN homecoming retreat is something many teachers and alumni have long awaited. After four years of training, most interns part ways as they begin their field placements, serving for another four years in different regions. They often face hardships alone. With nine groups now in the field, this first-ever reunion offers much-needed time to reconnect, renew their shared calling, and strengthen the TfN network across Indonesia.
More than 100 TfN educators are expected to gather—from the western to the eastern ends, spanning over 3000 miles of the Indonesian archipelago. Together, they serve thousands of children across sixteen Christian schools and education centers.
How will this reunion strengthen the TfN network?
We hope this reunion deepens relationships and fosters unity among those serving in diverse communities. With each region representing different tribes, cultures, and contexts, every site carries its own unique challenges and opportunities. This gathering offers a space to share stories, exchange insights, and support one another through prayer and encouragement. More than that, it’s a chance to strengthen the wider TfN network: connecting students, interns, alumni, leadership at the Lab School, and MSI supporters who make this ministry possible. Although we serve in different roles and regions, we are united in vision and purpose.
What are the core workshops and services participants can look forward to?
We have designed five key activities to refresh, reconnect, and restore:
- Renewing Vision and Faith – Sessions to rekindle their calling, strengthen spiritual life, and address personal topics such as Christian dating and marriage.
- Site Sharing and Support – Space for each site to share stories from the field, encourage one another, and exchange lessons learned.
- Personal Care – Mentorship, counseling, work-related consultations, medical check-ups, and personal grooming (you wouldn’t believe how hard it is to get a man’s haircut in a remote village with no electricity!)
- Fellowship and Fun – Daily prayer, team building games, and outings.
- Connecting with MSI – A special session to reflect and celebrate with those who have faithfully supported the TfN journey.
In what ways has TfN’s vision been renewed since its founding and how will you share that at this reunion?
TfN’s core vision is Empowering a Generation. We empower future generations through values-driven education by training educators to serve with purpose, compassion, and integrity. Even in the face of challenges, we remain committed to reaching every child with love and hope.
This gathering offers a space to refresh participants’ minds and hearts for the journey ahead. It’s also an opportunity for the leadership team to reenergize and uplift the field teams. When the journey feels heavy, stories of resilience and shared purpose can reignite the vision that brought us here: to see children in every corner of the earth educated, nurtured, and shaped by the transformative love of Jesus.
What are the most impactful ways MSI supporters in North America can continue supporting TfN?
We’re deeply moved by every prayer, gift, and encouragement. Your support doesn’t just sustain us, it allows us to go into the most remote corners of Indonesia, where children desperately need to be educated. When you sponsor a TfN teacher, you help shape the future of education rooted in love, purpose, and hope. You are opening doors for children to know they are seen, valued, and loved. Your faithfulness is part of every story being written in the classrooms.
