TIPS at Truro Anglican Church

06/12/2026

FREE!! THIS Saturday, June 13th at 10925 Millburn St, Fairfax, VA!

Greetings to All: Truro volunteers are helping Leighton Stradley's sisters giveaway book cases, desks, cabinet storage, kitchenware, microwave, kitchen drawers, coats, tools, dining room table/chair and more, this FREE!! Saturday, June 13th at 10925 Millburn St, Fairfax, VA! We would appreciate it if you could share this information with your friends and family with the hope that folks can come by and pick up what they need. NO COST. Attached are a few pictures of some of the items, but there are many more!

Again, the items are available for pick up this Saturday at this address: 10925 Millburn St, Fairfax, VA between 9 am and 5 pm. If you have a page, please post as well. The sisters need to clear out items in the house in order to sell it.

Thank you!!!
Will Rowe
Truro Men's Ministry

05/29/2026

Hi friends! A member of Truro recently passed away and his family would like to donate his household belongings (furniture, a LOT of kitchen stuff) to anyone who needs it. If you are interested, please go by the house THIS Saturday, 5/30, between 10-2. Here is the address: 10925 Millburn St, Fairfax, VA. (About a mile west on Main Street from Truro Church.). Just tell them that you are from TIPS! Check out some pictures at:

05/28/2026

Cheers to TIPS' 2025/2026 school year!

This year, we have spent time learning and studying English together. We have cooked and shared meals together. We have prayed together and for each other. We have celebrated various cultures, birthdays, holidays, and the Olympics together. We have traveled on field trips together!

TIPS has consisted this year of over 250 students from over 40 countries, close to 100 volunteers, staff managing facilities, childcare, accounting, and of course, operations!

The amount of time, energy, and effort put forth to meeting so regularly and consistently is notable for all!

Congratulations to all for such a memorable year!!

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05/26/2026

We continue to celebrate our volunteers! Today's volunteer is BRUCE MILLER!

A fun tidbit about him is that he was a student at George Mason, and in a bible study with the TIPS' founders Linda Sellavaag and Clare O'Leary when they started TIPS! How cool is that?!

Bruce is one of Mike's assistants in Level 3, and we can always count on him to be present for Conversation & Culture and Exploring Faith! We love Bruce!

1. Where did you grow up? "I grew up in Fair Lawn, NJ, near New York City. It was a Conservative Jewish family."

2. Tell us about your family. " I have one sister who is four years older than me. She is married, lives in Allentown, PA, has three sons, one daughter, one grandson, and five granddaughters. I grew up with my maternal grandparents. My paternal grandparents both died shortly after I was born, so I never got a chance to know them."

3. What was your dream job when you were a kid? "The first job I remember wanting when I was a kid was to be a teacher."

4. What is your favorite holiday and why? "As for holidays, I enjoyed lighting candles and getting presents for eight nights in a row for Chanukah. Also, I enjoyed Sukkot, or the Feast of Tabernacles, which comes in the autumn. We went into the sukkah, or tabernacle, decorated with pretty, colorful leaves and fruit, and had some cake when I went to Hebrew school. Also, Purim was fun as we used noisemakers at each mention of Haman's name as the Book of Esther was read. Also, I have fond memories of my grandfather conducting the Passover seder for our family."

5. What countries have you visited? "I've visited much of Europe, including Ireland, England, France, Monaco, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Croatia, Montenegro, and Greece. This was thanks to a travel club, the Shillelaghs, which has since stopped operating."

6. What is your favorite destination or what was your favorite vacation? "I especially liked Ireland, because the scenery was pretty, the people were friendly, and we had a coach driver/guide who told us a lot of funny stories and gave us a lot of interesting info as we rode around the country."

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person? "I am a dog person, although I also like cats."

8. If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? "As for a superpower, I would like to be able to magically transport myself from one place to another, the way they did back on the TV show, Bewitched."

05/23/2026

Volunteer Spotlight!! Ray Fleming serves in our Level 3 in-person classes, and Susan serves in our Level 2 in-person classes. Little did I know they used to co-lead our Level 1 classes! Mike stated that Ray is a valued assistant in his class and that he strategically utilizes his experience.

Below is our interview with Ray!

1. Where did you grow up? "Born in DC. Grew up in Hyattsville, MD"

2. Tell us about your family. "Susan & I have 5 adult children; one still attends Truro w/her family. 11 grandchildren. We’ve lived in Annandale for 40+ yrs."

3. What was your dream job when you were a kid? "Doctor"

4. What is your favorite holiday and why? "Christmas. I love all the seasonal traditions, like cookies/turkey, cards, etc."

5. What countries have you visited? "5. 16 countries, 30 cities. In Europe, South American, the middle & far East"

6. What is your favorite destination or what was your favorite vacation? "Outer Banks, NC"

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person? " Cats. Theo currently rules the roost."

8. If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? "he ability to respond correctly to EVERY Jeopardy question before the buzzer sounds."

* I also have a Zoology degree, & have had 3 careers: Chesapeake Bay research technician, science writer at the National Institutes of Health, & ESOL teacher for Fairfax County Public Schools & TIPS.

05/21/2026

TIPS may be closed for the semester, but that doesn't mean we can't continue celebrating our amazing volunteers who serve so faithfully! David Lee is one of them! You can see David in Level 1 classes in person, and at pretty much every Conversation & Culture, Exploring Faith, and field trip! It is clear we enjoy David as much as he enjoys being with us! Most recently, he brought a ton of Hawaiian shirts for our male volunteers to wear to our upcoming appreciation dinner!

Below is our interview with David!

1. Where did you grow up? "I was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. I attended grade school in San Francisco California, Seattle and Bellevue Washington, Taipei Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Kailua Hawaii. My education at the American School in Taipei and International School in Hong Kong was memorable for learning alongside students from diverse cultures."

2. Tell us about your family. "My older brother Eric lives in Minnesota. I always looked up to him but considered no one a personal hero. My younger sisters Sandra and Susan live in Kahaluu Hawaii and Seattle Washington. My family is ethnically Chinese, and I am a fourth/fifth generation American born in the Hawaiian Islands. When we lived in San Francisco my father served as a prison guard on Alcatraz Island at the beginning of his federal law enforcement career. I married my wife Taeko in Japan. She teaches Japanese language and is an online TIPS student. We have two sons, Eric and Vincent, who are in their thirties. I have no grandchildren currently."

3. What was your dream job when you were a kid? "I had no dream job when I was a kid and had no idea what I would become. There were times when I admired the sailor/sea-captain type character in the 1970s Old Spice TV commercials. I had thoughts of having beautiful wives around the world and having kids who would miss me and love me whenever I showed up. Of course, they would be happy and supported by me. Those were foolish thoughts of my youth and did not occupy my dreams. This did not influence me to spend 23 years in the US Navy and Navy Reserve."

4. What is your favorite holiday and why? "My favorite holiday is Thanksgiving, not so much for the food that has been prepared but for the gathering of relatives and friends."

5. What countries have you visited? "I have visited Canada, Mexico, Thailand, Macao, China, Korea, Turkey. During my military service, I lived in San Diego and Long Beach California, Honolulu, Misawa Japan, Colon Panama, and Maryland."

6. What is your favorite destination or what was your favorite vacation? "I still consider Hong Kong where I spent my teen years, as my favorite place. My favorite vacations with my family were in Thailand (1972) and China (1975)."

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person? "My high school friend left his Samoyed with me for about two years when he joined the Navy. I do not consider myself a dog person or a cat person. I prefer dogs and sometimes like cats."

8. If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? "If I could choose a superpower, I would pick time travel so I could share moments with friends and family across various times in my life."

We have lived in Woodbridge Virginia for 27 years, where I have been a member of All Saints’ Church.

05/13/2026

We had a talent show in Conversation & Culture this week (organized by Heather), where students and volunteers had the opportunity to share their talents with all of us. We enjoyed singing, dancing, instrument performances, and so much more.

There’s not much else to say today besides that it was a great event, and my favorite presentation was Cindy Day’s performance. I won’t forget it.

-Nahiroby Olivas

05/11/2026

It is hard to know how to show enough gratitude to the Bond over Bites team for the incredible amount of work put into our lunches this past year!

We tried showing it with a lunch last Friday that was beautifully decorated by our student, Cigdam, a fun certificate and gift for each participant, and a chef's coat with their chef's name on it for each of our Lead Chefs! It was a gorgeous day to celebrate, even topping it off with an impromptu dance party to YMCA!

The last picture is of Sherry and Hank, as Bond Over Bites is clearly their ministry and way of showing love to TIPS. They both work tirelessly, either recruiting and organizing the volunteers or cleaning up after every single event. They both are an inspiration for us all!

05/06/2026

I believe that every single person is unique, and each of us has something special that we are interested in. I also believe that we all want to share the topics we are passionate about. Some of us share freely, while others may not share as often for different reasons.

A few weeks ago, Heather had the great idea of creating a panel where students could share a topic of their choice with us during Conversation and Culture. There are three reasons why I am grateful for this initiative.

First, the students were able to practice their English. We had 11 students deliver complete presentations on a variety of topics. Their presentations were rich in information and visually engaging, and the students took on the challenge of using all the skills they have learned in our English classes—grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation were all important parts of their preparation.

Second, the students had the opportunity to practice public speaking. I personally enjoy public speaking, but I know it can be challenging. I am glad we were able to create a space where students could speak in front of others, challenge themselves, and overcome any fear they might have. Now they are more ready to go anywhere and speak in public with confidence.

Finally, the TIPS community learned new things. We explored a wide range of topics during the panel, such as synchronized swimming, pets, Iran, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, the Roman Empire, and more. Learning new things is always valuable and appreciated.

In conclusion, the panel has been a great initiative to create a space for students to grow in different personal areas and for the entire TIPS community to continue learning from different cultures and from one another.

-Nahiroby Olivas

05/02/2026

VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT! Sharon Webb serves currently in our Level 3 class, but has been supporting TIPS since 1998! She will co-lead our summer bible study with Bob Merkel!

See our interview with her below! And enjoy this picture of Sharon and her husband, Chip! Note the really FUN facts at the bottom!!

1. Where did you grow up? I was born at Ft. Meade, MD, and moved to Springfield as a baby. My dad worked as a Air Force officer with NATO forces in France, where our family lived for 3 years. We returned to Springfield, where I spent the rest of my childhood.

2. Tell us about your family. My twin sister and I are tied for the youngest of 5 children. All 4 sisters live in northern Virginia, so we are blessed that our large extended family can gather frequently for holidays, celebrations, and vacations. The Air Force sent my brother to California, where he stayed after marrying a West Coast girl. (We still see him a few times a year.)

3. What was your dream job when you were a kid? As a little child, I thought it would be great to be an elevator operator and get to ride elevators all day!

4. What is your favorite holiday and why? Christmas is my favorite holiday. I love the serenity of Christmas Eve services, the beauty of Christmas lights and decorations, the joy of family gatherings, and the wonderful news of Emmanuel, God with us.

5. What countries have you visited? I have visited Bolivia and Peru; Canada and Mexico; Russia and Kazakhstan; China; Australia; and many countries in western Europe. I lived in Scotland for a year as a Fulbright exchange teacher, and in France for 3 years as a child.

6. What is your favorite destination or what was your favorite vacation? My favorite vacation spot is the Outer Banks, NC. I’m a beach person and a water rat! Each year, we love watching the sunset on the dunes at Jockey’s Ridge, Nags Head.

7. Are you a cat person or a dog person? Dogs all the way! Chip and I adopted our sweet lab shepherd Holly when she was 7 and had 8 wonderful years with her (she died in her sleep at age 15). Soon after, we adopted Ellie, a hound terrier who was found in a West Virginia field with 3 puppies. Ellie has endless energy and joy, and gives us lots of exercise!

8. If you could have one superpower, which one would it be? Flying, of course!

Other fun facts: I was a semifinalist in the NASA educator astronaut search. (I got to the flight physical stage.)

I’ve twice passed the Jeopardy! candidate test and done the in-person interview and buzzer test. I’m still trying!