Thank you for taking the time to hear about our work in East Asia. We have been here a total of TEN years (hallelujah) If you want to know more about how I ended up coming to Asia, and a snapshot of what Father has done so far, please read on.
The Call:
I was in my last semester of college about to graduate with a dual degree in Early Childhood Edu and Early Childhood Special Edu. I knew that I was called to overseas missions work but didn’t know where. I had felt a call to Africa but every NGO that I contacted ended up not working out. Saddened and discouraged I began asking God why this was happening. The people are few and far between who are just willing to up and move to Africa. However, God was at work. I had a friend reach out to me who was living in East Asia. He mentioned that there were many opportunities to teach and that I should apply at a school close to where he lived.
Asia wasn’t even on my radar, but I thought I’d give it a try. I emailed the school my documents not really expecting to hear back. Four hours later I get a response for an interview. My heart was racing. I began to think, “God, do you want me to move to Asia?!?” By default, I am a very impulsive person. I didn’t want to jump at this opportunity just because it was exciting and might work out. I ONLY wanted to go if God was calling me and leading me to it. I prayed for a sign.
Let’s go back a bit. With my degrees and working stateside, I loved early childhood. In particular kindergarten. I had most of my experience teaching that grade level. In my mind, for wherever I was going to teach, I wanted to teach kindergartens.
Fast forward to the interview…everything was going great until the interviewer said, “I might have some bad news.” I began to worry and think he was going to say what the others did (we don’t have any spots available for you right now…) However, he said, “The only opening I have is a kindergarten class.” My heart raced even faster than before. That was EXACTLY want I wanted. I thought it was too good to be true. I was still worried that I might be overthinking the whole thing. Like Gideon, I ask God for yet another sign. I wanted to be completely sure this was what HE wanted and not me just imagining something.
The next day, as I was praying and about to do my devotional, God came through yet again. The Devotional cam from i was reading. It was titled “A Perfect Plan” the whole devotion was on that God has a perfect plan for our lives. It spoke that He shows us steps to take along the way to demonstrate our faith in Him and its our job to follow his leading. The analogy used, a teacher teaching a class. After that devotional, I said, “Alright God, let’s move to China!!”
Fast forward:
For the past TEN years (wow, it feels weird saying that), Father has moved us around from teaching Elementary all the way up to post-graduate students. In every season we have seen Him do amazing work in and through us. For the past 5 years (from 2018-2023) we have had the honor to work at an international school in the Guangdong Province. Our time here has had its ups and downs, but Father has given us His eyes to see that He is still working even though sometimes it might not feel like it.
To the future…
Although we don’t know what the future will hold (do we stay here at this international school or move on somewhere else) we do know this: G o d is with us every step of the way. As along as we are seeking Him through his word and through prayer we AND relying on HIM in all we do we are on the right track. Please join us in praying that whatever the next season hold for us we will remain true to this one thing: That we love the L o r d G o d with all our heart soul mind and strength. That we not rely on our own strength but trust in Him and follow the path HE has for us.
