Almost a year ago I was preparing to head to Ecuador. I was excited and nervous for the adventure that was ahead of me. I was sure of God’s hand and was thrilled to follow Him back to a place that will always have a special place in my heart.
At present, I am back in Iowa. That’s not what I had planned. I was ready to stay in Ecuador the rest of my life if God wanted. I don’t doubt that God wanted me there, but His plan was different than what I expected.
Now, after two and half months of being back, I am floored and thankful for how God has directed. Again, things haven’t turned out how I expected, but I truly see them as being better than what I could have imagined. How ?
When I arrived back in Iowa, God had provided a long term substitute teaching position at a local Christian school. The Spanish teacher had to leave for health reasons, so I had the privilege of teaching Espanol ! Obviously, I had spent the last 9 months speaking spanish as a part of daily life, but I had never had the opportunity to teach Spanish in a high school setting. And do you know what? I absolutely loved it! I was honestly taken back by how much I enjoyed it. I looked forward to going to work everyday, and I loved the opportunity to communicate to my students the beauties of Spanish and how the culture and language connected.
However, I had been planning on going back to school. Even as I was looking at different possibilities, another ministry opportunity of teaching overseas presented itself as well. Needless to say, I got a little overwhelmed with all the things I could do. I spent a lot of time praying and thinking and writing… decision makings has never been my strong point, so I was asking the Lord for a lot of wisdom.
My dad’s life has been a constant example- his life is devoted to making disciples. That’s what my heart’s desire is to do, to make disciples. As I was thinking about this, I realized that where I feel like I communicate most clearly, where I can most strongly connect ideas to the Gospel, is the classroom. I know that’s not for everybody, but for me, things just click in a classroom. I love spending my days with high school students, and it’s not just teaching them Spanish. It’s getting to know them, it’s watching them be amazed at the differences in culture, it’s watching them try to scare me in the middle of class and laughing at my reaction, it’s listening to them asking me questions about things that transcend the classroom, it’s investing in their lives.
Sometimes I make things more complicated than they need to be- my mom graciously reminds me of that. If God has given me a ministry I enjoy doing, it’s ok to enjoy it! I know that sounds elementary, but without realizing it, sometimes I connect going overseas with the more spiritual decision. That’s not right. The Lord knows my heart, and He knows that I am willing to go when He wants. But there are a lot of young hearts here in Iowa that need encouragement too.
I met with my Pastor too, to get his counsel about the future. He told me it’s clear God has given me a joy in teaching, so that’s what I should invest in doing. That helped rule out going back to school. I haven’t given up studying counseling. I have discovered there are different ways I can study to get a certification in Biblical counseling that don’t entail going back to school full time.
Literally 5 minutes after I got home from talking with my pastor, I received a call from the school I was subbing at asking if I would be a full-time Spanish teacher there next fall. I laughed out loud! God was making His direction clear.
As you can probably guess by now, I have decided to stay in Iowa and become a full time Spanish teacher. I couldn’t be happier! God has done this, has brought this about in the life He has given me, and I am looking forward to this next chapter.
O fear the Lord, you His saints [revere and worship Him]! For there is no want to those who truly revere and worship Him with godly fear.
The young lions lack food and suffer hunger, but they who seek (inquire of and require) the Lord [by right of their need and on the authority of His Word], none of them shall lack any beneficial thing.
Psalm 34:9-10
