I wish I could tell you that it has been an exciting and calming journey since saying yes to CCS in Seoul. However, my emotions have been up and down like a roller coaster. One of my best, yet hardest, conversations that was the most encouraging actually took place the night I said yes. Presently, I actually really miss talking with that friend.
Anyways, the book I was reading at the time this was all happening was "Faithful Women and their Extraordinary God" by Noel Piper. It was about five women and their walk with God (again, thank you sooo much Erin for sharing this book with me). The first woman was Sarah Edwards, the only really God part here was the days I read it my 4th grade class was studying the Great Awakening in History. And well Jonathan Edwards, husband to Sarah, was a main part of that. So God gave me some added information to share with my class. The next,Lilias Trotter, was 34 years old back in the late 1800s, early 1900s when she went alone to the mission field in Africa. This part touch my heart, heck I'll be 37 and going alone, but with much support and prayer. Then came one of my favorite women and her story, Gladys Alyward and her amazing story in China. I had already known about her story, but reading at the time all this was going on was so God and so comforting. The third, lady was Esther Ahn Kim, whom was from Korea. And then lastly, Helen Roseveare and her faith and prayer. I wish I could share the notes I took from the pages, but then this would become super long. You just have to trust me when I say that God pretty much spoke through each and every page. He encouraged, calmed my fears, so spoke right to my heart on almost every page I read. It was perfect timing.
The next book I picked up to read was given to me by Karen(my step-mom) for Christmas. And once again it is perfect timing for reading. It is called "Seizing your Divine Moment" by Erwin McManus. I think the name has been changed now to "Chasing Daylight". Because of me reading this book and all the opposition and physical things happening in my life right now it is so clear that this book is really taking me somewhere I have not yet been. I friend said when she read it she went under some pretty heavy spiritual warfare, and I can tell you that it has been happening to me since I picked the book up and opened the first page. But bring it on, I know God is speaking to me and just confirming over and over that I am going to where He is leading me. Maybe He hasn't been able to bless me in the way He would want because He has been waiting for me to seize this moment. Someone asked me if I feel I missed out and haven't been bless because I waited to go. I don't think I missed out, I think it is finally time to go so God can take me even further. If I would have gone before now, I would have missed all the moments I have had over the past 9 years. I would not have grown or been blessed and touched by those of you who have been a part of my journey so far. I can't imagine you all not being in my life for either the reason, season, or lifetime God choose you to be in my life.
Ok, back to the book and the weekend that really caused me to think about starting this online journal now so that I would not miss any of the moments God has placed before me. Plus, now when they happen I won't have to go back and fill them in, I can just write them fresh from the experience and not as long either. I know you're all saying 'Praise the Lord' on that one. I know I tend to go on and on, but there is just so much to say and tell about. I know that is because God keeps doing so much.
It was Saturday, April 22, and I could not get to sleep that night. So I decided to read and I kept on reading. I was in Chapter 3 of my book called "Uncertainty" and I think I finally put it down and went to bed about 2:30 in the morning. I had to get up early the next day for church because I had a rental car and needed to take it back. (See my car had been not running and a friend let me borrow a truck of theirs- that broke down too and I had no idea what I was going to do about a car until I left for Korea. I asked many to pray for a miracle and it happened, an amazing friend offered a Ford Explorer to me to drive until I left for Korea. However, we were faced with a challenge at first with the car that is why I had to rent a car in order to get to work. What an amazing gift God and this friend have provided. One less thing to worry about and one more way God has confirmed this journey is His!) My friends were going to get me for church and while I waited I read another section of chapter 3.
Sunday morning worship through singing was good. We sang a song that I had learned for my mission trip to the Ukraine. I had been trying to remember it in that language numerous times prior to this Sunday but to no avail. However, I really felt God's presence this morning when I was able to sing the verse I knew in another language as everyone else sang it in English.
Then it was time for the message, wow....I could not believe how everything that was being said went right along perfectly with what I had read the night before. I knew at that moment why I could not sleep and that God kept me awake in order for me to read what I had. I just kept smiling inside. Then at one point in the message the speaker said something that made the person sitting behind me who knew what was going on in my life reach up and touch me. And then my friends I was with did the same next to me and were looking at me. I knew they were thinking that the speaker was talking about me and that God was speaking to me at that moment. I could not look at them, for they had NO IDEA how much I was being spoken too and if I would have acknowledged them I would have really laughed out loud in the middle of the message. I was amused with God, I smiled with a joy I had not yet experienced. The message was fantastic and if you'd like to hear it yourself, you can go to www.pathwayschurch.org and look at 'learn' on the homepage and then 'sunday teachings online' and then go to the message from April 23,2006. Allyson and I talked about it after church and I told her all of what I just wrote. We both agreed that God was speaking loudly and just confirming again in my heart that this is His journey for me and Him leading me exactly where I am suppose be. It once again in my life may not be where I want to go or what I want to be happening, but Praise God it is what and where He wants and that I am willing to be obedient.
There have been so many other little moments that have been just a little of what I just shared, but all ways that God just keeps giving me confirmation in my heart and the peace I was looking for. I know that I only summarized what and how I was effected that weekend and I know if you go and listen to the message you will say wow he was talking about her. But that is why I began writing now, if God does anything else like this I can write it down right away. If you have began to read this and will continue to read this then Thank You for sharing in this adventure and journey with me. May God bless you with Christ's abundant love as you seize each and every moment He has for you.
Wednesday, May 10, 2006
Overseas Inquiries
March 1, arrived and as I was heading home from work I thought about the fact that I knew my information was being posted with ACSI that day. Once I was home I decided to check my email. I was surprised to find that I had THREE inquiries already. I wish I could tell you all that I read them right away, but something made me wait. It was at least 20 minutes before I could read the emails I had received. The first one I read was from Beijing, China. I also had emails from East Java, Indonesia and Okinawa, Japan. I read through the emails and got a little more excited. The China one sounded amazing, yet my thoughts still went to Thailand. I knew they already said that they had filled the positions, but I decided to contact them one more time. The contact person emailed me back right away and informed me that another fourth grade position had opened up since we last communicated, he also told me that he had forwarded my information on to the principals and he would get back to me when he had some news. So Bangkok, Thailand became an option again.
At the start of this step of faith I did say I was putting everything into God's hands. I knew that they were always looking for teachers for overseas, but if this was not God then He could close all doors. I also said that I could only consider a position that was paid. So many had already helped me along my journey and I knew I had to be able to go and take care of myself. So I could only consider paid teaching positions. Beijing, China was a paid position so I decided to email them that I was interested. Indonesia was not a paid position and Japan really hadn't mentioned anything about the position so I asked them for some more information.
On March 6, I received the inquiry from Seoul, South Korea, and I stated an interest with them as well. And on March 8, I applied with Jakarta, Indonesia. So at this time I had shown interest in 4 schools in 4 different locations in Asia. Throughout all of March I was contacted by 15 schools altogether. The first 3 being on March 1 and the last 1 on March 31.
Most of all my communication with these schools took place between March 10-13. Most of the correspondence was with China and Indonesia at this point, just a couple with Korea. However, I had heard nothing back from Thailand at all and of course this was where I really wanted to go. On the 13th I had thought that Indonesia wanted to get the process started before they went on break the week of the 20th. However,I found it odd that I hurried up and got the information the principal requested but did not hear anything back from him. On the 14th, I really had been emailing back and forth with China and he wanted to set up a time to have a phone interview with me. Our emails were going really well and he had been asking me some pretty tough questions. So on Thursday, March 16, I spoke with the principal from China for a couple of hours. I felt the interview went well and he wanted to see what their enrollment was going to look like (see no teachers were leaving, they were adding a second grade and possibly a third grade class the following year). He also wanted to get some references from me. I was still surprised I hadn't heard from Indonesia and I also decided to check back with Thailand. Thailand did not get back with me at all this time (and actually as of today I still have not heard from them- guess NOT where God wanted me!)
March 20, I heard back from Korea. We exchanged a few emails that night. As well as me getting an email from China. Korea wanted to set up a time for a phone interview as well and China said they were still waiting for things. So on Wednesday, March 22, I interviewed with the principal from Seoul, S. Korea. I think we talked about an hour. He asked me some really hard questions and at the end of our conversation he said that he would like me to pray about it and if I had peace in my heart that they would love for me to come and teach their fourth grade class the following school year. I asked him if he had a time line when I needed to get back to him and he said no, just take your time and let us know when you have that peace. He said if a long enough time had gone by he would get back in touch with me. I remember getting off the phone at 9:30pm, I wanted to call my best friend, Kendra, or my dad and step-mom, however they were both on the east coast and it was 11:30 their time. I didn't think they'd appreciate my call at that time. I also tried Allyson, because she wanted me to call after the interview, and she had already gone to bed for the night. I also tried my friend, David, but again no answer. I wish I could express to you all the way I felt at that moment, but I can't. It was strange and I just felt like I wanted to talk to someone, no one physically was available but God sure was. The next day on my way to work I found it interesting, I was recalling our interview and realized he had not asked me anything about my class room management or class anything. All the questions he asked me were about my walk with Christ. My heart realized what the schools focus was really all about.
So I had an offer on my heart. I knew what the pay would be in both Korea and China. And well I set out to pray and to seek the peace I had wanted. I had been sharing with my class the process I was going through. And on Friday, March 24, I had asked them if they could pick which place I would end up going to what they would say. I really thought the vote would be for Thailand, after all they knew I wanted to go there, we had just spent a week studying it, and my friend came in and spoke to them about his trip. So I was very surprised that 11 of the 14 of them picked Korea as their choice. All they knew at this point was that I had applied to the four and interviewed with China and Korea. They did not know that I had an offer from Seoul. Karen, my step-mom, said do think that could be your sign. The funny thing is is that I could not get the peace I was looking for, but I really believe that was my fear inside keeping it from me. It is funny looking back, so many said they knew before I did that I was going to Korea (especially my dad and Allyson). I wish I could tell you my four days of prayer were good, but a lot of fear and emotions flowed through my every ounce of being.
After my usual Sunday with the Robbins, and Allyson and I pretty much talking about it the whole day, I decided I did know where I was going. I think I knew the night He offered me the position, but as I stated my fear kept me from the peace I wanted.
So on Sunday, March 26, 2006, I had no idea how my life was about to change. I came home late afternoon knowing that I was going to send an email to Seoul, South Korea informing them that I would love to teach their fourth grade class the next year.
And that is when I got my sign and peace from God!! I had sent the email to Seoul and then walked away from the computer for about 10 minutes. When I came back there was an email from Indonesia. They had wanted to interview me and call some references because they were interested in offering me a position. The principal wrote that he didn't think I received his last email and since they were back from break he wanted to get things rolling. So he had included the email he sent me. He actually wrote me back right away on the 13th, but I never received the email. I said I had step away from the computer for 10 minutes, but in fact Indonesia was emailing me right as I was emailing Korea my yes. I know God kept that email from me. I should have interviewed with Indonesia the week I interviewed with China and way before Korea. And they would have offered me a job and I know I would have taken it. This was a huge confirmation that I was going where God wanted me to go, not where I wanted. This makes this whole adventure that much more amazing.
So Centennial Christian School in Seoul, South Korea, here I come. The interesting thing is that it is the only school of the four I applied that does not have the word International in it. I am going to attach the first email Mr. L sent me from CCS in Seoul, telling me about the school.
At the start of this step of faith I did say I was putting everything into God's hands. I knew that they were always looking for teachers for overseas, but if this was not God then He could close all doors. I also said that I could only consider a position that was paid. So many had already helped me along my journey and I knew I had to be able to go and take care of myself. So I could only consider paid teaching positions. Beijing, China was a paid position so I decided to email them that I was interested. Indonesia was not a paid position and Japan really hadn't mentioned anything about the position so I asked them for some more information.
On March 6, I received the inquiry from Seoul, South Korea, and I stated an interest with them as well. And on March 8, I applied with Jakarta, Indonesia. So at this time I had shown interest in 4 schools in 4 different locations in Asia. Throughout all of March I was contacted by 15 schools altogether. The first 3 being on March 1 and the last 1 on March 31.
Most of all my communication with these schools took place between March 10-13. Most of the correspondence was with China and Indonesia at this point, just a couple with Korea. However, I had heard nothing back from Thailand at all and of course this was where I really wanted to go. On the 13th I had thought that Indonesia wanted to get the process started before they went on break the week of the 20th. However,I found it odd that I hurried up and got the information the principal requested but did not hear anything back from him. On the 14th, I really had been emailing back and forth with China and he wanted to set up a time to have a phone interview with me. Our emails were going really well and he had been asking me some pretty tough questions. So on Thursday, March 16, I spoke with the principal from China for a couple of hours. I felt the interview went well and he wanted to see what their enrollment was going to look like (see no teachers were leaving, they were adding a second grade and possibly a third grade class the following year). He also wanted to get some references from me. I was still surprised I hadn't heard from Indonesia and I also decided to check back with Thailand. Thailand did not get back with me at all this time (and actually as of today I still have not heard from them- guess NOT where God wanted me!)
March 20, I heard back from Korea. We exchanged a few emails that night. As well as me getting an email from China. Korea wanted to set up a time for a phone interview as well and China said they were still waiting for things. So on Wednesday, March 22, I interviewed with the principal from Seoul, S. Korea. I think we talked about an hour. He asked me some really hard questions and at the end of our conversation he said that he would like me to pray about it and if I had peace in my heart that they would love for me to come and teach their fourth grade class the following school year. I asked him if he had a time line when I needed to get back to him and he said no, just take your time and let us know when you have that peace. He said if a long enough time had gone by he would get back in touch with me. I remember getting off the phone at 9:30pm, I wanted to call my best friend, Kendra, or my dad and step-mom, however they were both on the east coast and it was 11:30 their time. I didn't think they'd appreciate my call at that time. I also tried Allyson, because she wanted me to call after the interview, and she had already gone to bed for the night. I also tried my friend, David, but again no answer. I wish I could express to you all the way I felt at that moment, but I can't. It was strange and I just felt like I wanted to talk to someone, no one physically was available but God sure was. The next day on my way to work I found it interesting, I was recalling our interview and realized he had not asked me anything about my class room management or class anything. All the questions he asked me were about my walk with Christ. My heart realized what the schools focus was really all about.
So I had an offer on my heart. I knew what the pay would be in both Korea and China. And well I set out to pray and to seek the peace I had wanted. I had been sharing with my class the process I was going through. And on Friday, March 24, I had asked them if they could pick which place I would end up going to what they would say. I really thought the vote would be for Thailand, after all they knew I wanted to go there, we had just spent a week studying it, and my friend came in and spoke to them about his trip. So I was very surprised that 11 of the 14 of them picked Korea as their choice. All they knew at this point was that I had applied to the four and interviewed with China and Korea. They did not know that I had an offer from Seoul. Karen, my step-mom, said do think that could be your sign. The funny thing is is that I could not get the peace I was looking for, but I really believe that was my fear inside keeping it from me. It is funny looking back, so many said they knew before I did that I was going to Korea (especially my dad and Allyson). I wish I could tell you my four days of prayer were good, but a lot of fear and emotions flowed through my every ounce of being.
After my usual Sunday with the Robbins, and Allyson and I pretty much talking about it the whole day, I decided I did know where I was going. I think I knew the night He offered me the position, but as I stated my fear kept me from the peace I wanted.
So on Sunday, March 26, 2006, I had no idea how my life was about to change. I came home late afternoon knowing that I was going to send an email to Seoul, South Korea informing them that I would love to teach their fourth grade class the next year.
And that is when I got my sign and peace from God!! I had sent the email to Seoul and then walked away from the computer for about 10 minutes. When I came back there was an email from Indonesia. They had wanted to interview me and call some references because they were interested in offering me a position. The principal wrote that he didn't think I received his last email and since they were back from break he wanted to get things rolling. So he had included the email he sent me. He actually wrote me back right away on the 13th, but I never received the email. I said I had step away from the computer for 10 minutes, but in fact Indonesia was emailing me right as I was emailing Korea my yes. I know God kept that email from me. I should have interviewed with Indonesia the week I interviewed with China and way before Korea. And they would have offered me a job and I know I would have taken it. This was a huge confirmation that I was going where God wanted me to go, not where I wanted. This makes this whole adventure that much more amazing.
So Centennial Christian School in Seoul, South Korea, here I come. The interesting thing is that it is the only school of the four I applied that does not have the word International in it. I am going to attach the first email Mr. L sent me from CCS in Seoul, telling me about the school.
Dear Miss Morton:
After reading your file, posted on the ACSI site, we were wondering if you would be interested in learning about our school. We believe your diverse experience in teaching would be a blessing for our students. We are looking for an experienced, strong teacher, for our fourth grade class. We are a small school of 125 students, in grades K-12. We teach a standard American based curriculum, while presenting a Christian world view to our students. We are a WASC accredited school and a member of ACSI. Our first priority is the salvation of students and their families. Then, by God's grace, we disciple our students and encourage their witness in the world around them. All our faculty and staff are followers of Christ, commited to prayer and Bible study. During the last two years, our students and faculty, have taken mission trips to the Philippines and participated in ministry around the city of Seoul.
The students come from a variety of homes. Around 95 % of our students are ethnically Korean. Approximately a quarter of the students are Christians. Many come from Buddhist backgrounds. Parents bring their children to our school to learn to develop their English language fluency and prepare them to enter American universities.
God has blessed this school with fruit in the lives of the students, families and faculty. Many students return to share their "new found" faith in Jesus Christ. With your background in Christian education, a commitment to teach and a desire to serve our Lord on the mission field, we wonder if you would consider our school.
If you would be interested in serving at CCS, please send a resume, 3 references and your desired class grade level. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Jim La Salandra
Centennial Christian School, Principal
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)