Random? Nope. God knew exactly what He was up to.
My professor addressed the class, "Would anyone be interested in doing half of
their student teaching abroad?" With the idea of teaching abroad in the future, I figured I'd give it a go. On the application, I wrote down the first three places that came to mind: 1) Colombia (familia!
mi gente) 2) Australia (seemed like a good place to go) & 3) Chile (not too sure why I singled this one out).
Not even a semester into my program and hardly knowing what a lesson plan was, I turned in the application.
I was accepted into the program, but, oddly enough, there was an issue with each of the three locations I put down. So, I went back to the list of schools and locations, like a
kid in a candy shop. "Where in the world shall I go?" I tried a school in Kenya and another in the Philippines, but those places didn't work either. "Huh, what about
this place?" I landed on Alliance Academy in Quito, Ecuador and the rest was
history, as they say. :)
My time at AAI was a little journey filled with sweet learning experiences, fellowship, and mission. Right away, I was welcomed into a community of loving/responsible/adventurous people who not only poured into their students, but into their neighbors around them. They taught the Word of God and lived it with their lives. Planning, stepping out, walking into the unknown, playing indoor soccer, joining cultural celebrations, sharing meals, weekend excursioning, telling children about our awesome God, resting in huge dorm rooms, relishing the most excellent peers and master teacher to travel with, plan with, share life with, grow with... manning a booth at the carnival at the dump, listening to loudspeakers just outside my room, handing out meals..., going to soccer games, conversations, bus rides....All of it a rich blessing and joy. Going with God is always the best. Lord, Jesus, thank you.
"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and
assurance about what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Deuteronomy 6:5-7
"Since,
then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above,
where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things
above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:1-3
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