In what, to me, seemed like a bizarre
string of events, that I realize now can only be the hand of my Maker, I have received
a re-placement of the school where I will be teaching in China. Many of you
have taken a concern in this process and have lifted me up to my Dad on
numerous occasions. Some of you have been with me for those (not so rare)
freak-out moments I have had as I receive news of a “kink” in the process. Others
have faithfully waited for me to give long-promised details, of which I have
not been very forthcoming.
Throughout this
entire process it has been the unbreakable positive spirit of my friend Katie
that has kept me going. Other than Dad, she’s been the one who’s been there for
me. Katie is also planning to teach in China with the same organization I’m
going through. In fact, it was Katie who told me about AYC in the first place. Through
the Father’s doing, we were placed at the same school in the Henan province,
but just last night we received an email from our school coordinator saying
that our work permits had been denied. This means that we cannot teach in the
Henan province. As I sat on my bed freaking out about whether I was going to
China or not, Katie simply said something to the effect of, “Well, it’s time for
us to get new placements.” We read in Heb. 11:1 that, “Faith is the confidence
that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things
we cannot see.” Faith. That’s what Katie has. And that’s what I want. Katie put
it to me this way, “In seriousness, sometimes going to China does feel very far
away... but I guess I’ve just developed a "never give up" philosophy.
If Dad wants us there, He will make a way to exactly where we should be. The
journey just may get a little crazy.”
This blog, me finally starting it
months after I promised to, is me stepping out in faith. I hadn’t started it
yet because I wanted to have all the details wrapped up into a nice little
package before telling everyone. Where I’m staying, who I’m teaching, when I’m
leaving, I know none of that. But what I do know is that Dad is faithful, and will work it all out. And through this process Katie and I could really use your support in being lifted up to Him.
We’re definitely going by Dad’s
timetable these days. Today marks the 29th day since we were originally
supposed to leave the country. We won’t even be attending orientation in
Shanghai like all the other AYC teachers. We may leave in early to mid
October, who knows? Five hours ago Katie and I were both offered positions at Heilongjiang
Children's Center in Harbin, Heilongjiang province. We now have 12 hours to
email our acceptance of this placement, and I can’t even load their web site. For those of you unfamiliar with the geography of China, the Heilongjiang
province is the northernmost province in China. It borders Russia on two sides
and Harbin is something like 300 miles north of the tip of North Korea. The
temperature there is colder than Narnia’s eternal winter. Oh, and “children’s
center” probably means that we’re teaching kindergarten. =]
Anyways, I know my heart and mind
still need to be prepared for this journey. There are many details that need to
be ironed out, and I will post updates here as Dad puts them into place. Thank
you for walking this road with me. I couldn’t ask for a better family.
The Heilongjiang province is in peach, Harbin is highlighted in red.
