Love your neighbor

As a teacher of PK I love to intentionally plan fun and meaningful activities for my students. This week we have been learning about the parable the good Samaritan focusing on God's love for us. Three years ago I found a great picture that shows how the Good Samaritan is a reflection of Christ. Although my students developmentally are not really for big abstract concepts, I thought I would see what they thought of the picture.

As I asked them what they saw, most reflected on the Good Samaritan helping the stranger or the donkey. However after probing deeper they recognized the cross. As I asked them why the cross was there, a light went on for many students as they realized that the cross is God's love, just like the Good Samaritan is God's love. Although my students are small, I am so blessed to build into them a deeper and more meaningful understanding of God's GREAT love for us. 

As a time of personal reflection, I asked each student to draw a picture of them helping another person. The majority chose to draw helping a friend who had fallen and gotten hurt- well connected with the Good Samaritan story- and as I asked them if they were showing God's love, you could see their pleasure with knowing they were reflecting Christ to one another. As a representation of that love, I would draw a cross on their picture like the example. My hope is that  as they see their art, they can internalize that they can be God's love to others- just like the Samaritan!

My work as a teacher is more than teaching English or how to count or how to be a good friend. My job as a teacher is to bring each one of my students little bit closer in their relationship with God. I can't think of a better job in the world!

Things on my mind...

1. We started classes again on Wednesday and it was so great to be back with the kiddos! After a season of  working with a student teacher, visitors, lots of 3 day weekends due to holidays and just the general craziness of the Christmas season it was nice to be back with my kiddos in our normal routine.

2. Burkina Faso. Although we no longer live in West Africa, the events happening in that area of the world impact our hearts. This weekend there was a terrorist attack in Ouagadougou (try saying that 3 times fast) where at least one foreign missionary was killed along with many others. Although we personally do not know the family, we understand how an event like this can lead to fear, Spiritual attacks and lots of pain. Our hearts and prayers are with the missionary community as well as the Christian and Muslim population. Also, an Australian couple has been kidnapped. They live and work in the northern part of the country near Mali and are some of the only medial staff in the area.

3. The school is prayerfully considering starting a process of growth. Right now we are exploring options of how to make it happen in a organized and feasible way. Please pray with us as we seek God's plan for ECA's future.

4. Recently Colombian was named the happiest place on earth. It's pretty great to be living in a country where people are really happy. Although I have no "proof", this comes at no surprise as the Gospel continues to reach more and more Colombians and the Christian church continues to grow each year. The fact that I get to be a small part of bring God's joy and peace to this country makes me very, well, happy! Also, dont believe me? Come visit and we can show you first-hand.

5. New projects. I have been working with a church on the coast who is wanting to start a Christian school. This is in the very beginning stages, and it is still unclear how deeply I will be involved in the project, but it is exciting to see what God is doing and be a part of His work.

Visiting with leaders of a potential new school on the coast of Colombia.

All in all- there are moments of being overwhelmed and I feel a little of all emotions at the same time. I know that God is working and all I need to do is obey Him- day by day and minute by minute. God is doing awesome things in Colombia and around the world. Times may seem crazy, overwhelming, sad and joyful- but our hope can only be found in the Lord. Trust and obey.

Reflections on being a teacher

I can't believe that I just finished my fifth year of being a teacher. Especially because I never thought teaching was where God would lead me in the world of missions. I have been so blessed to grow each year, not only as a professional, but as a person and in my relationship with the Lord. For every group of students God has given me, I have learned from them how to love more, discipline with care, and really build relationships with students and their families. So thank you to all my former students and thank you to their families for teaching me!

Year 1- BCA, Bamako, Mali

I loved being your "auntie". You taught me how to love my students as well as help you love each other, especially in times of need. You taught me we don't all need to know English to understand each other. And you taught me that learning can be so much fun. You allowed me to make mistakes and you put up with my horrible drawing skills. You will always be my first class and I couldn't have asked for a more wonderful, challenging, growing year.

How abundant are the good things

that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you bestow in the sight of all,

on those who take refuge in you

Psalm 39:19

Year 2- BCA, Bamako, Mali

You have been my only all girl class and I thank you for the fun we had together. Every day I looked forward to your passion, your love for each other and the giggle parties (I mean you were seven 3rd and 4th grade girls). Through your love for each other you taught me that challenges can be overcome if you are willing to work together. Each of you have a special story of how God is working in your life and I was so blessed to see His hand give you strength in the times of difficulties.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3-5

All BCA at our soccer tournament

Year 3- ECA, Bogota, Colombia

Dear wonderful sweet students. Thank you for teaching about the joys of being a child. From your enthusiasm to explore to the wonderful art projects you created, God used you to teach me how to be a pre-kinder teacher. You also taught me how important family is in education and in growing your hearts to love God more. You guys are the reason I chose to come to Colombia and you are the reason Colombia will always be in my heart!

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23

Year 4- ECA, Bogota, Colombia

Thank you for being children of God's word. You showed me what it means to have faith like a child. From your desire to know God's word to your passion to live it's truth, you have taught me that God is at work in deep, profound ways in the lives of His Children. Thank you for allowing me to build in you a foundation of God's truth and to embrace His word with me. 

And he said: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew 18:3

Year 5- ECA, Bogota, Colombia

Only today I said goodbye and I know with confidence that God is at work in each of your hearts. You have taught me this year why we love others and need love God more each day. From your honest conversations about doing the right thing to the wonderful friendships you have with one another, I can see God is obviously at work in your lives. Thank you for your love of English. Thank you for your love of Jesus. It has been a blessing and a joy to be your teacher this year!

He answered, "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

Luke 10:27

Palm Sunday

The arrival of a King. People praising. Crowds participating, as well as watching. Palm fronds waving. Garments laid down. A joyful celebration.

Every year I have the privilege to share with my students the celebration of Jesus' arrival into Jerusalem. This year we cut out paper palm fronds and waved them around, danced around the classroom singing Hosanna, discussed kings, and, thanks to a team of high school students from the States, we allowed our students to ride a "donkey" (one of the high school boys on his hands and knees).

Celebration. Joy. King of Kings.

As I was discussing this important event, I was struck with the simple joy of child-like faith. As I continue to grow in my understanding of symbols, the entrance into Jerusalem speaks to me of fulfilled prophecy, Jesus' declaration of His Kingdom on earth, and the wonderful grace-filled salvation from His sacrifice. For my students however, Jesus' entry is celebration! Jumping up and down, singing at the top of their lungs, and child-like joy.

It makes me wonder if after so many years in the faith, do I loose my child-like-ness? I get excited for Easter because I know it is the most important day of remembrance in my faith, but am I jumping up and down in excitement? Am I on the streets singing Hosanna at the top of my lungs? Do I eagerly wake up in the morning ready to praise God for His salvation? Have I lost the child-like inhibition to celebrate just because God is God?

My goal this Easter to to be filled with child-like joy. No, my neighbors don't have to worry I will be waking them up sing (screaming) early in the morning. But I am asking God to give me moments  of joy-filled, child-like celebration- whether it be through praise music, some great food, or creating beautiful things... we will have to see!

This is my student's favorite Easter song!

And here is their version! (disclaimer... they were all crowding me and the camera.. aren't they the cutest!?!)

Christian Character Day

Every year October is a month dedicated to learning about people. The library hosts a contest to see who can read the most biographies. Classes learn about historical figures and many write biographies. And to end the celebration, elementary hosts “Christian Character Day”.

This is a chance for elementary students to dress up as a famous Christian Character. Pre-Kinder and kinder are Bible characters and 1-4th grades are post-Bible characters (missionaries, pastors, people of faith, etc.). Each class has a time to share with parents, then all the students across grade levels join together and share. It is a great time for my students to practice English- plus the love dressing up! Check out the cute pictures:

Many of my girls were Queen Esther

Classroom activity with parents (and grandparents, aunts and uncles)

As close to an all class picture as we could get!

Elementary small groups sharing about their character

That’s about right kiddos  

22 four year olds looking in the same direction=impossible!

Caught in between

I live in a place of constant tension.

I am very happy to call Bogota my home and I love serving at El Camino. I love the challenge of speaking Spanish, navigating Bogotian culture and not always understanding how to do simple tasks. At the same time I have moments where I long to be back in Oregon with my family and friends. Where I can read cultural cues, speak the language with only a small amount of confusion, and everyday tasks don’t consume my time.

I am happy where I am, but constantly wonder what my life would like life if I didn’t decide to follow Christ to Bogota.

I think this tension is healthy. I am here and there. I live in the present and yet long and wonder about the future. I think God placed me in this place to understand him and his purposes more. We as followers of Jesus are considered citizens of Heaven; the earth is not our home. We are placed on this beautiful ball of once-perfect creation to know and love him in the present. Yet at the same time we long for heaven and being in eternal worship of our savior- but he has said “NOT YET; I have work for you”.

Pslam 96:2b-3 says: Proclaim his salvation day by day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.

If that is not a clear command of why we are here on earth, I dont know what it. Our job is to speak of salvation. Act as if we are saved from the sin of this world. Have an attitude that we are redeemed.

We may be citizens of heaven, but our residency in this time is here on earth. I can understand. I can live this.

Why I love living on financial support

Two to threes times a month we receive a financial statement letting us know how much support has been raised that month. It is honestly my favorite email. Not because I know I can pay our bills the next month, or because I am greedy, but because I love seeing how many people God has pulled together to allow us to live, work and minister in Colombia. We have so many wonderful, faithful supporters, who not only see what God is doing, but are willing to financially invest in His work around the world through us.

It is hard to express in words just how awesome it is to live month-to-month relying on the body of Christ to support and carry out the work God has called us to, but here is my feeble attempt to share my gratitude and excitement of this topic.

1. It allows us to partner directly with the community God has given us.

By having friends, family and fellow believers supplying our financial needs, we feel they are just as much a part of God’s ministry as we are. When I get to sit with a high school student and pray for her, I know that there are many other people who are also with us in that time. When we get to lead and love on our students every day- there are many other people also showing love from afar.

At summer school I was able to teach my pre-kinder students about missionaries. They were so excited to learn about people obeying God and serving him. When practiced sentences, they got to say “Mrs. Trussell went to Colombia”.  I have no idea what seeds God was planting in their little minds, but how amazing would it be to have one my students be a missionary because of the seeds God, through our financial and prayer partners planted in their heart

2. It helps us understand the body of Christ.

In Romans 12:4-5 it says: Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

We many have the ‘function’ of going and working with Colombian and missionary families, but we both feel that we belong to our supporters and prayer partners through a very practical partnership. We would not be able to do what we do without the generosity of the greater body of Christ.

I remember a year ago at our training- we were in the middle of support raising and a lady came up to us and handed us a check for a large of amount of money. She explained that a long time ago friends of hers were going to Colombia and asked for financial support, and she did not give. Years later, the Lord reminded her of this and decided it was time to make things right by supporting us. It blew me away- her obedience to God and her spontaneous generosity. I felt I belonged to her as part of the same body.

3. It holds us accountable to spending wisely.

In this day and age of the credit card and instant gratification, it is easy to spend more than you make. By us being on financial support, we have an obligation to use wisely the funds God has given us through our supporters. Matthew 25 talks about using what God has given us wisely. It means more than saving and hoarding, but it means making investments in the Kingdom. We are able to live in such a way we can be generous with meals, activities and fellowship- to disciple the students we serve.

4. It deepens our faith in God’s provision.

Psalm 40:4 says “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” God longs for us to depend on Him for everything. It is so hard to live a life that shows we depend on God to meet our needs- not our own works or skills. By living on faith that God will provide enough financial support to meet our needs, we have to trust him. It grows our faith. It builds our trust in God and diminishes our trust in ourselves.

When starting this support raising process four years ago, I knew it would be a way to knowing what God has put before me. If I was able to raise the support I needed, then God was saying “go” but if it was a struggle, I would know God was saying “do something else”. The very practical “putting out the fleece” was one of my ways of listening to God and knowing if I was obeying Him.

 

These are just some of the reasons for support raising and each person has a different story and testimony of how God provides for them. I know that God has called us to this life, and we are to be obedient. I also believe that God calls everyone to different places and support raising is not for everyone (if it were, then who would support who?). I thank the Lord regularly for the wonderful body of Christ, and the people who directly take care of us, and are obedient to his word.

Thank you financial supporters.

Thank you prayer partners.

Thank you friends and family.

And most of all, thank you Lord for loving us and dying for us so that we may have a way to live for you.

To the students at BCA

Dear students and lovelies at Bamako Christian Academy:

A year has passed since we said our hurried goodbyes. A long year that has included a lot of unknowns and changes. For most of you, you have begun a new life in a new place and the memories of BCA are beginning to seem distant. It’s a good place to be.

My dear students and friends, know this: our time together- although cut short- was not wasted. I saw growth in you- as my students and my youth groupers. I saw you understand more of more of who God is and why He calls us to strange places. I saw maturity in your friendships and genuine love between each other. I saw understanding. I saw compassion. And I saw fun- oh you guys know how to have fun (chicken, anyone??)

Now that you are in your new place- whether it is your passport country or a new “home” do not forget. Cherish the memories of the blazing hot sun and red-colored dust that creeped into all cervices. Cherish the friendships you established and the fun times you had together.

But dont let that hold you back.

Having had to move forward myself I know what it’s like to long to be back in the BKO. Now that I have stepped away I can see what a beautiful representation of the family of God was BCA. We came from all over- some willingingly and some not-so-much- and joined together to learn. Some days were great, and others were a struggle-let’s be honest, there’s no use in glamorizing the heat and dust. I miss you all, but know that we serve and worship a mighty God who is more at work than we can even understand.

Let’s take hope that there will be a time again where we will join together in heaven and worship our Lord- in English, French, Bambara, and the mix of it all.

Let’s take joy in the fact that modern technology allows us to snoop and spy from afar.

My last word to you: keep looking up. See where God has put you and rejoice that He is in control. Use your time in Mali to make the word bigger to those around you. Extend the love of the tight-knit BCA community to your new community.

He is not finished with you,

Mrs. Trussell (Sarah)

Serving others

“Training for life” is ECA’s motto and infiltrates every aspect of our teaching, discipling, and mentoring. One big focus at the school is service and training our students to serve others as well. Every class from Pre-Kinder to 12th grade is given a local ministry to partner with and serve several times a year.

Nursing home

For Pre-kinder, kinder and first grade, they are partnered with a nursing home. Once a month one of the classes goes to the nursing home and visits the residents.

In early November my pre-kinder students went and visited the 110 residents at a nursing home. During this special time they sang songs in English and Spanish, joined the elderly for the exercises and colored a picture with them. They also brought with them a variety of fruits and parent volunteers were able to

For many of my students this was a scary event. They were frightened of the wheel chairs and didn’t understand what many of the adults were saying. That being said they persevered and were very brave (the word of the week). They hugged and shook hands with the residents, sat next to them and shared their crayons, and smiled while they sang. I was so proud of my kiddos and their maturity to love others.

Two students in particular really stood out in how they overcame their fear and shared God’s love.

One boy is usually very active and has a hard time sitting still or sharing. He sat next to a lady and for 25 minutes shared his crayons and did not try to leave. I was overjoyed by his patience and giving spirit. At the end of the time he went out of his way to say goodbye to many of the residents that the other students had overlooked. He was sharing God’s love in the best way he knew how.

Another child exclaimed as he walked in “I’m scared”. With only a little prompting, however, he went to several of the residents and shook their hands. He smiled at them and said kind words. I was so proud!

Over all our 2 hours at the nursing home were delightful. The children were cute and the elderly really seemed to enjoy the visit. I look forward to our second visit later this year.

 

The Jungle

Twelfth grade partners with a very dynamic ministry in one of the roughest parts of Bogota. YWAM runs a youth center for children two Saturdays a month called ‘The Jungle’. In the location there are a variety of toys, games, and even a rock wall. This has been created as a safe place to local children to escape from the stress of normal life and hear about Jesus.

On Halloween they host a very special Halloween party. For Colombians, Halloween is the darkest night of the year. It is the highest night of kidnappings, attacks, and even murder. For many Colombians they stay safe at home and don’t venture out.

God’s servants at the Jungle see this night as an opportunity to provide a light in the darkness. They opened their doors around 6pm and over 150 children entered, as well as some parents. Churches around the city send a troupe of volunteers to play with the kids, supervise activities and provide the needed security.

This year ECA was asked to join the efforts and about 10 staff (including myself) and 6 seniors headed in for an intense night of service.

For the first hour and a half there was free play- or mayhem- where the volunteers spread out and focused on the kiddos. After that there was a time of worship and dancing. IT WAS CRAZY. Kids were running all over, dancing, singing, and having a lot of fun. After the worship was a gospel message- telling kids that the only way to heaven is through Jesus. A few local churches had sent teams to lead worship and present the message.

I was so blessed to be a part of the craziness. So many workers from all over the city gathered and worked together to create a loving, safe, and caring environment. By the time the door closed at 9:30 all 65 of the volunteers were dirty, exhausted, and confident that God had planted many seeds that night.

I look forward to visiting the jungle again and loving on the kids that call it home. What an amazing place to serve, worship and love.

Burdened

In the past week 2 major car accidents have happened to people I know. Both have been far away. Both have been tragic in one way or another.

One happened to a friend in Mali that resulted in the death of a little girl.

The other was a cousin in Japan that resulted in her being in a coma.

Both are tragic. Both are terrible. And both have caused me to cry out to the Lord on their behalf.

Here is where being part of a global church is hard. When someone is hurt in Asia, I know about it, and it burdens me. When a sister in Christ goes through trials in Europe, my heart breaks.

I would prefer to hide. To not know about things. To go on with my selfish life, oblivious to anything but me. But instead, here I am, crying out to the Lord on their behalf. It is good- but it hurts!

This week I have been teaching my students about “big” and “small”. Today I wanted to emphasize big and use it to describe God. I used a song I learned last year at BCA to help my point.

OUR GOD IS A GREAT BIG GOD

Our God is a great big God… and He holds us in his hands.

He is higher than a skyscraper, and deeper than a submarine.

He is wider than the universe and beyond my wildest dreams.

And He knows me and He loves me since before the world began.

How wonderful to be a part of God’s amazing plan.

 

Today when I was walking my students through the words, I was dumbstruck by the simplistic truth. God is bigger than anything here on earth. He is bigger than my pain. He is bigger than the problems of those around me. And more so He is bigger than anything I can imagine.

And in spite of God being so big, he knows ME and he loves ME. He isn’t burdened by all the cares of the world. He cares for me.

Selfish me should know that I would get a “God slap” on my pity party. I should be honored to lift up my burdens to the Lord. I should be honored to know people from everywhere and join with them in petition. I should be thinking less of myself and more of what God is going to do through this difficult circumstances.

Pray with me. Lift up these two sisters in Christ. Celebrate that our God is a great big God and HE ALONE knows what is going on. How wonderful it is to be a part of God’s amazing plan!

Dogon Bible Dedication

One of the privileges of working as an MK teacher is I get to see exactly what God is doing through missions. One of the mission organizations our school serves is SIL- and we have several students whose parents are part of their work. Recently in Mali we had some major progress in one of the Bible translation projects- so I asked a friend to fill you all in on what God is doing! So here goes…

Hi, friends of Sarah and Ed! I’m neither one of them…sorry for the disappointment. My name is Kathryn (far right in the picture), and I am their neighbor. I work in Mali with an organization called SIL, and, as our website http://sil-mali.org/ states, “Our primary objective is to see that ethnic groups in Mali can make use of the languages they understand best - in their written and audio forms - for their spiritual, social and economic development. Our areas of work are: linguistic research, training, literacy and the translation of Biblical texts.”

Sarah asked me to write about the privilege I had a few weeks ago of attending the dedication of the entire Bible in the Dogon Toro-so language. This is only the second complete Bible ever published in a Malian language, the first being in Bambara in the 1950s. It’s the first complete Bible that SIL Mali has been involved in, and it is the fruit of almost 30 years of work! Needless to say, the dedication was a big deal.


My colleagues and I had not been certain we would be able to attend the dedication, as it required traveling to a place previously off limits after some of the recent troubles in Mali. Thankfully, as the time got nearer, our administration agreed that a small contingency of foreigners could go, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. I was so glad to be part of the group because I had looked forward to this for months. I work on one of the first steps in the long process of Bible translation, and I really wanted to see first-hand the beautiful end result.

Our SIL group joined about 4,500 Dogon Christians as they celebrated the completion of the Bible in their mother tongue. There was singing and dancing, of course, and plenty of speeches, including an appearance by the Minister of Education and many of his subordinates, which was quite an honor for the occasion. All of that was wonderful, but the best part of the day’s festivities was watching the procession that carried in the first Bibles. They were presented to all of the people who had worked so hard for its completion, all of the dignitaries received copies, and missionaries who had spent years of their lives working toward that goal, but who couldn’t be there to see its fulfillment, were also honored.

  While those moments were certainly moving, I found the next day’s  worship service even more meaningful. That was when the preacher had everyone raise their new Bibles in the air and then asked them to open to the book of Joshua. We watched as rows and rows of Dogon Christians followed along while the preacher read from the Old Testament for the first time in their language. It was a magnificent moment!

The Bible in a people group’s mother tongue is, in my opinion, the most valuable contribution anybody can make to the life and health of the Body of Christ among them. It is a permanent witness of the power, the love, and the plan of God. That’s why I’m here.

Pastors and lay leaders reading from the book of Joshua in Dogon--the first time ever to do so.

 
 

This man, Timothée Kodio, who worked for 30 years to translate the Bible in his mother tongue.

Dancing and music

The Minister of Education wearing his new Dogon outfit

why I love working with TCKs

Sometimes I sit back and say “I love my life”. Not because I’ve got all the goods. Or because I’m in love. But because God has blessed me with a ministry that fits me.


All my life I have wanted to be a missionary. I love culture. I love people. And I love to travel. Now I’ve entered the adult world and you guessed it, I am a missionary. But, my “mission field” is not what I expected.

TCKs or third culture kids are those that are from one culture, grow up in a different culture, but are not fully part of either.- yet can take identity in both. They form their own identity- in this case TCK. This can refer to missionary kids, kids of foreign aide workers, immigrants, refugees or anything of the sort.

At BCA we have only TCKs in attendance. Our school is in Mali and our entire student body has moved from a different country to live in Mali. We have students who are from: Ghana, Nigeria, Congo, Benin, Senegal, England, Brazil, United States, Cameroon, Chad, and South Africa.

  

But that doesnt tell you why I love working with TCKs…

1. I can learn about the world without having to leave my home or classroom. I have learned so much about life in Brazil- yet I never lived there. I have seen how Senegalese raise their children- yet I have never stepped inside a home. I have tasted Korean food- yet I didnt even get on a plane. The world is brought to my door. I also learn about different holidays and get to celebrate along side others. This year I learned of the fun of Guy Fawkes night- aka BONFIRE :)

2. I love seeing how the Bible can bring people together. I have been leading a girls Bible study for the high school students and although we study in English- I have girls from England, The United States, Germany and Ethiopia. As we dive into the word together and discuss it is fun to hear different understandings, yet the unified word of God.

3. I love the fun that comes from the intersection of cultures. Any given day we can be playing mancala (an African game) in French and English with three different sets of rules (maybe not at one time, but over the course of different games.) Just the other day I had a car ride where we spoke a combination of French, English, Spanish, Portuguese and Bambara in a 10 second time frame! Phew- that’s exhausting!

4. I get to provide a safety net and a stable environment. On a serious note- this is also a very vulnerable group. The loss of identity and challenge of fitting in can cause stress and tension in school and home- especially during times of transition. Although TCKs have expose to many different cultures, there is a risk and tendency to idolize one or the other and that can lead to trouble. Missions, schools and parents can take steps to enable healthy environments, but it can be rough for some people.

I love that I can be part of this process- and provide a classroom environment that builds appreciation for each others culture, but also a place to develop transferable skills to make the transitions smoother. Outside of the classroom I love to have students over to play games and watch movies- in other words be the kids and teenagers that they are.

Over all, I know that each person’s identity must be found in Christ alone. Living overseas- or even just moving-can strip you of the identity you think you have. By teaching all my students that Jesus is the only constant in their life- and one they can trust- I know they will do alright. It’s rough at times, and fun at times. I am so blessed to be where God has put me and it is a privilege to be a light to all my awesome TCK’s!

Working at an MK school...

.. Has brought me face-to-face with missionaries from around the world. It is so cool to see the global work of missions and reminds me daily MISSIONS IS NOT JUST A NORTH AMERICAN VENTURE!

I was reading the newest edition of Operation World (an amazing resource for understanding what is happening around the world- country by country) that "since the 1970's there has been a surge of interest and involvement in missions from the majority world (Asia, Africa, South America). Mission sending has recently gained or maintained momentum in countries such as Ethiopia, Nigeria, Brazil, Philippines, South Korea and others." (page 7)

In my school of 12 families we have students from 3 of the 5 countries listed! In my class there are students from Brazil and Nigeria, and also we have a student from South Korea. I was reminded of the truly international aspect of BCA and excited to see, not just read, the global plan God has for the world! SO COOL!

Sometimes my kids look a little scared... or maybe it's just the sasquatch...