Proverbs 2
My child, listen to what I say,
Tune your ears to wisdom,
Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair,
Saturday I received the absolute for sure from Steve and Moko that if I wanted to go to Japan to teach the job was mine. This is when I contacted very close friends of mine to start praying hard for me, where I could have discernment and absolute wisdom with my heart rather then emotions. I wanted a decision by Monday, for I did not want to string Duarte along in the dark and suddenly say never mind about the job offer I received.
I connected with Steve to get the info of the teacher who decided to not go back to Japan, for I wanted to know why from her mouth. Within an hour of me emailing, Jennifer, she called me on the phone. From there we talked a good hour, with my request of asking her the good, bad, and ugly of her experience. Teaching in Japan was one of the most rewarding experiences for her. She wished she could cookie cut the job in Japan and place it anywhere in the world. I got lit up as she was on fire about the teaching experience alone. When I asked her about the community and support from other foreign teachers who joined her in the challenge and stretching experience of Japan, she began to tell me the reason why Japan will not see her this year. Moka hired 6 teachers. Of the teachers three of the guys were, as Jennifer explained, pretty much disgusting/inconsiderate and crude/cross in their everyday verbal communication, something she realized when she got home and how much there crude disrespectful humor rubbed off on her. The other two teachers are pretty much an isolated couple. Jennifer explained in the many days of free time she tried to connect with the Japanese, but it was hard and lonely. She described herself as an extravert, and decided at one point to hop on trains and just do her own thing by herself to explore. My convo with Jennifer was very informative and I was grateful for it.
As I reflected back on my original criteria list and long multiple conversation with Steve of what it will take for me to go to Japan, I realized a huge hole was in the area of community, one of the largest and most important factors for me. I am confident I can meet and make friends anywhere, make the best of any situation, and pull through when it is easy or hard, but because I had insight on the community of teachers I was going to be living with, it made me hesitate. Typically, in life I have never had insight of who I’d work with, but away from work I have always had a community around me. In Japan it is different.
Prior to making a decision, many have thought instantly with my situation that I needed to go to Duarte. But I really wanted to seek the Lord for wisdom of what to do. I am fully aware of my role in my family, yet my perspective is God, then family. I am not closed to the idea of teaching abroad one day, but I am going to choose to work in Duarte this year as a 4th grade teacher and stay in California! Today I can sign my contract, get a key to the room and see what I have in store for my future!
This summer I have learned many lessons to trust in the Lord with all my heart as he directed my paths. I was reminded through my 6 years of drilled “God First” mentality, I did have that mentality as I tried to discover the what’ s next of my great adventures of life. I still believe that the adventure has just begun, and this year’s going to be one that is dynamically amazing as I embrace this change that I would have never pictured for myself. As I reflect on the past 10 weeks of my summer “vacation,” I am reminded of the verses in Ephesians 5:1-2 & 15-17 as I started my crazy ideas and quest for a purposeful job aligned with the passions of my heart:
“Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was sweet like perfume to him.” “So be careful how you live, not as fools, but as those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do.”
Today this is what I will do!
Family Update!
Jamie and I had a fast 24 hour trip up north. We got to my grandma’s house 30 minutes after she got home from the hospital. She is very weak as she walks with a walker -often swerving to the left (a side effect of the brain cancer on her right side of the brain), wears pull ups, left side of face is sagging, breathes with her mouth open-as it is hard for her to have deep breaths, and pretty much sits in her chair and still smokes. She was thrilled Jamie and I were there. She thought Grant and Emma were going to be there too, so we teased her because we are now mince meat compared to the great-greats! The hospital lost Gflo’s glasses, so she wears her sun glasses in the house, something that quickly became a joke. We taught Gflo how to do the Fonzy, shakin her head and putting her thumbs up as one hand slightly takes the glasses off as she says, “COOL!” A huge thing we did was learn to make whole made tortillas and clean out 2 of 4 closets filled of 77 years worth of clothes. I was over the top with gittyness as I began to try on the outfits that were obviously ghetto, asking Gflo in all seriousness if I could have the outfits to make a new impression for my new job! The best was finding orphaned single shoes and asking her what she wanted us to do with them! Our trip was extremely fast, but action packed. Health wise mom and UG are deciding what to do next, maybe a second opinion with Sac town based on multiple hours of phone conversations my mom had with specialists. The goal with Gflo is to stay positive, bring in humor and spend time with her. Meanwhile, my sis and I are working out a conflict that arose during our 24 hour Patterson visit with my dad’s side of the fam, as they were royally upset that Jamie and I did not consider the fact to stop by their house (about two miles from Gflo and visit). Honestly, that was the last thought on my mind! Understandable, but awkward! Jamie wants to spend her b-day up there so I am sure there will be more trips up north!
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