Life's Detours

To carry over the theme of road construction (see my last post), my detour has certainly taken an interesting turn. One week ago today, I received a call from Peace Lutheran School in Greencastle, Indiana. I completed my student teaching there last semester with first and second graders. Apparantly the school is looking to hire another teacher unexpectedly, and after a talk with the director, we agreed that I would be a good candidate for the job. There were a few other applicants so this wasn't an official job offer, just an inquiry as to my interest in the position. I tried not to put the cart before the horse but I was really excited about the possibility of returning to Peace and my old students. Three excruciating days later, Elaine called me back to inform me that the School Committee had approved my hiring and that my first day would be September 29! Yes, that's one week from today.

How does this affect my journey to the mission field? Great question. As it turns out, Ken, the director at VCS has worked out a plan that allows me to take a year to finish raising support and plan to go in the fall of 2009. I've actually known this for about two weeks now, I've just been trying to figure out the best way to tell everyone at once - I can't afford to print and mail 200 letters anymore! The news that I had to wait a year came as a relief, but of course not without a bit of disappointment as well. Being at only 46%, I kind of knew it just wasn't going to happen, but at the same time I was still holding out for a miracle. But knowing I could plan to be at home for a year meant I needed to find a job, and I started signing up to get involved with some ministries at church. After two weeks of silence from potential employers, I got the call from Elaine, and the rest is history. God answered my prayers, but definitely not in the way I was expecting!

So, this Thursday I will be moving back to Greencastle, Indiana. I will teach third and fourth graders, and I'm especially excited because my third graders were my second graders last semester!! Over the course of the year I will continue to share my vision with and build up my team of supporters. The goal is to be fully funded and ready to move overseas in August 2009, in time for the 2009-2010 school year.

Please keep the following things in prayer over the next few weeks, and thank you so much for your encouragement and support!

• For a smooth transition - school is in full swing so pray that this transition (I'm taking the place of another teacher) comes with minimal disruption and that I can get lesson plans ready in time for my first day
• For my students - change can be stressful for children so please pray that the kids take this well
• For my move - I'm driving myself down to Greencastle, signing apartment papers, and setting up utilities all on my own so pray I don't mess anything up!
• For my support team - Please pray that I can find ministry partners in Greencastle. Pray also that I am diligent in studying German over the next year!!

Road Construction

This is a something that was passed on to me by Janet Armstrong, a friend and one of the JTMers who works on my support account for Austria. I thought it was rather appropriate to my life right now so I wanted to share it with whoever may be reading this. Be encouraged!!
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ROAD CONSTRUCTION by Os Hillman

"The crooked places shall be made straight And the rough places smooth; The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together..."(Isa 40:4-5 NKJV).

I don't know about you, but I hate road construction. I live in a growing city and it seems like there has been ongoing road construction for years. Everything is a mess, you can never plan your trips because of delays, and sometimes you get caught off guard when traffic signs are placed in unusual places and the natural flow of traffic takes you off the main road onto bumpy surfaces. Recently one of our main local roads discovered a sink hole in the middle of the road. The road was closed for more than a year. We had to take alternative routes that were inconvenient and it took longer to get places. Sometimes God takes us through our own life re-construction project. Our lives get disrupted, we can no longer depend on the things we did before, and we don't have control over our circumstances or timetable. God is doing major construction. However, even in the midst of the re-construction the glory of the Lord is revealed in that place. For some, it is the first time they've ever seen the hand of the Lord in their life to the degree that this process allows them to experience Him. It is a process they would never choose to go through voluntarily, but it is an experience they value for the rest of their lives because the glory of the Lord was revealed in the process. Once the process is complete, things begin to flow better. Just as the new roads allow you to drive on a smooth, more spacious area, so too God paves a way for you to move into an expanded place with Him. Isaiah tells us: "He will also send you rain for the seed you sow in the ground, and the food that comes from the land will be rich and plentiful. In that day your cattle will graze in broad meadows" (Isa 30:23-24). Be patient with God's re-construction project. You will like the finished project.