Before I share with you about what God has laid on my heart and the journey I believe I am supposed to take, let me clear something up for you:
I’m NOT leaving teaching.
No way.
Absolutely not.
Teaching is my jam.
Unless God radically changes my passion and calling in life, I’m sure that education is where I belong, and the American school system is probably going to be stuck with me for a long time.
So now that I’ve cleared that up, here’s what’s going on:
Back in November, I was presented with the opportunity to teach at a school in North Africa.
Whoa. Cool, huh?
When I was presented with this opportunity last year, I knew that I would need to remain in my current teaching position for an additional year in order to fulfill a scholarship agreement made in college, but after that, I would be free to go elsewhere, and hopping on a flight overseas was not outside of the realm of possibility.
The adventurer in me jumped at the chance to live in and explore a new place, but as a person who will say, “Yes!” all too quickly at times, I tried to remain level-headed about the opportunity.
I researched the opportunity, had many conversations with school contacts from North Africa (whom were awesome, by the way), and, most importantly, prayed.
I knew that a decision to make such a big move had to be a call from God and not just a desire for adventure because the particular environment I would have been entering into would have been too overwhelming to last in for very long if I wasn’t certain that I was being called there.
After several months, I began to feel uneasy about the decision, but I continued pursuing the possibility because there had been several moments over the past few months where I felt led by God to go overseas.
It wasn’t until after attending a Classical education conference (the form of schooling used at the school in which I would have been teaching) in March that I really began to feel a halt in my spirit on this opportunity. It was clear from the conference that the kids in Classical schools are receiving an AWESOME education, and I could be a part of that, but what about MY KIDS?!
I love where I am. I love my students. I love being a part of the American public education system, faults and flaws and all.
Heading to North Africa was off the table.
But as I mentioned before, during those months of research, communication, and prayer, I felt a pull to go overseas.
But maybe not for a long time.
Maybe not even in a teaching capacity.
I began to pray about what God was calling me toward since North Africa didn’t seem to be for me.
That’s when I remembered the World Race.
Read on to my next blog post to learn more, and thank you for being a part of this journey.
Xo,
Jami
