For my kindergarten career day, I dressed up as a teacher. I wore fake glasses and carried around a book with an apple attached. I was convinced that I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.
When I was a junior in high school, I scanned over hundreds of potential college majors before Early Childhood Education at Auburn University jumped out at me.
As a sophomore in college, I took my first education class. It didn’t take long for my passion for teaching to return in full force. I was so intrigued by the development of young children and all the ways they learn.
Last year, I had already started collecting resources for my own classroom. However, as much as I love teaching, I have another passion- international missions. I made the decision to press pause on my teaching career to go on the Race. But the Lord has a way of working out all things. He is not surprised by anything; He sees the beginning and the end.
I am now in month 4 of my Race in Cambodia. My team is with two other teams. Because there are so many people, we are all split up into various morning and afternoon ministries. My ministry host’s oldest daughter is a teacher here in Cambodia. However, her and her dad have left the country for a few weeks this month. I was given the unique opportunity to take over her classroom as the main teacher.
Every morning after breakfast, I ride my pink bike across town to a small private school. I spend 4 hours teaching a nursery class of Cambodian teeny-boppers. We make crafts, learn the English alphabet, practice counting to 10, and sing many songs. It sometimes gets crazy, but it is a lot of fun.
As if that was not enough, I also get to teach for my afternoon ministry! The actual ministry that we are working with offers free English classes to kids and teens in the community. I have two different English classes in the afternoons. In the first class, we are working on vowel sounds. In the second class, we are learning about prepositions. It is so rewarding to see them learning and gaining confidence in their English. Because these classes are associated with the ministry, I am able to freely share Bible verses and stories with them. Pray that the Word takes hold of their hearts in the midst of their learning!
This month is reminding me of the goodness and provision of the Father. He cares about the passion I have for teaching, and He has reaffirmed that that is indeed the career He has called me to. From my 5:45 AM alarm to when I finally get to sleep at night, I can barely believe that this is the life I get to live.
