I took the Myers-Briggs Test and found out that I am an ISFJ or Introvert, Sensor, Feeler and Judger. Based on the results, I am the one to always look out for the needs of others while also being overly protective of those I love. And how very true that is, along with another aspect of my personality in which I look for ways to achieve perfectionism while exploring my love for new things– i.e. through food, travel, meeting new people.
One night my teammates and leaders (our team had the pleasure of hosting both our squad leaders, Hannah Beth and Charmagne this week) probed into what or how different types of personality types would react to different things. One such thing was rules, and the website we were on stated that as an ISJF I would react in this way: “I hate them. But still follows them anyways.” And how accurate this is, haha!
While this tool accurately describes me and my personality, I’ve also been discovering more about who I am and whom God is calling me to be since first arriving in Chile 2 and a half weeks ago (I can’t believe time has passed so quickly/I’m not ready to leave in 2 weeks). Being busy with helping out in English classes both at the local technical school and at an English Institute has taught me how God is working in me.
The technical school we taught at.
One such way is through teaching me what it means to be a teacher. As an Asian-American, it can sometimes be difficult for me to explain to those who are not aware of diversity, what it looks like or what that means. At the technical school, the English teacher Mr. Jorge (the sweetest, most well-mannered old man ever) had my teammates, Rhi, Cristina and I get into small groups with the students and spend time talking to them about anything, both in Spanish and English. We did that for about 3 days this week and while I switched from group to group, almost 9 times out of 10 I was asked, “where are you from?”, or “do you eat sushi?”, even though I had told the students in the beginning of the class that I am from the U.S along with my other teammates.
It was quite frustrating at times. But each time I came close to losing my wits, I would hear a whisper telling me to, “stay calm” and “teach”. A voice I knew that could only have come from the Holy Spirit. And so it became a teaching opportunity instead: I got to teach the students about how diverse the U.S is, that there are people from all over Asia that live there, and that not all Asians speak and know the same language. And that it is possible for Asians to speak Spanish too.
My teammates hanging out at the technical school. We all met up here to go to our host’s favorite ceramics shop after our schedule was finished.
God is also showing me how to simply love and be present which translates to me being patient with those I work with, including the students and my teammates.
In all, I am slowly but surely learning more about myself and what a healthy community with my teammates looks like. It is all through Christ and His will that we are here together and through His provision that we will be pushed out of our boundaries to be more Christ-like.
