I have been back from Bolivia for two months, and it is
starting to set in that I am here and not going back. I have moments of sadness because of the aching that comes with leaving part of my heart in Bolivia. It is hard to know how to move on. I don’t have a car or a place to myself. In a way, it feels as if my independence has
been taken from me once again. It is no ones
fault. It is all just a part of
transition. So here I am living with my parents in my old
room helping with my nieces and
nephews as well as trying to get my head around my next task. I am exhausted a lot of the time. I forgot how much transition takes out of
you.
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| El Presidente de TeachBeyond- George Durance giving the HR team a historic walking tour of Chicago |
As for a job, I have started my new job with TeachBeyond working as a Member
Care counselor with a focus on the single females. June 20-28th I attended a Human Resources
retreat and TeachBeyond orientation for new members at Wheaton College. I met a lot of the behind the scenes people
with TeachBeyond at the retreat and learned a lot more about the organization
that I did not know before. The retreat
helped me understand the need that TeachBeyond has for me as a single female
member care counselor. Orientation
allowed me time to start forming a relationship with some of the new single
females. I got to facilitate a few of the sessions for
singles, ate meals with them, and stayed up late nights getting to know their
stories. I also had the privilege of
working with the kids that will soon become missionary kids all over the world. (Click here for a great blog written by my co-teacher, Heather, about our time with the kids.) It was exhausting, but I believe very
beneficial to my goals at becoming an effective member care counselor and
support to TeachBeyond as an organization.
Since most of my contact with these women will be through skype, email,
and facebook, I am so thankful that I had the chance to meet them face-to-face
and share my stories of transition with them.
God has once again been good in providing what I need.
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| Heather and I with our 10 girls that will be MKs |
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| Writing letters to themselves |
God has given me the opportunity to mentor and befriend almost 100 single female missionaries all over the world as they face uncertainty in a new culture they are trying to understand. One third of the members of TeachBeyond are single females who have answered the call to share the Good News with the nations.
“He says, "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."
She brought up the fact that we focus so much on the first part of this verse that we rarely see the second part.
“I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
She proclaimed that although I will miss and be missed in Bolivia, I am getting be a part of Jesus being exalted among the nations and in the earth. How cool is that! Working through member care I get to be a part of His name being exalted all over the world.
You can say that I am a missionary to the missionaries. My salary comes from supporters that will stand with me as I seek to nurture and encourage missionaries all over the world that are going through culture shock, language acquisition, loneliness, and other difficulties as well as joys that come with experiencing a new place. Please stand with me as a I grow in my knowledge of member care, train to give assessments, and hopefully travel to those that need me most. I am trying to raise $2,000 a month for this next year to cover usual living expenses and trainings/ conferences that I will be attending.
If you would like to help, you can donate one time gifts or set up a monthly donation at https://give.teachbeyond.org. Any amount is helpful! I would also appreciate your prayers as I move forward with TeachBeyond in this role. I know that He answers prayers, and I ask you to pray that God will once again be faithful as I take this step of faith to serve other missionaries. May He be glorified!
(Pictures included are some of the ladies I will be serving this year.)
