I'm starting a blog (obviously) for a number of reasons. The first being that it's an easy and effective way to stay connected with everyone once I'm in Budapest. I'll be able to post pictures, let you know what I'm doing, make you aware of any prayer requests, etc. I know I'm going to be homesick and staying connected to you all is going to be so very important to me.
Another reason I'm doing it is to document this whole process. I want to start it before I go to Budapest because I've already seen God moving so much and seen Him work things out. This whole preparation phase is just as worthy of documentation.
Another is to let you know that I will be raising support and putting together my support team starting in June. It's going to be tough raising all of the money in just two months, but I know that God will provide if this is truly His will for me. But, please be praying now about joining my support team and how God might use you in this whole process.
Here's a (ahem...somewhat) concise explanation as to how this whole missions decision came about:
Like I said earlier, I've already seen God moving and it's been really cool. Starting last December, I began praying about my future. I absolutely love being Wesley's nanny and even then the thought of leaving him made me so sad, I also knew that I would have to leave eventually. So, I prayed about whether I should stay another year, if I should look for teaching jobs, if God had something else in store for me. Then I started getting really excited about teaching again. So then I started praying about where God wanted me to teach. Of course, I was thinking Austin or Houston or - Heaven forbid - Dallas.
I wasn't really thinking missions at that point. It had been something that had crossed my mind in years before. Since college, I'd always felt a pull overseas. Every time I'd go to the Go!Missions conference at Breakaway or one of my friends would head off to East Asia for the summer or someone would come back from STINT, I'd feel a pull to do it too. But I was scared. My attitude was always, "Well God, if you really want me to go, I guess I will. But I don't really want to." It didn't fit in with my plan for my life.
Then, the last year or so I had seriously contemplated traveling. I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go or for how long, but I knew that I had this crazy desire to just up and move somewhere new for a few years. But then when I would start to plan something or pray about it, I always stopped. I started thinking that God has put me in this place of life (single, no long term commitment anywhere) for a reason. Did I really think that God did that so that I could run around traveling just for fun? Just for me? No, I didn't. And then I found myself thinking about how God could use this desire to glorify Him. Missions crept up in my mind again.
One day in January, I was reading a book (Radical by David Platt) and spending some time reading my Bible when it was like a switch flipped. The thought "overseas missionary" popped into my head and then my attitude immediately changed from "I don't want to" to "I want to go! Please send me!" It was one of the most incredible things I've ever experienced! I was fired up and excited! Suddenly, all of the things that had held me back before didn't matter at all.
I spent a lot of the next few weeks praying it through, spending more time in the Word and talking with people whose opinions I respected and who I also thought would tell me I was crazy if they didn't think I should go. I received confirmation from every front and my excitement only grew.
I had received an e-mail from John and Allison Jordan (Allie is my former Doulos coach group leader) who were in Budapest through United World Mission. I spent some time on their website and then contacted them. After talking with the mobilizer a few times, she sent me the link to the school that I'll be teaching at: The International Christian School of Budapest (http://www.icsbudapest.org/) and after more prayer and research, I decided to apply to the school.
Two weeks ago I interviewed with them on Monday and they sent me an offer to teach their 4th grade class two days later! I, in shameless excitement, jumped up and down in the kitchen scaring both Wesley and the dog.
That's where I am now. I'm in the process of applying to United World Mission who will be my sending agency and after that I'll have training in Charlotte with them and then training in Houghton, NY for the school.
I'm very sad about what I'm leaving behind and what I'm going to miss out on while I'm there, but I'm so unbelievably excited about teaching at this incredible school and seeing God work overseas. I'm looking forward to seeing where God is leading me and what He has in store and am so thankful that I'll be able to share this experience with you all.
Thank you for being such a huge, important part of my life!
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