“We can make our own plans, but the Lord gives us the right
answer.” Proverbs 16:1
In my opinion, some of the most beautiful times in life are
the times when our plans and the Lord’s plans for us line up perfectly. It’s
these times when one is reminded that He knows the greatest desires of our
hearts… Often times, He created these desires within us! My last two weeks have
been a tribute to God’s sovereign ways and His everlasting care for us.
About 4 weeks ago, I received an e-mail asking to do a phone
interview with the Kennewick School District. My first answered prayer was that
they were willing to do a phone interview—Skype doesn’t work on our campus and
an in-person interview clearly wasn’t an option, so their willingness to do it
over phone was a huge blessing. This was the first response I had heard from
any districts I had applied in, and the fact that it was in the Tri-Cities (an
area in southeast Washington) immediately caught some heartstrings. This is an
area that has been on my “radar” since last summer when I was looking at job
openings, yet preparing to leave for Ghana for the year instead. There were
jobs opening up in Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick that I would have applied for
in a heartbeat, had I not been spending the year abroad. Each time I saw these
jobs pop up, a little piece of my heart questioned my decision to leave (a
decision which I have not questioned once since I set foot on the red dirt of
Africa). Ever since then, I’ve had a not-so-secret pull to this area, so I will
admit that my job search sometimes ended up a little biased. Receiving even
just an interview from Kennewick was a big deal for me! However, I didn’t
really understand what job I had applied for… I know that sounds silly, but the
job posting was confusing and I just applied because it was labeled “Special
Services Teacher.” My mindset was pretty much “Well, it doesn’t say it’s just a
resource room, so I might as well apply!” Going into the interview, I was
nervous that a few minutes in, I would discover that I was interviewing for a
job I didn’t even want and I would just feel silly!
Thankfully, God goes before us and He knew what I was getting
myself into! My interviewers (the district Special Education directors) told me
right off the bat that this was a general interview for their special education
jobs, and if there was a specific job that came up, I was interested in, and
they thought would be a good fit for me, then they would go to the specific
building principals and advocate for me. At this point, I was feeling so many
emotions… So THANKFUL for that assurance, relieved that I wasn’t interviewing
for a job I would hate, nervous about the fact that this could eventually turn
into something real, still terrified about the pending interview… All kids of
fun things wrapped into one voice on the phone. Regardless, I spent about half
an hour chatting with my interviewers and calmed down a little with each
passing question. At the end of the interview, the district director asked what
my dream job would be…
Me: “An elementary autism classroom, for sure. I want to
work with kids with more severe disabilities, and I know that a specific autism
classroom is much more rare, but I particularly feel called toward those with
moderate-severe autism.”
Director: “Well, that’s an interesting answer in light of my
next question… We have an elementary autism position opening in one of our
schools next week, is that something you would be interested in applying for?”
I probably didn’t make much sense in anything I said after
this point in the interview because I could barely concentrate. Really, God?
Are you serious? You’re really putting this right in front of me? They were
able to tell me a little about the classroom, the location and culture of the
school, the district in general… Everything sounded perfect… Too good to be
true, even.
“Well, I just looked it up and the job officially opens next
Wednesday.” (I have to wait 5 days to
just apply?! I have no patience for these things!!) “Your job now is to fix
up your cover letter, look for the opening once it’s up and put in your
application as soon as possible. Between now and then, we will be having a very
energetic conversation with the principal about you. We think you would be a
great fit for this position.” (Did he
really just say that? Is this actually happening? There’s no way…)
So I waited the 5 treacherous days and put in my application
as soon as I was able to on the day the job was posted. At this point, I
realized the job was open for a week, which just led to an even longer waiting
game… For those who know me, waiting for things like this feel like torture… So I spent a week praying “God,
I surrender this to you! I put this whole process at your feet! You know the
plans You have for me, and they are way better than anything I could create for
myself…” I had myself convinced that the job was going to go to someone within
the district.. So I continued with “Lord, have your way!!”
At this point, I was still preparing for two Skype
interviews that were planned with other districts for this week. I was pretty
nervous about the fact that they were on Skype, and my best answer for getting
Skype to work was to do it at the Accra mall, since I could get good wireless
on my iPad. Yesterday Emily and I ventured into Accra in an attempt for me to
Skype with Anna to test it out, as well as to see if I had heard any news from
Kennewick since the job had closed the previous night. Of course, in the funny
ways that God works, the internet was down at the mall so I couldn’t Skype with
Anna and I didn’t know what I was going to do about the interviews the next
day… Right at the height of my frustration, as I was was waiting for Emily to
get back to our table so I could go get something chocolatey to make myself
feel better, she came back with our friend Richard next to her! Richard works
for an organization called Feeding the Orphans, which provides school lunches
at Faith Roots and is also the organization that our friends the Beebe’s are
here serving as the “hands-on” forces. Turns out that Richard and the Beebe’s
had been out working this morning and now they were all heading back to the
Beebe’s, which was our destination later that evening… We walked out with
Richard just to say hello, and Robin and Reid quickly invited us to head back
to their house and connect to the internet there. Since our plan at the mall
seemed to be a lost cause, we had an easy decision in front of us...
Considering their family is leaving for the States next Wednesday and will not
return until after I have left, I wanted to soak up any bit of Beebe time I
could get! Reid and Katie (our sweet friend Katie Batchelor who got here the
same time I did in September, stayed for two months, and then came back in
March for another month here in country) assured me that I could use Skype at
their house if I needed to, so I felt a little more assured that something
would work out for the next day.
I had been counting the hours in the States, trying to
figure out the first point that I might
hear back from anyone in Kennewick… I was sure it wasn’t likely to hear from
them right away, but I thought that just maybe they would get back to me in the
morning. After getting online at the Beebe’s, I discovered an e-mail from the
school principal that had been sent the day before… “Our job closes tonight and
I want to fill it as soon as possible. Is there a time when we can talk on the
phone tomorrow? I will be in a meeting all day but I can easily step outside
and chat with you.” At this point, it was 9:00am in the States on the day when
she wanted to talk… Cue freak-out mode! I had no phone credit, so I went into a
little bit of a craze in the Beebe’s living room… Leading to precious Godwin
asking me “Why are you so excited? I can see you’re really excited about
something. Sometimes I get excited, but then I go back to regular.” I love the
way 5 year olds process their emotions!! Godwin and I walked up to the nearest
store to get phone credit, and I realized that the phone number on her e-mail
was her office phone, which wouldn’t be helpful if she was in a meeting. After
some quick e-mailing, God-ordained responses, and a few hours of phone tag
spanning over the time of Bible study, I was finally able to get a hold of her…
And I got the job! No Skype interviews necessary, the kind of classroom I have
dreamed of, the city I have hoped of for a year, in a building that people have
said nothing about great things about… God seriously never ceases to amaze me!
Still, a week and a half later, it doesn’t feel real… But God’s hand has been
so clearly present in all aspects of this process, and I am so blessed.
“That’s so cool that you got a job from Africa!” –My mom…
It’s true. As much as I hoped it would happen, I certainly didn’t expect it to
happen… I am a first-year teacher applying from halfway around the world
without a good internet connection… That alone screams “Yeah right!!” But God
had told me that my plans were secure, and all I could do was trust in that. I
am so excited to be moving to Kennewick this summer and starting another phase
of my life… While at the same time, I know that moving to Kennewick involves
leaving Ghana, and that is the most bittersweet thing that could happen. My
heart is going to break into forty-one pieces on the day when I hug these kids
“See you soon,” and I know that driving away is going to be the most painful
experience of my life… Add a few extra broken pieces for the amazing adults
that I have been blessed with here as well, and I will be a huge mess. A
beautiful, broken, redeemed mess… But a mess, none the less!
At this point, I have a little under five weeks left in Ghana.
I’m sure I will come back, but I don’t know when it will be… And no matter when
it may be, this place will sure look different! My prayer for these next six
weeks is that I may be present in this place, soaking in the time with these
kids and loving life here, even the sweltering heat that beats on our backs and
the power that can’t decide if it wants to stay on or not. I am so grateful for
the lessons I am continuing to learn here, and I pray that they continue to
come…
“’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord. ‘They
are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”
I am thankful that for this season of my life, He planted
seeds in my heart that coincided with His plans for me!!
