Friday, July 3, 2015

Whatcha Gonna Do?

"A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?" - Proverbs 20:24

Last weekend I was able to spend time catching up with Dan and Carol Iverson, missionaries to Japan and my host family both times I served in Japan. I was so thankful for the time we had together, and to hear of all the exciting things happening in Japan and how God is at work.

I also had time to sit down with the two of them to brainstorm how my time in Japan will be spent. Of course all plans are liable to change at some point in time or another - such is missionary life - but it was so encouraging to get on the same page and join our thoughts together to map out a basic idea of what I will be doing.

My main ministry will be serving at Covenant Community School International, the school where I have worked twice before. (Elementary - high school.) The school is supported heavily by interns coming to Japan to teach for a school year at a time. (I was an intern my two previous trips to Japan.) These interns are a tremendous blessing, but one of the issues in having this constant flow of teachers coming and going is how it weighs on the students, especially the younger ones, as they transition to a new teacher each year, and the lack of consistency and unpredictability in teaching styles. Each intern that comes through is blessed with wonderful gifts, but each gift is different, so there is a constant game of Jenga as the school tries to find the fit for each teacher.

Because I will be in Japan for 3 years, this commitment will allow me to keep up with my students and track their progress over these three years. My focus within the school will be with the Japanese ESL students, most of whom are elementary age. I am so excited to be working with the ESL students! It is something familiar for me, and I am excited that the younger students will have the same teacher for a few years at least. I'm sure there will be other classes I will teach within the school, and I will also help with church ministries and may end up teaching some additional ESL classes outside of the school.

One of the most frequently asked questions I receive is, "where will you live?" I am very excited to say that I have been invited to live with the Iverson's yet again! This will make transitioning back to living in Japan that much easier as I am already accustomed to this family, house, and city. 

I am so excited that the vision of my time in Japan is becoming a bit clearer with each bit of new information. I'm still unaware of when I will be able to leave, since my leave date relies on my monthly financial support being raised 100%.

Please pray that:
  • My support would come in quickly, Lord willing (I'm at about 8%)
  • I would be patient in this waiting process
  • I would balance my time wisely between work and support raising
  • I would not be discouraged in this slow process 

Dan, Carol, Melanie, Andrew, Megan - Iverson's with the interns from GPC

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