Changing to China???

       So the other week, I shared my story with y'all. I shared how I became a Traveling Teacher and a few places about where I have been. So far my traveling and teaching have mainly been in the Middle East and in Europe. I had originally planned to move back to the states this summer, but God had something else in mind for me that I was not even expecting. When my original plans changed, I was scrambling like mad applying to different schools in Texas until I realized that I really did not want to move back to the states. I wanted to continue to teach overseas. I then started to apply to several schools throughout Europe and the Middle East. China was not even on my mind (actually I said I did not want to go there)

I have yet to go to East Asia (minus Thailand as a kid) and never really had a desire to go. Several of our teachers have taught in China, Japan, or South Korea before and have had so many wonderful things to say about it. I had talked to several teachers at my school who have told me to apply to China but I just kept denying it and pushing it back. I even went as far as saying that I would teach anywhere but in South East Asia. Then I went to the Compassion Summit with my school for a week and everything changed.

During the week at the Summit, I spent time talking to coaches from schools around the Middle East. I talked to them about the positives and negatives of their schools and asked them to talk to the admins at their school about me. I even attended an online job fair and talked to a school I applied for. With all of that being said, I had not heard from any of the schools that I had applied to. I was getting frustrated with everything and stressed that God was taking his sweet time in showing me what was next for my life. Then one night everything changed.

I went home and had a nice long talk (let's be honest... a cry) about what was next with me. I finally told God that I was done saying I would go anywhere but SEA. I also told Him that if that is where He wanted me to go then He was going to have to make it happen because I was not going to apply on my own free will. I woke up the next day to an email from a school in China asking me if I was still looking for a job for the next year. Shocked, I responded saying that I was and then we set up an interview. Once I had my interview set up, I began praying and asking God to show me if this is what He wanted me to do. 

When I had the interview, I had all my questions and concerns answered and more. The principal was very honest about the school and the direction the school was headed. He wanted me to talk to some teachers to get their feel on the school before I made my decision. So getting off the interview, I emailed all the teachers asking my questions and they responded and answered the questions that I did not even think about at that time.

God has a way of basically shaking your shoulders saying “listen here chick, this is what I want you to do”. He showed me through people, devotionals and by changing my heart that this is what He wanted me to do. Famous last words y’all. Do not ever tell God you will do anything but _____ because he will almost always send you there. Where I am moving in China is full of mystery, excitement, history, and tons of snow. So this gal is trading in her sandals for some snow boots. I know that China will not be easy but I know it will be a blast and a great new adventure so stay tuned!