A time for....

A lot has happened in the past five months.  I saw more countries in Asia, saw God witness, and said goodbye to my class.  I also had to say goodbye to my first faculty, a group of God loving individuals that had become a second family for me.  I had to make adult choices concerning career, and there were some trying times and joyous times.  Currently, I am back in America spending some quality time with friends and family before I get ready to leave for Suriname.  Suriname is where I will be spending the next two years of my life teaching fourth grade to children at an international school.  God has certainly opened up doors for me internationally, and I am very thankful for that. 

After much prayer, I had decided that God was calling me to stay international for a time.  I took this opportunity to look for jobs at Christian schools where I could help be an ambassador for Christ.  In the end, I had narrowed down my choice to two schools.  I was very indecisive and prayed to God for a sign.  He sent me two.  The first, was a facebook message from my mother telling me that the head-of-school had contacted her and talked about my teaching in Suriname.  It had filled my father and mother with peace to hear that conversation.  The second was an email from a fellow teacher telling me about the witnessing opportunities she has had while at school.  Her letter was filled with the spirit, and I could tell that God was calling me to go to this school.  I am honored that in turn, this school hired me, and is willing to help a new teacher. 

I have had to say a lot of goodbyes over these past few weeks, which has been hard.  For reflection, I often go to Ecclesiastes during hard times:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

God places people into our lives for a reason.  We learn from each other through Him.  I am thankful for God for romancing me throughout my time in China.  I feel that I have a freedom now in my spirituality as opposed to a burden.  I am made free through Christ and his undying love and sacrifice.  I think we all need to remind ourselves of that sometimes :).