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28 February 2011

Paper of Delight!

My parents brought something wondrous today: a letter from my insurance company, signed, stamped, and notarized! This should be the final piece of the paperwork puzzle!

Should be. I speak it lightly, even as my adrenaline races, for the Chicago consulate updated their website recently. When I went back to double-check my checklists, I found that certain items had been reworded, and this may affect me. May. Maymaymay. But likely won't.

Now, I have four pieces of paper to be translated, and once that's finished, it's off to Chicago.

I. Can't. Wait.

25 February 2011

Meet the Smalleys


I met Jay and Lisa almost exactly a year ago in Colorado. We attended the same short-term/mid-term missionary training at WorldVenture headquarters, and we joked about the day we'd all be in Spain together, drinking café con leche.

(Also, I should mention that I flew to Denver from North Dakota. Though I had anticipated arriving at HQ a little late, I did not anticipate that the SuperShuttle from the airport would not be leaving for another hour after the plane landed. Nor that I would have to ride that shuttle for another hour before getting into Littleton. Nor that the shuttle driver would keep the heat cranked to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Needless to say, I am late for everything in life, and perhaps this was just par for the course. I missed the supper in which all the other trainees got acquainted, as I wasn't creeping into my bedroom until somewhere after midnight.)

Yes, that was February.

We met again in July, this time in upstate New York. At a two-week training for over a hundred people who would be working with TCKs, the Smalleys, Pat Roseman, and I were the only ones headed to Spain. (Actually, Pat had already been in Spain, but we were so glad she came to the States for training. Why? Number one: Because she's awesome. Number two: Because she gave us inside information on ECA. Number three: Reiterate number one.)

(This time, I had planned to be in New York by 3:00pm, plenty early for any festivity. But...the plane out of Minot was delayed, and the flight out of Minneapolis had been moved up, so by the time I got to Minnesota, I had already missed my flight and been re-booked on a later flight to Buffalo. Six hours later. During those six hours, I bought some McDonald's and a luggage tag in the shape of a weiner dog. And discovered the best napping lounge in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

By the time I got to New York, I was late for everything. Late for supper, late for that initial bonding period. I had a ride from the airport to the campus, but we were waiting to take another girl with us, and her flight didn't get there for an hour. Instead of hanging around the airport, I went to Denny's with two of the men who were running the whole show. They asked me how I decided to do missions.

I told them about the book I'd read ten years ago, the semi-cheesy romance novel about the woman who teaches at an MK school in Taiwan.

One of the men worked at an MK school in Taiwan. "Who wrote the book?" he asked.

"Marilyn Kok," I told him.

He smiled. "Ahh, Marilyn. She was a classmate of mine. I will have to tell her that! She'll be so blessed."

Crazy! "Please do," I told him. "But don't tell her I said it was cheesy.")

Jay and Lisa joked about me showing up late again. I'd really tried this time! Oh, well. We had two good weeks together in muggy New York heat, learning about TCKs and teaching approaches and thinking globally. But there was one thing that poked at me a little: everyone else seemed to have departure dates. Most of them already had plane tickets. A few weren't fully funded, but they were close enough to be confident: 89%. 97%. They were leaving for Budapest and Austria and Morocco and South Korea, and they knew exactly when. As we all hugged each other goodbye, it was with that fervency that comes as you go home from camp, fresh and excited, leaving one big thing to go to the next.

Except for Team Spain. Not that we weren't excited, and I can't speak for Jay and Lisa, but secretly, I knew that I'd have time to go home and debrief, and then probably to deflate. My funds were sitting at 44%. There was no way I could book a ticket for the next month.

At that point, I didn't know when it was going to come together for all of us. I don't just mean the five of us. There was our headmaster in Spain, waiting to finish writing teachers' schedules until he knew ours. There were people in the WorldVenture office, waiting to hear that our support numbers had finally been fulfilled. There were people at home, asking about timelines. Missions isn't an international trip: it's an event! Or a carnival, even, of supporters and teammates and roommates and parents and budget-makers and field leaders and teachers and principals and administrative assistants, and, oh heck, just about anything else you can think to throw in there (except for clowns--I will not allow for clowns).

So this fall, the fiesta continued. On my end, it involved being fully funded, then getting excited, then getting an unsigned FBI check, then crying, starting over, and waiting. And coming to terms with things. And realizing that it's okay; it's okay that everyone I met last summer is now in Europe and South America and Asia, because that was the right time for them, and when they are coming home, I will just be starting.

On Jay and Lisa's end, it involved a lot of waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting...and finally seeing things pull together! They got their funds! Two days ago, they got their visas! And by now, they should have arrived in Camarma: new home, new faces, new language.

I'm so thrilled for them. We've waited a long time to get where we're going, and I am sososo glad that they are finally there.

And if Jay and Lisa are there, you know that I'll be following them. I'll be late, of course, but I'll be there all the same. :)

---

P.S. You can read the Smalley's blog by clicking here.

13 February 2011

Frequently Asked Questions, Part II: The Slightly Personal

Have you always wanted to be a missionary?
Nope. I didn't have much interest in missions until I got to college. Even then, my idea of missions was limited; I envisioned living in huts and handing out tracts on street corners--stuff that had absolutely no appeal to me. (Well, maybe huts did, a little bit.)

I had read a novel in tenth grade about a teacher at an MK (missionary kid) school, and that made something in me come alive momentarily. I let myself push it away for years, until my junior year of college, when I took a short-term trip to Guatemala. Being there made my heart swell up in the good kind of terror that confirms to you what you should be doing. It started a weird sort of domino effect, which basically lead me through a lot of Google searching and crying, which then led me to a lot of apathy, which then somehow led me here.
 
How did you decide to go to Spain?

I actually thought I'd end up in Central or South America. I'm just really drawn to those cultures, lifestyles, and I think that's due, in varying degrees, to the Guatemala trip, high school Spanish class, and my love for simple living. And perhaps for handwoven items.

When I started researching MK schools, ECA kept appearing. It was the only school I contacted that consistently had an opening for an English teacher, and all the people I communicated with were so helpful and had only good to say about the school. The more I looked at it, the more it just seemed like a good fit.  There wasn't any divine neon sign that appeared on Google or anything, but that's not usually how God seems to work with me. I think he gives us brains and hearts and desires that point toward what we should be do, and if we let those things work in accordance, he'll use them to get us where we need to be.

Why did you choose to go with WorldVenture?
I knew some people who knew some people who liked WorldVenture. Out of the three agencies I scoped out, WorldVenture offered the opportunities I was looking for. Also, they were so very helpful and patient while I was dragging my feet through the initial commitment process. I haven't been disappointed so far!


How are you considered a "missionary" when you are working with kids who, mostly, have already heard the gospel?
Short answer: What is a missionary? Often, I think that word brings to mind traditional, career missionaries who primarily do evangelism and discipleship. But--is that not what, in some fashion, every follower of Christ is supposed to be doing anyway? Aren't we all made to share God's love and truth with others? If the answer is yes, then I think we're supposed to do that wherever God wants us to do it--whether it's on our farm or in our doctor's office or in a foreign country. And I'm not just talking about handing out gospel tracts. I mean that "ministry" isn't a category of life, an action that we do. Ministry can be a specific role, but it also encompasses the way we live, the way we treat others, the things we say: ministry is life. Maybe the term "missionary" needs to be redefined, but if you don't like it (and I don't always), then call me a teacher. That defines my exact job, and I know that missions, teaching, life--it's all part of the same.

So, yes, my ministry is primarily to kids whose parents are missionaries. Christian kids still need to be discipled and encouraged. Heck, I need it! Who doesn't? Many of my students, and my neighbors, and my acquaintances don't know Christ--so maybe God's going to put me in a place where they might see how He looks. Also, for parents working abroad, it's helpful to know that their kids are getting a good education. (Educational problems are a prime factor for families leaving the field--or for getting them to come in the first place.)

I love kids and teenagers; I feel like I was designed to work with them, and for some reason, God has shown me how I can do that in Spain. I don't know why there instead of Nicaragua or Nigeria or the "typical" third-world countries we like to associate with missions work. But Europe needs Christ just as much as America does, or China, or Madagascar; there's not a place on the planet you can travel without seeing the need for redemption. My place just happens to be Spain. But until I get there, it's North Dakota. And when I leave there, maybe it'll be some podunk town with three gravel roads. Doesn't matter. Wherever I go, wherever you go, that is your ministry. That is your mission.

Can you speak Spanish?
A little, and not all that well, but I hear good things about total immersion.

Do you want to get married in Spain?
I'll add it to my list, right under "running with the bulls."

07 February 2011

Frequently Asked Questions, Part I: The Logistical


What will you being doing in Spain?
I will be teaching middle and high school English classes at a Christian school outside Madrid. Not English as in ESL, but English as in Language Arts. The curriculum is North American, so all teaching is done in English. My students are either native speakers of English or have reached a certain level of English proficiency. Unwritten in my job description is the whole process of mentoring and caring for kids who are living outside their passport country.

Who are the students?
Predominantly, they are children of missionary/expatriate families living in Spain. Some have parents working in other countries, and some are from the community.

Have you taught before?
In my own school classroom, no. But as a Sunday school teacher, a camp co-director, and a training coordinator, yes.

When are you leaving?
I am still in the process of gathering paperwork to submit my visa application, so I will leave whenever I have a visa in hand. That might be a month from now; it might be later in the spring. At this point, my plans have changed at least three times, and I have no doubt they'll change again. My original departure date was August 2010, but I didn't have the funds at that point. When I got the funds, I had a paperwork snare. So now...I don't know. I will leave when I am supposed to, and that's the best answer I can give!

What will you get paid?

To keep schooling affordable for missionary families, ECA doesn't offer staff salaries. All my expenses are being covered by very generous friends and churches who want to be a part of this journey by giving. I am so thankful for them.

What if I have been giving you money for the past year while you've been in the States?
All gifts are currently sitting in my WorldVenture account to be used once I get there. So if you've committed to a two-year commitment, for example, you might have already have one year under your belt. In that case, your commitment may officially be done in 2012, even though what you've given will be used in 2013.

What are you doing until you leave?
This is my second year working with a special needs middle school student. My teacher has been really gracious and flexible about letting me stick around while the rest of my life is in limbo, so I spend my days working on reading and writing and Shrek puzzles. This child is so adorable I could eat him. But I won't, except metaphorically.

Why did you choose to go with WorldVenture?
I knew some people who knew some people who liked WorldVenture. Out of the three agencies I scoped out, WorldVenture offered the opportunities I was looking for. Also, they were so very helpful and patient while I was dragging my feet through the initial commitment process. I haven't been disappointed so far!

How long has it taken you to go through the process of getting to Spain?
About eleven years. I read that book in 2000, I think. Maybe 1999. So that's when it started started.

I think I started emailing missions agencies in the spring of 2007, just to check out the options. In the spring of 2008, I decided for sure to quit my job at that time and pursue teaching overseas. In the spring of 2009, I officially jumped on board with WorldVenture. (Good grief, those poor women who sifted through years worth of emails, waiting for me to make up my mind. The day I decided to stop being impossible, I emailed one of them and said I was ready to make a decision. I got a phone call an hour later.)

In October of 2009, I was officially endorsed by WorldVenture, and I started fund-raising in January of 2010. Fund-raising took about ten months. And now it's February of 2011, and I'm still waiting on paperwork, and it's been a long journey, a long process, but the whole starting part is finally coming to an end after years and years and years! I mean, I know there will be another starting part, but the starting starting part is nearly over.
 
What happens if you don't go?
Honestly, that is not a concern for me. I know that where God calls, he also provides. Yes, I have been known to have stress dreams about timetables and schedules, and I'm finally getting the point where I don't really care. I don't mean that in a dismissive sense; I only mean that I'm tired of trying to keep control of everything in my head, then fall apart when it doesn't come true. The word "if" no longer pertains to the situation! I will get there.

Are you crazy?
Yes. But it goes undiagnosed.

03 February 2011

Foundations

I had a mullet at a very early age.

It was not my fault. I wanted long hair like a Disney princess, and so I got it, party-in-the-back style.

My mom gave me the mullet, but it was not her fault, either. It was the 80's and no one knew better.


As I got older, I learned that the mullet was not only socially but morally repugnant (like most things of the 90's). The fact that my only friends were books and kittens did not help matters, and my fearful, unconventional spirit was a shining target for bullies. I was not cool. Neither were the mean kids, truly, but at least they had power. I had My Little Ponies and a good library. Not power. Not friends.

When I hit adolescence, I found some friends, and then I started working with kids at camp. That's when I realized: no child should have to feel so completely out of place inside their own skin. Sometimes the only people who had noticed my discomfort, who encouraged me in my gifts, were my teachers. I decided I wanted to become one of them.


At age 15 (and mullet-free!), I read a semi-cheesy novel about a woman who attempts to hide from her personal demons by teaching at a school for missionary kids in Taiwan. I wasn't looking for a hideout, but I had never realized that people could actually do that: teach, I mean, in a different country. This sparked a tiny, tiny campfire in my heart, which I attempted to extinguish for about ten years. Well, perhaps "extinguish" isn't the right word. But I managed to ignore it for awhile, even when God threw a few more logs into the flames, and I ended my junior year of college crying for a week because I didn't really want to be a teacher anymore. That's when my friend Christin, whose advice I never took, said, "Shar, you want to go overseas, right? Then finish your education degree; with that, you can do anything." So I did.

But I moved back home and ignored the fire for a year or so. Then I finally started emailing missions agencies because it was burning hotter and hotter, and even though I wouldn't commit to anything, the good people of WorldVenture joined hands and sang Kum-Ba-Ya, and things flared, and bam! Now I'm going to Spain.

It wasn't quite exactly like all of that, but mostly.

I think the story is better in person, and I would be glad to relate it to you that way, if you like.

That's how it started, this new piece of my life in which I move to a new country, start a new job, and communicate in a language I know only fractionally.

I am terrified.

But I'm also very, very grateful.

Also, I no longer have a mullet.