He is no fool who gives what
he cannot keep to gain what
he cannot lose.
-Jim Elliot
It has been too long since I last updated everyone on my Osborn Opportunities. God is alive and moving and I am excited to share with you what that looks like in my life and how YOU can be a part of it too!
First- What is this profesora- teacher business?
Back in February, which seems so long ago, God opened the doors for me to go to Bogotá, Colombia with a team of ten from my church (The Orchard Evangelical Free Church). We spent a week in Bogotá, during which we encouraged missionaries from our church: The McCollums & Carrie Bergmann, and served alongside them at the Christian school El Camino Academy.
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| Our team of ten- plus the McCollums and Carrie Bergmann |
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| El Camino Academy (Part of it) |
I had two purposes for going on this trip:
#1. I wanted to encourage the missionaries we support: The McCollums and Carrie.
#2. I wanted to visit the school I thought God might be asking me to teach at.
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| Our team + our beloved Colombian friend Henry |
A HUGE shout out to everyone who prayed for our team and financially supported us!
***Hopefully you were able to keep updated with the daily blog we kept. If not you can still check out some of the pictures and highlights-http://colombiateam2013.blogspot.com/***
Personally I loved every minute of the trip. It brought me back to my time student teaching in Costa Rica and reminded me how much I love Spanish, despite my lack of speaking skills- as one little boy innocently pointed out "Your Spanish is ugly." I am a work in progress!
Our work at the school was focused on putting in an alarm system and helping clean up some of the garden beds. But I also had the great opportunity to teach the Bible lesson in my friend Carrie's 3rd grade class.
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| Me stomping around the walls of Jericho- Thankfully the walls of El Camino didn't come tumbling down. |
How encouraging it was to teach a lesson on trust, as I prayed about trusting God for wherever He was leading me.
Our week in Bogotá ended, but little did I know it was the end of a new beginning.
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| There were a LOT of laughs on this trip :) |
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| The McCollum Family |
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| We all went a little crazy by the end of the trip |
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| But it was a great trip! |
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| Colombian Cuisine- Just kidding :) |
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| Gordon & I working hard on one of the gardens |
Returning to the states I decided to finish the application I had started, for teaching at El Camino. Let me tell you, that was one weighty application! But worth its weight in gold. After working briefly with some of the staff and students at El Camino I felt this is where God wants me and I decided to finish the application and see if God really did want me at El Camino.
And He does! I was accepted to teach at El Camino Academy (ECA) and it looks like I will be teaching 5th and a few classes in 6th grade. I have begun support raising, which is a whole new adventure from my short-term support raising to long-term. Yet what an opportunity to see God's hand at work, and especially to have those who want to partner with me in this ministry at ECA.If you want to join my prayer team or financial support team please go to RCE- International. Click on the upper right "Donate" and select "Support a Missionary." My name is on the missionary list-with the account # 11952.
This Sunday I will be speaking at the Orchard Evangelical Free Church Arlington Heights Campus (Sunday evening 6:30 PM in the Chapel) along with my Bogotá team. We will be sharing more details from the February Bogotá trip and I will be sharing more about my transition to teaching in Bogotá this coming school year.
One quick Osborn Opportunity-
There have been many opportunities that have arisen out of the past few months, but one sticks out that is more along the lines of an Osborn Opportunity :) Let me explain, shortly after I was accepted to teach at El Camino I found out there is an important conference in New York from June 21-July 5th (TCK-PFO at Houghton College, New York). I prayed about going, weighed the pros and cons, and finally felt God was telling me to go. However, plane tickets are expensive. As I began searching I suddenly remembered I had been given a $200-round trip-plan voucher. ***Our original flight to Bogotá was cancelled when we arrived at the Houston airport in February and they had to book us another flight. However, when we returned to the states they gave us a $200-round trip-plane voucher***
Wouldn't you know that as I searched flights I found one for $199! But that wasn't all. In order to get the $199 I had to arrive a day early in Buffalo, New York. But I knew this would include finding a hotel, a way back to the airport, etc... Then I remembered my dad's example of asking help from local Evangelical Free Churches (Ex: Our car broke down in Iowa on a family vacation and we stayed at the church for two days, and their youth group had a pizza party for us. Also, this past August my car broke down with my best friend Bethany, as we were traveling to Illinois to leave for a mission trip to Canada. My dad called the church pastor in the town we were being towed to and his wife came and picked us up, brought us home, fed us, and gave us a place to sleep for the night.) Like father like daughter, I contacted the nearest E. Free Church in Buffalo and the pastor graciously offered to pick me up, house me, and feed me! Praise God from whom all blessings flow! I am joyfully anticipating this pre-field orientation and meeting some of my fellow Christian brother and sisters from the East coast and from around the world.
*Pray for my last two months at work and for God to provide my replacement
*Pray for the many details that need to be done before my departure to Colombia.
*Pray for continued support, as I raise the needed funds and build my support team.
*Pray for protection as I've been growing closer to God, much to the devil's dismay
*Pray for rest and renewal
When we risk our lives to run after Christ, we discover the safety that is found only in His sovereignty, the security that is found only in His love, and the satisfaction that is found only in His presence.
-David Platt
