SZIA!!

There is a week left of training, and all I can say is that it has been one wild ride. They warned us at the beginning that everything we’ve ever struggled with, and even things we never thought would be a problem, would appear when we got overseas. Now is supposed to be the time to prepare ourselves for those things. I haven’t gotten overseas yet, but I see already issues that I believed were dead and buried come rising up to the surface, and all the things I struggled with in the last year completely disappear. It has already grown and stretched me in ways I never imagined, throwing me back to my knees over and over. All of these people you see are friends that have become very dear to me here, and have also shown me the parts of myself that are still in progress. The theme God has impressed on me for this year is from John Piper: “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” It seems a funny thing because there won’t be a point in the year where I’ll ever be able to say, “Aha! I reached my goal! I am RIGHT NOW most satisfied in God. I’ve DONE IT!” I don’t think after a year has gone by that I will reach that conclusion either, but I do trust that this year will bring me significantly closer to understanding just what that phrase means, and the ways in which to live it. I know it because of how much I’ve already failed at it in the last 4 weeks, but in order to survive this next year it will need to become my all-consuming pursuit. Pray for me in a week as I get off the plane and take a train to Vac, just me and Sarah Jane, and all I once counted on for security vanishes. Things like knowing how to buy groceries, take the train to Budapest, and even preparing for that first day of classes and teaching in a school system they expect me to understand. I don’t even know when I’ll be able to write again, because I don’t know how long it will take me to figure out how to get an internet connection in our flat. But know that God is taking care of me. He is going to show me how to have complete joy and satisfaction in Him, and He is gracefully fine-tuning me to become more than I was before. Pray for all these people in the pictures who are about to be thrown into similar situations throughout Hungary and the Czech Republic. My prayers and blessings are with all of you.

In Him,

Jo

On a Mission

This is me, Jo. I look like I'm on a mission, because, consequently, I am. I am on my way to Hungary for a year, to teach English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). Why is this a mission? In part because I aim to share Christ's love while teaching, and in part because I hope to fulfill a mission inwardly as well. I hope this year with its excitement and its challenges radically changes me too. Who knows? Maybe by reading my blogs, this year will change you. Think about that.

I'm currently training in Pasadena, CA. We've been here for 3 weeks, with 2 more to go. We study TEFL, as well as team building, preparing ourselves for culture shock, and on the weekends we like to relax and have a little fun. The preparation is also pretty exciting. It's interesting to spend every waking hour with the same people every single day; for weeks to feel like months; and to know temptations, coping skills, and convictions of others before you know their fav food or middle name, and they can say the same of you. It makes bonding come faster, and also it has made the experience comfortable. I'm now safe to say I have family teaching English throughout Central Europe: in Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and I'm excited about that.

I'll be going to a small town called Vac (pronounced Vatz). This is a little switch-up from where I was supposed to go: Budapest. It's only a half-hour to an hour away from Budapest, depending on the train you take, but now I get the full experience of Hungary. I will live in a town with only 4 or 5 other English speakers (besides my teammate), and fully know the culture and dwell in it. Scary, yet satisfying to me.

Last night I slept on the roof of our dorm. We're staying at William Carey University in dorms. I will leave you with this picture of Pasadena from the roof of William Carey, and tell you the experience was mind-boggling. I've been camping, but I felt like I was right in the stars last night. God is blessing me already.