Countdown: By the Numbers

As of today, May 21, 2013, there are approximately…

1 newsletter to write stateside. After that, it’s here from there…let me know if you want to be on the list to get updates via snail mail or email.

2 months left in the US.

4 Sundays left to be at church.

5 books to read in preparation for this move.

a whole bunch of thank you notes to write- so many amazing, encouraging people are in my life!!

19 days left of school.  Yikes!! There’s a lot left to teach- onward we go!  Drop by Team 211 if you want to see peeps learning ’til the last bell rings!

$500/month of support left to raise!  Woo hoo!  If you want to be a part, go to onechallenge.org/give and include my name- Angela Olson- as the missionary.  Let me know if you plan to give monthly.

Whew!  Craziness- here we go!

Faith Academy- What? Why?

This video provides visuals if you’re wondering what it will look like there!

I will be teaching at Faith Academy, Manila. For more info, see this post: http://punkeydoodle.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/off-we-go-2/ .

I’d love to have you join the journey!

God’s Gracious “No”

You know, but you don’t. You know in your head, but not in your heart.

And God is gracious nonetheless.

So often, God has not given me what I wanted. Despite knowing in my head that He loves me, I believed that He didn’t know/didn’t care/didn’t see/didn’t understand why He really should say “yes” instead.

I could look at it from a human/teacher perspective and see why “no” would be both necessary and beneficial, but at times, I could not for the life of me see why He wouldn’t give me my own way.

To look back now on just the last 10 years- the years since I graduated from high school and went to a university I didn’t want to attend in a state too hot for my taste by myself- is to see a little bit of why God’s “no” was so kind, even if I didn’t feel it. So many details of my experiences have prepared me for the next adventure.

Moving alone to ASU means I’ve already done the away-from-your-family thing, though not like this.

Finishing my degree means having a profession to use in ministry to missionary kids.

Five years of teaching experience means less anxiety professionally, time to teach kids with various needs, learning with different administrators, and more.

Interviewing in January to join One Challenge means less time to raise support. That means that I am just more sure it is God, not me, making it happen!

There are many more details, but suffice it to say that I am so grateful that my loving Father didn’t say “yes” a moment earlier. His ways may be hard to understand at times, but His wisdom and love are unsurpassable.

To be sure, there will be more times to hear “no” in the future; likely, I will not understand. But I do believe a little more, deep in my heart, that God is gracious.

Off we* go…

into the wild blue yonder- not so much.

to Faith Academy in Manila- yes!

I wish I could list every way I have seen provision, grace, encouragement, and kindness in the last 16 months- the time from the start of this process until now. The years before that included a lot of what I call now “God’s gracious ‘No.’” More on that later.

For now, I’d like to address a few frequently asked questions:

1. What is Faith Academy?
Faith Academy is a pre-K through 12th grade international Christian school designed to serve the needs of missionary kids. Students come from over 20 different nations and many different missions to receive a college-prep education.

2. What will you be teaching?
I will be teaching third grade (and I’m super excited to meet my kiddos!!)

3a. What language do they speak?
Filipino, based on Tagalog (tuh-GALL-og) is the most commonly spoken language in the Manila area, though English is spoken as well.

3b. Will you be teaching in English?
Yes! Many of my students will be English language learners, which means my training during college in this area will come in handy.

4. Where will you live?
I will in a house about 10 minutes from school with several other teachers from Faith. This is one of those answers to prayers I hadn’t yet prayed when it was answered!

5. Will you get paid?
By the school- no. Tuition is affordable for missionary families because the staff (from the superintendent on down) is volunteer missionary staff. Many friends and family who believe in this work have generously supported me through my mission, One Challenge International, and my one-time costs are now covered! I am currently at about 55% on my monthly support budget of about $2,000/month. If you want to join, you can contact me and/or go to onechallenge.org and click “give,” then put in my name.

6. Why are you doing this?
Basically? Because someday I will join with brothers and sisters from every nation, tribe, and tongue in singing the song of the redeemed, and I want to be a part of that song now. Because God said, “Go.” and followed it up with making it happen. Because my life was changed when I was seven years old, and the only appropriate response to the grace of God in my life is glad obedience. That’s the short version.

7. How can I learn more?
I send out email updates as well as monthly newsletters, and you can sign up by emailing me at angeladawn (at) gmail (dot) com. *No spaces*

8. When do you leave?
My first day of work will by July 19, so I’ll hopefully be leaving a week or so in advance to start getting used to the weather, culture, etc. Exact dates are TBD.

9. How long will you be there?
My initial commitment is 2 years. After that- only God knows!!

*We, you ask? Yes, it is *just* me, but it’s not- my family and friends will not be physically present, but I consider your support to be huge in making this adventure possible! I am also reminded that “the One Who reigns forever…is a friend of mine.”

Childlike Thanks

Over the last few months, I have been surprised over and over again by the details that have come together and the divine arrangements that have been made.  I keep saying, “I should stop being so surprised when God does these things- He just keeps doing them!”

My mom says that I should settle for being amazed- to enjoy the little things that so easily feel big in the moment.

So….I think I will.  Like little ones enjoy the relatively minor things their parents do (like when my dad would send a postcard home to us while on a business trip) as much or more than the big things (working to provide for us!), I’ll take each gift as it comes…

…even if my gratitude is childlike.

I’m giving thanks today for boots, puddle jumping, mud and little boys, tulips in full bloom, a home for guinea pigs, snuggles, more love for my kids, and encouraging emails.  

Happy brain

Nothing excites me quite like new learning. It doesn’t need to be new to the world- it’s usually not! But when I wrap my brain around a new-to-me idea, especially when it relates to missions and theology, two of my favorite subjects, I feel like a kid in a doughnut shop with all the glass removed.

This week I got some training in cultural tendencies and preferences. One day, we focused on the worldviews* of culture. The predominant worldview in most western cultures is guilt-innocence. That is to say that it is good/respected to be innocent and the worst thing is to be guilty. (I see this at work in the way we discipline. When an incident occurs, an investigation is conducted to ascertain the guilt and innocence or the involved parties.)

Therefore, most western Christians have been taught and see the Gospel-the good news of Jesus- through this lens. Jesus came to take the punishment that we, the guilty, deserved. And the scriptures bear this out. (Romans Road, anyone?)

But there are other worldviews, too. And my new learning this week was that the Gospel is no less powerful when seen through another lens.

We had the resident missiologist sitting in on our cultural training sessions this week, and he kept reminding us that all nations, tribes, and tongues will be represented at the throne someday. Their cultural distinctions will be present, glorifying the Lamb in their uniqueness.

So it makes sense that the Gospel applies to every culture now!

More to come…

Why I sleep

I’ve been thinking more about this whole sleep thing (see previous post). In retrospect it seems that I have a few strong opinions on this whole idea. Maybe personal convictions is a better way to put it.

Perhaps I should preface this by noting that my type A/driven/intense personality is being tempered by God’s grace and kindness. My thoughts on rest have been changed in the process.

I have always needed lots of sleep. (An 8:00pm bedtime through sixth grade is exhibit A and a sign of how well my parents knew me!). As I realized how unusual my typical 8 hours/night was, I felt it was a sign of personal weakness and a big bummer! How much more could I do if I only used 5 of my daily 24 for sleep?!

Long story short, here are my guiding principles:

1. Sleep is stewardship. If I truly believe that my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, getting enough sleep to be healthy is honoring Him.

2. Sleep is trust. If God rested for a whole day and commanded His people to do the same, He doesn’t expect me to work 24-7. If I think my plan for life (work-productivity-effort) is superior, I imply that I know better than He.

3. Sleep is mission. I don’t know about you, but I get grouchy and snippy when I need sleep. No one (especially the teacher) like to have grumpy teacher, and it’s a whole lot harder to act in love when I’m tired.

Part of me says this whole post sounds like an excuse to sleep more and work less. That may be a problem for some people. For me, the temptation is to do more and rest less. To each her own.

The other piece is that there are (many) times when life is far from ideal. For me, this is about where my heart is. God is gracious in re-arranging priorities in advance and providing grace when the plan changes. I remind myself of that on my grumpy teacher days!