Not a coincidence

Exactly one year ago, I wrote the following in an email to Amy, my college roommate:

"You and I were talking about how I was afraid I could never get to the mission field and now I have another reason to wait: student loans. Many missions organizations I've looked at refuse to send missionaries that are in debt. I'm not saying the loans are a deal-breaker, but it's just another hurdle that God will overcome if he wants me overseas after graduation. I'm still praying. God's plans are still bigger and better than mine."

365 days later, look where I am. Oh, Lord, you're so good to me.

Continuing Down the Road

I make my plans, but the Lord orders my steps.

I accepted the position in Nigeria on Friday afternoon with a salary counter-offer, and now I wait to see if this negotiation has been approved. The decision is out of my hands.

Truthfully, the decision was never mine, because the Lord orders my steps.

I was created for the purpose of His glory, and whether I do that from Nigeria or Chicago or Minneapolis, I seek only to be obedient. And EVEN IF the answer comes back "no," the Lord will reorder my steps as I continue in obedience. (see Daniel 3:16-18 for my favorite "even if" scenario).

My prayer is that the decision that comes back to me will bring definitive confirmation, one way or the other.

This is Nigeria.

To me, Nigeria is still a faceless place I've never been to. At least now I've connected a voice with the location. I spoke with the director of the school today and got more of my questions answered. I think I'm getting closer to making a final decision, but not before more prayer, fasting, and research.
This decision is complicated by the fact that this is so not a business deal to me. I'm not choosing this career path for the money, for the security, for the perks. This is more of a spiritual decision for me than anything else, and so I wait on God. In silence, in meditation, in song, in tears, in anxiety, in loneliness, in need, in trust and in faith I continue to wait on Him.

A few more pics of the strange new world I might move to.
Symbolic Geography:

The Presence of Islam:

Culture:

I'm falling in love with a place I've never seen.

About 6 weeks ago, I applied for a teaching job at an international school in Nigeria. The position didn't at all fit the profile of what I was focusing on (corporate, communications-based, in Chicago), but the "what if?" factor intrigued me and I sent off my resume. I figured I've been rejected for about 30 jobs so far; what's the harm?

5 weeks ago, I moved home to Minneapolis after a sudden and shocking job loss. It took me about a week to decompress and then, about 4 weeks ago, I got a response from Nigeria. International Community School is an accredited American international school and they have offered me a position teaching a combination of Moral Instruction, ESL, and English classes. M.I. is a non-graded discussion-based curriculum for all grades (K-12) which covers making friends, conflict resolution, AIDS, etc. ESL is the teaching of English to Speakers of other Languages for students who arrive at ICS with an insufficient knowledge of English. It's a 2-year contract (I have the option to choose 1-year renewable, too). And while the pros and cons are evenly matched at this point, my fears are of leaving everything I know and love here in the States; my fears are not of going.

I've been doing research and looking at pictures and imagining my life in this strange new place. It's new and exciting and I can't think of any other time in my life that I will be able to pick up and move half a world away. My heart has always been overseas, I just wasn't sure how that would manifest itself.

I think I've been afraid to talk about Nigeria here on my blog, or my Facebook or my Twitter because there's so much indecision and uncertainty surrounding the entire situation. I wanted everyone to know when I knew for sure one way or the other. But life doesn't work like that. I don't have all the answers and I never will and not talking about the situation doesn't make anything clearer. So I still have more questions than answers, and even though I haven't made a final decision about whether I'm going or staying, I'm talking about it. With anyone and everyone. And with no one, like here on my blog.

Feel free to talk back.

Life changes so fast.

This past weekend was full of love and friends, good food, and lots of rest for me. It ended abruptly with the loss of my job this morning. I feel quite sideswiped as I have worked very hard the past 2 weeks to make this opportunity a success, and then to have everything change so suddenly is very unnerving to me.

All that said, this is a good decision. It wasn't a good fit or a healthy environment for me to remain a part of, and I am looking forward to see how God will make this interesting. He certainly has my attention now...

Not sure yet if I'll be staying in Chicago. A lot depends on if I can find employment in the next couple days. I might head home for a while during the wedding season and then make my way back to this place I've come to love so much.

God is still faithful. Still.