High School Teacher at Boarding School for Refugees in Middle East
Track:Teaching track
Region:Middle East
I am a California native, and a 2013 college grad with a degree in Music.
I love coffee, exploring old places, and conversations with people who are very different from me. Especially over food. The musical nature of everyday life is beautiful to me.
I have a heart for people that are displaced across the world, and God has given me a passion for people in North Africa specifically.
I discovered something in my quiet time today that I wanted to share with you.
I have started working in a school for refugee children- kids who have been displaced by war in African countries, mostly to the south of my country now. These kids are all amazing- smart, eager to learn, and are ready to be challenged. It is a joy to see kids so self-motivated to learn and perform well!
I was reading Psalm 46 as a part of my time with God today, which describes God as security: it is a beautiful description of seeing God as our provider and refuge. The text continues below (ESV):
“God…
Read more >>
The best piece of advice that I received this summer can be summed up in one sentence:
“Listen to more dissonant classical music.”
Let me explain.
I had an opportunity to travel to and participate in my company’s international conference, and on top of that, I had the honor to lead worship for our company! It was such an amazing experience- getting to be around people who love Muslims and intentionally share with them was an absolute joy- to see so many people in one room that share my passion makes my heart explode with joy even now. God did a great work in us at that conference, and I am…
Read more >>
I have now crossed into my sixth month in my new home! As I am reflecting on my time so far, in all of my preparation and in all of my study, nothing could have prepared for how much I have had to forgive others
Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying this from a place of pride, but a place of honesty. Living as a foreign person in a foreign place carries a lot of burden and responsibility with it: you represent your entire home country without realizing it, and there is also this expectation that you either must know everything or absolutely nothing about the country you live in now; it…
Read more >>
Something very funny happened with me recently that I wanted to share with you.
I come from California, which if you haven’t been living under a rock for the past few years, has received a lot of attention for its “immigration crisis,” in addition to a plethora of other problems. I live in a city with a high population of migrant workers, and friends in my city make jokes consistently about “la migra,” or immigration police who have the power to send people out of the country. Though deportation and the constant threat of being labeled as illegal is a serious matter for my community back…
Read more >>
Language learning is both a major joy and a major challenge for me. It has been mentioned to me several times over the course of my life that it takes more than a thousand mistakes to be a competent speaker in a new language, and I now believe that with my whole heart now that I am in the dredges of grammar and syntax that makes sense sometimes.
Throughout this process, God has humbled me in a way that I have not expected. I have the honor to be in a class with my flatmate under the tutelage of a spectacularly gifted teacher. Now three months in, we are able to laugh with and at each other…
Read more >>