Leaving on a Jet Plane...

It's official. I am student teaching in New Zealand this fall. I leave on August 26th and will return on November 21st. I'm still feeling a HUGE range of emotions but overall I'm excited and very peaceful about going.

I will teach at Point View Primary in the city of Howick, a suburb of Auckland. My mentor teacher is Kay Morris, and she has 24 five-year-old students in her classroom. While this might sound like the beginning of a nightmare for some of you, I could not be more thrilled. I love teaching, and although I sometimes panic about being ready, I'm excited to jump in and start.

My home stay family sounds amazing. Gerard and Tina have two sons: 7-year-old Simon and almost 5-year-old Daniel. Their house is a less than ten minute walk away from Point View. We've emailed back and forth several times, and I'm so encouraged by their open and friendly personalities. Tina is a teacher at another school down the road, and her mentor teacher was also Kay Morris several years ago. Small world?

The more I research about things to do and places to see, the more excited I get. It's going to be an adventure. I love teaching, traveling, and being surrounded by kids, so I feel like this entire experience combines all of my favorite things. Will it be hard to leave my family, friends, and the great city of Athens? Yes. Will I miss being part of birthdays/things that happen here? Yes. The Lord has been so great to remind me of his faithfulness though. So many times in the bible, his people have a spirit of doubt or fear... Adam and Eve, Moses and the Israelites, Abraham, Elijah (skip a few years)... Jesus's disciples. Yet the Lord showed up for all of them and spoke. So I guess that's what I'm praying for... that in this season of being alone in a different land, that God will speak to me. I want to learn how to dwell more deeply with him.