Letters Across Ocean Shores: My Journey Part 1

As many of you probably already know (especially if you're coming to this site), I'm embarking on a new adventure and am anticipating a complete life change in the next few months. In July, I'll be leaving Orlando (the place I've called home for almost all of my 27 years!) and journeying down a new road. If you're wondering just what country that road leads to, read the title of my blog again and see if you can figure it out (hint: it's an acronym).

If you still can't figure it out, here's another hint:

I wanted to start off this blog by sharing my story and the background that has led me to this point. One of the things I'm convinced the Father used to ingnite a passion in my heart for other nations and cultures was being a host family. My family started hosting exchange students in 1993. I was 10. But I distinctly remember having a love for culture even at that age. I loved learning about other countries and languages and found it fascinating to try and communicate with these new friends, even if it meant slowing down my speaking speed considerably and stumbling through the lost-in-translation process. Over the years my family continued to host students from a number of different places - Japan, Siberia, France, China, and Switzerland. And He continued to grow that love for the nations in my heart.

Hosting a couple from China December 2009

I went on a few trips to Mexico in high school and then in college, I got involved with a Japanese homestay program joining activities and teaching some English classes and fell in love with everything about Japan - the culture, the language, and most of all, the people.

Mission To Japan Beach Retreat 2005

After my second trip to Japan, and a brief period of teaching free English classes there, I felt the need to receive more training if I truly wanted to be an English teacher. So, I decided to get my M.A. in TESOL (in case you don't know what that stands for, and no one ever does, it means: Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages). I felt like those credentials might be able to open doors to certain places that needed to hear the Good News, but might not allow people in under spiritual auspices.

Graduating Sisters :)

That was two years ago. Since then, I spent a year teaching at UCF's language school called CMMS (another acronym no one ever knows the meaning of!) where I met people from all over the world - literally. I had students from Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Korea, Libia, Kuwait, Japan, Taiwan, Yemen, China. What an incredibly rich experience - culturally and academically. It was a wonderful place to teach and be mentored in academic excellence.

CMMS Students/Friends at Graduation Ceremony

CMMS Halloween Party

And just when I felt like I knew the direction my life was heading, a curve-ball came along. Well, maybe I should say 3 adorable heart-melting curve balls! :) In February of last year, my roomate Carissa took me over to her boss's house to meet her boss's five-month-old triplets. It was pretty low-key, I didn't expect much - just visiting some cutie-pie babies I'd heard so much about. Obviously God had other plans, and it was a divine appointment of sorts. I was in love (no not with a man, sorry mom! But, with two little men and a little lady:).

Charlie, Katie "Goose", and Will

After spending a lot of time with the triplets and their parents over the next few months, I sensed God's tug on my heart to become the nanny for their family. And, I've never looked back. It was a tough decision to make - I had just recently earned my Master's and was hoping to "build my career", but as I've learned by watching my mom and her dedication to my siblings and I, sometimes pouring your life into children can be the most important "career" of all .

It has been a sweet year. A year of learning the small miracles that happen in the lives of children every day. A year of learning more about God's love for me - His precious child. A year of learning to trust God in the big and the small. God is not just in the spectacular - He is in the seemingly mundane, every day things, and He wants my worship and praise in the day-to-day stuff that might not seem like a big deal to me.