Wow, things have changed significantly in the last month! On February 4th I started a new job; a full time job. It was really sudden but not necessarily unexpected. Over the month of December I had began thinking about the way things had been going and our student loan debt; specifically how our student loan debt could impact our long term mission work. I had already been in prayer about some other things and felt led to spend the first 21 days of 2013 in prayer and fasting. So, I decided to add specifically praying about the student loan debt to my time of fasting. At the same time, we had been discussing how the children had become more and more independent in their studies and didn't need me as much on a continual basis.
Throughout my time of fasting and prayer, I just asked the Lord to do two things in this area: 1) give us peace that the student loans would not hinder our ability to respond to his calling and 2) open doors for us to make progress on the debt as much as possible over the time leading up to a full time missionary commitment.
During this time, we decided that I'd submit my app to begin substitute teaching in a few local districts. This would allow me to have some income but not interfere with our Uganda work during the summer. As I finished my fast, I specifically asked God to receive some sort of affirmation in the following 48 hours. While that might seem demanding, it was fitting at the time and, fortunately, the Lord allows us to ask for what we need, or feel that we need. Apparently the Lord was okay with my request because the very next morning around 8:30 am my phone rang.
It was a high school math facilitator asking me to come for an interview. They didn't need a sub, they needed a full time teacher to finish the school year. They had a full load of students that no longer had a teacher and were falling behind quickly. It would be a full salary with full benefits. I went for the interview and the very next day they offered me the job.
Of course, we were praying hard and trying to determine if this made sense. We asked the kids and they all agreed that we should do it. We would have medical insurance, income to work on our debt, and experience to see if me working was a good option. I'd only be committing to work for 4 months but getting pay and benefits for 7 months. If it worked out, we could seek a full time opportunity for next school year as well. If it didn't work out, we'd only have to persevere for 4 months and we'd have taken care of some needs and made a little progress on our debt.
So, for the last month I've been teaching Algebra I and Math Models at a high school about 25 miles away from our house (I won't say the name, just in case I ever say something that might be less than appealing for the school). :) It's a bit of a drive but I don't have traffic for most of it, so it hasn't been too bad. Sometimes I miss the freedom of not having any significant time restraints and just being home with my kids, but I know that this is a huge blessing for our family.
Throughout my time of fasting and prayer, I just asked the Lord to do two things in this area: 1) give us peace that the student loans would not hinder our ability to respond to his calling and 2) open doors for us to make progress on the debt as much as possible over the time leading up to a full time missionary commitment.
During this time, we decided that I'd submit my app to begin substitute teaching in a few local districts. This would allow me to have some income but not interfere with our Uganda work during the summer. As I finished my fast, I specifically asked God to receive some sort of affirmation in the following 48 hours. While that might seem demanding, it was fitting at the time and, fortunately, the Lord allows us to ask for what we need, or feel that we need. Apparently the Lord was okay with my request because the very next morning around 8:30 am my phone rang.
It was a high school math facilitator asking me to come for an interview. They didn't need a sub, they needed a full time teacher to finish the school year. They had a full load of students that no longer had a teacher and were falling behind quickly. It would be a full salary with full benefits. I went for the interview and the very next day they offered me the job.
Of course, we were praying hard and trying to determine if this made sense. We asked the kids and they all agreed that we should do it. We would have medical insurance, income to work on our debt, and experience to see if me working was a good option. I'd only be committing to work for 4 months but getting pay and benefits for 7 months. If it worked out, we could seek a full time opportunity for next school year as well. If it didn't work out, we'd only have to persevere for 4 months and we'd have taken care of some needs and made a little progress on our debt.
So, for the last month I've been teaching Algebra I and Math Models at a high school about 25 miles away from our house (I won't say the name, just in case I ever say something that might be less than appealing for the school). :) It's a bit of a drive but I don't have traffic for most of it, so it hasn't been too bad. Sometimes I miss the freedom of not having any significant time restraints and just being home with my kids, but I know that this is a huge blessing for our family.
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