Final ECA Update
It’s crazy that this school year has ended and that my time teaching at ECA is now finished. The past two years have been amazing, challenging, and memorable, and it’s cool to look back on how much I’ve grown in so many ways. I got to go on the Senior class trip to Capurganá (a tiny town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia bordering Panama) as one of the homeroom teachers. This was the same place I visited a year and a half ago. The students had a great time on the trip and just enjoyed being with each other. It was a great way for them to end their time at ECA. I will definitely miss the relationships with the students. Several have told me not to leave and that they will miss me. This past Sunday I got to see the 12th grade class graduate and enter the “real world.” I also got to speak in elementary chapel (1st-4th grade) about love putting others first (love isn’t self-seeking). We have been going through each element of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 in the chapels.
Change of Plans
The past few weeks have been very interesting as I have changed what I will be doing next in Colombia. The church I was going to work for in Armenia can’t provide the necessary documents at this time in order for me to apply for my visa. So as crazy as this sounds an opportunity was placed in front of me to be ECA’s representative to OBED (Christian schools association) schools in Colombia. I will be staying as an “employee” of ECA, keep my visa, pay the school what it needs to pay me, and travel and help schools all across the country. Things aren’t quite set yet, but the idea is that I will do some work with PE teachers teaching different sports and showing them how to use English and biblical integration for their classes. This was certainly not what I expected or planned, but I trust God knows what He is doing and is calling me out of my comfort zone once again. It will be an adventure for sure! I may still live in Armenia during this next year and help some with the soccer ministry when I am not traveling, but I’m not sure yet how things will go.
Back to USA
I will be in the States for four weeks. I will spend the first two weeks (June 7-21) in Pennsylvania with family and relatives and then the final two weeks (June 21-July 5) in Raleigh, North Carolina connecting with friends and church family. I will be speaking at two churches about my experience in Colombia. I have a lot of mixed feelings about being back in the States after two years away. I have had fears and anxieties about it, but I pray that I am able to be positive and purposeful and that God will use me to be a blessing and an encouragement to those around me.
Growing in the Lord
This past month has been an “uncomfortable,” stretching one spiritually and emotionally. I have been asking God what and how I need to change. I have felt a lot of heaviness, anxiety, and spiritual attacks as I prepare for my transition. I am “re-learning” the truth of my identity in Christ and being encouraged to stop believing the lies about who I am and start believing the truth about scripture, who God is, and my identity in Him with my heart, not just with my head. I have been asking God to show me how to love, because love is everything, and also for the authority I have in Christ. I have been reading some books about dealing with emotions and loving others and how those emotions, feelings, and past experiences are all connected to my relationship with God. It has been an eye-opening experience, and I feel there has been so much I’ve been challenged with already. God is so good to us and is faithful in doing what He needs to make us more like Him!
En Cristo,
Jonathan
It’s crazy that this school year has ended and that my time teaching at ECA is now finished. The past two years have been amazing, challenging, and memorable, and it’s cool to look back on how much I’ve grown in so many ways. I got to go on the Senior class trip to Capurganá (a tiny town on the Caribbean coast of Colombia bordering Panama) as one of the homeroom teachers. This was the same place I visited a year and a half ago. The students had a great time on the trip and just enjoyed being with each other. It was a great way for them to end their time at ECA. I will definitely miss the relationships with the students. Several have told me not to leave and that they will miss me. This past Sunday I got to see the 12th grade class graduate and enter the “real world.” I also got to speak in elementary chapel (1st-4th grade) about love putting others first (love isn’t self-seeking). We have been going through each element of love found in 1 Corinthians 13 in the chapels.
Change of Plans
The past few weeks have been very interesting as I have changed what I will be doing next in Colombia. The church I was going to work for in Armenia can’t provide the necessary documents at this time in order for me to apply for my visa. So as crazy as this sounds an opportunity was placed in front of me to be ECA’s representative to OBED (Christian schools association) schools in Colombia. I will be staying as an “employee” of ECA, keep my visa, pay the school what it needs to pay me, and travel and help schools all across the country. Things aren’t quite set yet, but the idea is that I will do some work with PE teachers teaching different sports and showing them how to use English and biblical integration for their classes. This was certainly not what I expected or planned, but I trust God knows what He is doing and is calling me out of my comfort zone once again. It will be an adventure for sure! I may still live in Armenia during this next year and help some with the soccer ministry when I am not traveling, but I’m not sure yet how things will go.
Back to USA
I will be in the States for four weeks. I will spend the first two weeks (June 7-21) in Pennsylvania with family and relatives and then the final two weeks (June 21-July 5) in Raleigh, North Carolina connecting with friends and church family. I will be speaking at two churches about my experience in Colombia. I have a lot of mixed feelings about being back in the States after two years away. I have had fears and anxieties about it, but I pray that I am able to be positive and purposeful and that God will use me to be a blessing and an encouragement to those around me.
Growing in the Lord
This past month has been an “uncomfortable,” stretching one spiritually and emotionally. I have been asking God what and how I need to change. I have felt a lot of heaviness, anxiety, and spiritual attacks as I prepare for my transition. I am “re-learning” the truth of my identity in Christ and being encouraged to stop believing the lies about who I am and start believing the truth about scripture, who God is, and my identity in Him with my heart, not just with my head. I have been asking God to show me how to love, because love is everything, and also for the authority I have in Christ. I have been reading some books about dealing with emotions and loving others and how those emotions, feelings, and past experiences are all connected to my relationship with God. It has been an eye-opening experience, and I feel there has been so much I’ve been challenged with already. God is so good to us and is faithful in doing what He needs to make us more like Him!
En Cristo,
Jonathan