Beginning in February until November of 2018, I have the privilege of teaching English as a volunteer for Roatan Horizons. Roatan Horizaons is a school through which Deborah and Sarah Hunnicut provide an education to the kids in their village and English classes to adults throughout the island. Although I am graduating this December with a degree in "Teaching English as a Foreign Language" (TEFL), I am still a little nervous to make teaching a full-time gig. Although I've gotten to tutor and teach some during my time in college, I'm getting really excited to apply and explore the things I learned in my classrooms.
While exploring job opportunities, I found a few different options for a full-time job as a teacher in Asia and even the Middle East. Despite this I decided that an opportunity like the one in Roatan, Honduras would never come again. What makes this one unique/ different? Let me explain.
My sophomore year I heard Deborah Hunnicutt speak in a Sunday morning bible class. She was giving her testimony of a missions kid growing up to be a missionary and reporting on the progress her school in Roatan was making. My friend and I, who are both Mission kids, were fascinated with her story and after briefly speaking with her we realized...... "this could totally be us in the distant future!"
Until Spring of 2017 Deborah and her work occasionally had crossed my mind, that's when it became time to confront the idea of becoming an official adult soon; while I had seriously considered going to Japan at the time, the reality of cultural differences and being a full-time employed teacher on top of this started to unsettle me quite a bit. So, I began exploring my options.
One day as I was sitting in the library, Deborah and her work crossed my mind again, and I felt the urge to see about working for her. I distinctively remember really enjoying her testimony and it seemed like a good option to investigate. When inquiring about jobs, she responded by saying they could use the help but that it would have to be volunteer-work. I prayed, thought about it, looked at the time line and my alternative options. Finally, compared to the other possibilities I saw , this position offered me an opportunity to learn how to serve humbly and live a genuine life helping others. I saw a chance to live and grow in a place that was very foreign, exciting and challenging but under the guidance of an experienced Adult-MK. A paid-professional career could always pick up after this.
Moreover what I decided I desire most for my first year out of college, is personal, spiritual, and professional growth. Personal, because in the past few years I have struggled connecting with people because of the isolating lifestyle college created for me. Spiritual, because while God has done so much for me here, I only know Him where I can live-stream if I'm too tired to deal with people, or I can show up and leave church without having to connect with anybody. Professional, because I need to learn to teach without homework hanging over my head; I need to test out my abilities and challenge my weaknesses, and more importantly find new abilities and weaknesses. Finally, while there are many things I enjoy about my life here in OKC, I've been praying for guidance, mentor-ship and ultimately a break from a first world lifestyle.
So while its all well and good that this is what I hoped for, I still had to apply and interview and plan etc. So over this summer, I had the chance to spend some time getting to know Deborah and her daughter Sarah while they were in OKC. After I spent one afternoon in very veery deep conversation with Deborah, my motivation and my desire to learn from her only grew. Why? Because she made me question my motives. She wanted me to be certain that I was not trying to escape my current place, she wanted me to be certain that I could live and integrate into a culture that was VERY different from either culture I knew so far. And that was good for me. For the first time in a long while I was challenged on a level that made me very uncomfortable. But after praying, thinking and processing my desires and my hopes for my future, I became even more certain that this was where God was calling me to.
I can't tell you how excited I am to start this Journey. I can most certainly say that it will not be easy.... at all!! But I am looking forward to challenging the built up habits I have.
If you would like to read my letter about fundraising you can look for the post entitled "Love knows no boundaries." And if you would like any further information at all... Please send me a message, email, Fb, etc.
Loving without borders,
Jules
