Flying on the Wings of Grace
In my distress, I cried out to the Lord; I called to my God for help. God heard my voice from his temple; I called him for help, and my call reached his ears. Psalms 18:6
I never imagined I would be standing in front of a classroom of Hungarian children teaching English classes by myself. However, to my dismay for eight weeks I was a solo English teacher in a special needs school. The only other adult who speaks English at the school is the first-grade teacher. I was responsible for 15 classes a week grades 1st – through 8th. I am not a “teacher” by a professional education but by God’s grace and favor. I can confidently share with you, I have truly been stretched and encouraged in my call to serve children with disabilities in Hungary. God’s generosity towards me is amazing and I can truly say He heard my cry.
I felt so unprepared! Yet, somehow, I had a feeling of being fully surrounded by a shield of divine grace and the prayers of so many who knew my challenge. My entire life was overwhelmed with the responsibility of lesson planning in the evening. Teachers are required to gather so much information to effectively manage and monitor a class. I didn’t have a lesson planning sheet. The ones on the internet didn’t make much sense to me. But God brought back to my remembrance the nursing education form plans that I used to submit to our nursing education department for nursing education credits. So I created my own lesson plan sheet with God’s guidance. Daily I had a conversation with my former teaching partner about the learning needs of each class. Then, I needed to learn how to teach the lessons and most of the time I had to turn to YouTube- she’s my new best friend. After the lesson plans were written I knew what and how I was going to teach. Many parts of the lesson need to be translated into Hungarian! I don’t speak Hungarian well enough to translate into English! So, you are guessing correctly, I then had to spend time with “Google Translate”!
It was hard, but I also knew I was not operating in my own strength or natural disposition. Anyone who knows me knows I go to bed early. Most nights, I was up till after midnight in preparation to teach my classes. During those two months, I wish I could tell you I didn’t whine and cry, but I did, usually around midnight. Don’t judge me! Yet, each morning I felt rested and wore a heartfelt smile on my face. This is my second year at Pannonhalmi school. The good news is I know all my children, all 100 by name and together we hold a strong commitment to succeed. They were working as hard as I was to understand be understood. They were taking tests written by my former partner teacher and they were passing!!!!
It’s in difficult time that we often see what God has been up to in our lives. I was praying for a replacement teacher and praying for my former teaching partner who was out on medical leave. I knew the seriousness of her health concern, I wasn’t surprised when she told me she would not be released to return to work this school year. All I could think about was it’s April — where can a teacher possibly be found?
I believe that God wants us to come honestly with our concerns. I sat down, prayed and had a very long cry. I couldn’t believe when I was able to say, God even if you don’t send another teacher, I believe that with your grace, I can make it till the end of this school year. God heard my prayers.
I joyfully share with you, God sent another teacher! On the morning of our first meeting, I smiled when I opened my “Hungarian” word of the day and the word was “csapat”, which means “team”. I considered it a God-smile and a reminder that God walks with us into the details. He knows what we need. My new partner teacher says she felt God’s smile in my greeting, “I’ve been praying for you”. We have been together five weeks and school is going to be over in a few days. Am I grateful? You better believe I am!
So the adventure continues!
God’s Peace
Carmella