Back to the Philippines: Missions
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Hello! As a few of y'all know about 2 and a half years ago I signed a contract to move overseas to be a teacher at Faith International Academy (FIA). This school educates the children of missionaries in the Philippines, on the southern island of Mindanao. FIA is located in Davao City, a metropolitan area that has about 2.5 million people and constantly growing. The school is in a quaint little neighborhood about 2 miles from the city center. I have multiple roles at the school including elementary teacher, varsity coach, and athletic director. These past 2 years have been a wild ride and I'm excited to continue the journey.
On the front lines of Christian missions are the Christians workers with their families. They are the hands and feet of the Christian movement, who work to bring the gospel to unreached people. Many of the parents of our students at Faith are taking the gospel to places that have never been reached and I have been a part of that.
Like I said earlier, there is more to this journey than just teaching abroad. If it weren’t for teachers educating their children, these missionaries wouldn’t be able or maybe wouldn’t be willing to go out to get this work done. Teachers at Faith International play a very key support role in allowing missionaries to do what they are being called to do. These missionaries are church planters, evangelist, mid-wives, orphanage workers, Bible translators and distributers, and much more. I have supported the efforts of these missionaries as they go out into South East Asia to change the course of history.
FIA’s goal is to keep tuition prices low to make it financially feasible and not burdensome for the parents to provide their children with a quality education. To do this, we as teachers need raise to money to cover our cost of living. In other words, by raising my own support I am enabling missionaries to give their children a superior education and not be burdened with the high tuition fees typically associated with a private international school.
Along with playing this support role, I also have the frontline position of educating the next generation of Christian workers. The students I come in contact with every day are each in their own journey of figuring out what God has planned for their life. By coming along side of them, forming relationships, and guiding their learning I am able to help them discover what it is they are purposed to do. Over these past two years I have made countless relationships across the globe, but none rival with the ones I have with these students. It is fascinating and incomparable to watch a student learn, grow, and develop into a strong and independent believer. I teach Kindergarteners just the basic beliefs of our Faith. I get to see them begin to scratch the surface of who God is. In my fifth grade class I can challenge their thinking by presenting them with views and beliefs of other religions. Strengthening their own stance and helping them see what it is that they believe as a Christian compared to what other people may believe in other faiths. With my high school players I like to encourage them to confront the new morals and norms presented to them by the secular world. They have to know where they stand on these new issues, what they believe and why they believe it. With high schoolers I want to see them branch out from what their parents or what their school has taught them. I want to see them stand on their own beliefs- confident and sure. Being at this school, this Christian International School, it allows me to accomplish all of these amazing works. I am able to support missionaries on the field while also serving as a frontline missionary myself.
In Davao, I live on about 900 US dollars a month. Most of that (more than a third) goes towards my insurance, which includes health coverage worldwide and an emergency evacuation plan. The rest of the money, about 500 USD, goes to every-day-living costs like rent, food, transportation, and so on. Living in the Philippines on 500 dollars a month is a lot easier than it would be here in the States because a dollar stretches much further there. My rent each month is about 120 US dollars, a decent meal out is about 2-4 dollars, my water bill is usually around 2 dollars, a taxi ride to the grocery store can be about a dollar and fifty cents, and my power bill is typically around 15 dollars a month. It's pretty cool to think if you sent me 15 dollars a month (two meals at McDonalds here) you could completely pay for my electricity for a month. Or if you sent a one-time gift of 100 dollars that could help me out with over 30 meals and six dollars a month would cover my cellphone plan a month. Like I said before, a little bit can go a long way over there.
If this ministry seems special to you, if you are interested to know more, or just feel the call the pray, I would love hear from you. This work is more than a teaching job, it's more than a location abroad; this work really is my heart and my passion. I don't know every part of what God has planned for me in the future, but I am open and willing to obey. I have seen his call and the fruit of work at FIA so far, and he is leading me to stay!
Thanks for reading about my adventure. I hope you will consider contributing in whatever way you see fit. I am confident God has called me to this ministry, and so I also have confidence in his provisions.
For more information about FIA watch this video.
On the front lines of Christian missions are the Christians workers with their families. They are the hands and feet of the Christian movement, who work to bring the gospel to unreached people. Many of the parents of our students at Faith are taking the gospel to places that have never been reached and I have been a part of that.
Like I said earlier, there is more to this journey than just teaching abroad. If it weren’t for teachers educating their children, these missionaries wouldn’t be able or maybe wouldn’t be willing to go out to get this work done. Teachers at Faith International play a very key support role in allowing missionaries to do what they are being called to do. These missionaries are church planters, evangelist, mid-wives, orphanage workers, Bible translators and distributers, and much more. I have supported the efforts of these missionaries as they go out into South East Asia to change the course of history.
FIA’s goal is to keep tuition prices low to make it financially feasible and not burdensome for the parents to provide their children with a quality education. To do this, we as teachers need raise to money to cover our cost of living. In other words, by raising my own support I am enabling missionaries to give their children a superior education and not be burdened with the high tuition fees typically associated with a private international school.
Along with playing this support role, I also have the frontline position of educating the next generation of Christian workers. The students I come in contact with every day are each in their own journey of figuring out what God has planned for their life. By coming along side of them, forming relationships, and guiding their learning I am able to help them discover what it is they are purposed to do. Over these past two years I have made countless relationships across the globe, but none rival with the ones I have with these students. It is fascinating and incomparable to watch a student learn, grow, and develop into a strong and independent believer. I teach Kindergarteners just the basic beliefs of our Faith. I get to see them begin to scratch the surface of who God is. In my fifth grade class I can challenge their thinking by presenting them with views and beliefs of other religions. Strengthening their own stance and helping them see what it is that they believe as a Christian compared to what other people may believe in other faiths. With my high school players I like to encourage them to confront the new morals and norms presented to them by the secular world. They have to know where they stand on these new issues, what they believe and why they believe it. With high schoolers I want to see them branch out from what their parents or what their school has taught them. I want to see them stand on their own beliefs- confident and sure. Being at this school, this Christian International School, it allows me to accomplish all of these amazing works. I am able to support missionaries on the field while also serving as a frontline missionary myself.
In Davao, I live on about 900 US dollars a month. Most of that (more than a third) goes towards my insurance, which includes health coverage worldwide and an emergency evacuation plan. The rest of the money, about 500 USD, goes to every-day-living costs like rent, food, transportation, and so on. Living in the Philippines on 500 dollars a month is a lot easier than it would be here in the States because a dollar stretches much further there. My rent each month is about 120 US dollars, a decent meal out is about 2-4 dollars, my water bill is usually around 2 dollars, a taxi ride to the grocery store can be about a dollar and fifty cents, and my power bill is typically around 15 dollars a month. It's pretty cool to think if you sent me 15 dollars a month (two meals at McDonalds here) you could completely pay for my electricity for a month. Or if you sent a one-time gift of 100 dollars that could help me out with over 30 meals and six dollars a month would cover my cellphone plan a month. Like I said before, a little bit can go a long way over there.
If this ministry seems special to you, if you are interested to know more, or just feel the call the pray, I would love hear from you. This work is more than a teaching job, it's more than a location abroad; this work really is my heart and my passion. I don't know every part of what God has planned for me in the future, but I am open and willing to obey. I have seen his call and the fruit of work at FIA so far, and he is leading me to stay!
Thanks for reading about my adventure. I hope you will consider contributing in whatever way you see fit. I am confident God has called me to this ministry, and so I also have confidence in his provisions.
For more information about FIA watch this video.
Organizer
Kristen Simpson
Organizer
Dothan, AL