5-Minute Friday: Story

This post is a part of 5-minute Friday.

I've always wanted to be a teacher is something that I could never say.  I've always worked with children.  ALWAYS.  As soon as I was old enough to volunteer in my church's nursery I jumped at the chance.  I never dreamed about becoming a teacher.  I don't know why.  People constantly commented on how well I worked with the children, how children are drawn to me, and how my childlike thought process and tendencies would "make me the perfect teacher."  I never dreamed of becoming a teacher until one day...

It was second year of college.  We went on a missions trip to Ecuador.  The funding for how I was able to get their is an entirely different story covered in God's fingerprints....

In Ecuador we did various service projects to help around the community.  My favorite project was in an Ecuadorian school.  We were there to paint.  We painted EVERYTHING!  Interior walls, exterior walls, and anything else that we were asked to paint.  During the painting I was chosen to "watch" the equipment for the assembly we would hose that afternoon.  Within 5 minutes of guard duty I could finally see what people meant when they said, "children are drawn to you."  I was surrounded by elementary Ecuadorian children.  Not just a little circle around me but layers upon layers of children encircled me.  We tried to share a conversation but without knowing the others language made it hard.

It was this moment that solidified an idea that I had been toying with.  I was supposed to be a teacher.  I was called to be a teacher.  I will never forget the day that I discovered that I wanted to be a teacher.