News from Slovakia!

I am so excited. Just tonight I received an email from the head of the English/language departments at Narnia, the school I will be teaching at. She wanted me to know that I will be teaching conversational English to 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th graders! Yeah! I am so glad to know that I will be teaching elementary students. I may also be teaching one class for High School students. Materials will be limited, but I know that God is able to take 5 loaves and 2 fish and feed a multitude of people, so I have no doubts that He will equip me with the things I need. Thankfully, I have a wonderful tool (known as the World Wide Web) which will enable me to find games, teaching tools, and other resources that I need. God is so good!

Pasadena, California

Hello all! Greetings from Pasadena, California! I arrived yesterday around 4 in the afternoon to the sweltering southern California heat. After getting registered and getting my room key, I went to my room. Talk about stepping back in time. It was probably built in the late 70's/early 80's and NO air conditioning! It was sweltering. My roommates first comment to me as I walked in the door was, "You're not Che!" I said no I was not and then we introduced ourselves (her name is Reba) and talked about the fact that for our five weeks of training they specifically did not pair us up with people on our own team. We are close in age and have a similar dry/sarcastic sense of humor. I think it will be a fun, if hot, five weeks. After meeting Reba, we went to the main room and made names tags and hung out until dinner time. I had not found any of the other people on my Slovakia team and was beginning to get a little nervous. Their are only five people (including me) on my team. Finally, on the way out the door, I met my first teammate!!!! Yeah! Her name is Karin and she hails from just outside Dallas, Texas. She is very fun and sweet and we immediately liked each other. We had a yummy BBQ dinner outside and finally met the rest of our team.

Me, Darla, Becky, Vic & Karin


Becky is from Filmore, New York (an hour from Buffalo) and just graduated from college. Vic and Darla both have taught high school in Ohio. They have two great, well-behaved children named Ana (pronounced with a short o) and Domonique. After dinner it was back to the main room for a short meeting and then the first of many break-out sessions. Breakout sessions are when the different regions separate into their own groups (China/Vietnam, CIS - formerly Russia, Central Europe - my group, and Morocco). This was where the fun began. We played umpteen name games. By the end, I was tired of name games, but I also had memorized almost all thirty names. Yeah! Now, to get to know everyone better. By 10:30, I was exhausted and ready to hit the hay. Which is exactly what I did. The second day started with a wonderful time of worship and teaching. More name games - since everyone had changed clothes and hairdo's. Then on to a pool party with the rest of the Central Europe team. The people on the team are great. About 20 are going to the Czech Republic, 12 to Hungary and our team of 5 to Slovakia. The pool party was held at the home of the man who started my whole adventure - Henry Eu. Henry was the man who was at the World Impact health clinic with his wife and handed my sister, Kacie, the business card that started this whole process. It was very cool getting to talk to him and thank him for the role he played. We also had our first Slovakia team meeting at the edge of the pool. Ahhh... if only all are meetings could be poolside.
How we spend our evenings!

Jenni’s on the Move… Again!

In The Beginning…

It all began with a birthday and a business card. For my birthday, my sister Kacie sent me a business card for an organization called Teach Overseas. She had met the Vice President of Teach Overseas at a clinic and decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for her big sister. After a visit to their website, I received and read their brochures. It seemed very exciting, but I was not ready yet to take the leap of faith.

However, TeachOverseas was ready for me and they kept calling and leaving me messages, which I didn’t return. Finally, after the third phone call, I said, “Okay, God. Maybe You are talking to me like you did to Samuel. (I Samuel 3:1-10) I am listening.” And I called them back and talked to one of their representatives. After a wonderful hour long chat, I agreed to take a look at an application and pray about filling it out and sending it in.

After much time in prayer, I made the decision to apply. I was accepted and chose Slovakia as the place I wanted to go as I would possibly be able to teach elementary school. During this time of pondering and praying, God answered many questions and concerns I had. Kacie decided that she would move to San Jose to look for a nursing job and take care of my house and my kitty. He also gave me a passage of scripture as encouragement and confirmation that I am following His will. God is amazing in the way that He speaks to us! I encourage all of you to be listening for His voice. You never know what He wants you to do or where He wants you to go, but I promise you, it will be amazing!

The big important details…

When: Mid July to Mid Aug, 2006 – Cultural and teaching training in Los Angeles area
Mid Aug to Mid June 2007 – Teaching, living and learning in Slovakia
Where: Bratislava, Slovakia – the capital city, located on the western edge
What: Teaching English and other subjects to middle or high school students
Why: To share the love of God and the English language with those in Slovakia
How: TeachOverseas is a non-profit organization that sends teachers to countries all over the world to teach English and share the love of God.

II Corinthians 2:14-17

Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To the one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life. And who is sufficient for these things? For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.

What will I be doing?

I will be teaching English to elementary, middle or high school students. At this time, there are two different schools where I could be working at. One is an international school and one is a bilingual school. I will be teaching for about four hours a day. These schools all have block scheduling, more like a college schedule than an elementary school. For more information, go to http://www.teachoverseas.org.

Why am I doing this?

As many of you know, I was able to take two trips to St. Petersburg, Russia in 2002 and 2003. Those trips changed me forever. I have wanted to return to Europe ever since. When the opportunity to teach overseas came up, I prayed about it and really felt the Lord saying, “Go!” I want to be able to go overseas and use the gift of teaching that the Lord has given me to bless others. The opportunity to go overseas is one that may not always be an option, so I am excited that I can go and have such an amazing adventure!

Where is Slovakia?

Slovakia is located in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Poland, Ukraine, Hungary, Austria and the Czech Republic. Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and is located on the western edge of the country.

Your Prayers Are Needed!

For Health...
Living overseas is always different and it can be hard to adjust.
For Strength...
I will have to learn how to do everything, shopping, going places and conversing, all over again.
For Wisdom...
I will need wisdom to keep up with lesson planning and finding my way around a new country.
For Power...
I will need will- power to keep going when things get hard and when I get homesick.
For Opportunities...
I want to be able to share the love of God with not only my students but with everyone I meet.