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It wasn’t always lollipops and rainbows.

When we came back to HOPAC in 2005, Gil took the chaplain role.  He was going to teach all the jr. high and high school Bible classes, but he also was going to invest heavily in discipleship.  Because back then, there was none.

There were no youth groups or youth pastors at any of the international churches.  Some students had formed their own youth group which was being led by an 11th grader.  No adults.  There were no Christian counselors in the city, no youth camps, no mentoring programs.  There were a lot of teachers at HOPAC who really cared about the students, but they were busy with teaching their own subjects.  A lot of kids fell through the cracks. 

So we took on all of it:  chaplain, Bible teacher, youth pastor, camp leader, discipler, counselor, mentor, coach.  The students couldn’t really get away from us!  What’s ironic about all of this is that we had never really felt called to work with teenagers.  But we knew we really, really loved HOPAC students, and we knew God had prepared and equipped us for this. 

But there were many times we were in way over our heads. 

Once we had two girls who were so anorexic that both eventually had to go back to their home countries for treatment.  One of them even lived with us for a while. 

A parent called us late one night and asked us to come to her house:  Her teenager had just swallowed 40 ibuprofen tablets. 

A student once admitted to me that her Dad was beating up her Mom, and sometimes the kids too.  The hardest part was realizing that because of certain circumstances, there was nothing I could do. 

Once a parent called us because their daughter had cut up her arms and had locked herself in her bedroom.  Another year we had at least 5 kids cutting.

We had a student admit to date rape.  Another we highly suspected had had an abortion.  We had students who were held up at gun point while their homes were robbed.  We had four students who lost a parent to tragedy. 

Somewhere in there I started to take counseling classes through distance learning.  The burdens were overwhelming. 

When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. (I Cor. 2)

Once we had a parent get really, really angry at us and then shun us from their family.  There was a year we went through really sharp criticism from an administrator.  Another time there was a teacher who seriously hated my guts.

There were disagreements, and big, big disappointments.  There were times when nothing went right.  There were times when I knew I had blown it with a student–totally said the wrong thing at the wrong time.  I often asked myself what the heck I was doing here. 

I learned so much about perseverance. 

I learned so much about giving out of my weakness and seeing God work in spite of myself.

And it did get easier.  God brought us more people.  He brought HOPAC a full-time, fully trained counselor.  He brought Young Life leaders to HOPAC who have taken over the youth group and a lot of the discipleship.  And as any youth leader knows, if you hang out with young people long enough, they start to grow up…..and you get to see the fruit of your labor. 

Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants?  Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life?  Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?  (Francis Chan)

We arrived in Tanzania in August of 2001.  We had been married nine months.

Gil was set to work with Indian youth.

 

 

And I was given the job of teaching 5th and 6th grade at Haven of Peace Academy.  I was 24 years old.  I had two years of teaching experience and I definitely had no idea what I was doing. 

 

But those students and I, we fell in love with each other.  And those two years started relationships with many of them which have continued to this day.  Some of them almost feel like my own children.

 

During those years, HOPAC recruited Gil to teach 7th and 8th grade Bible.  Those were the days when HOPAC was desperate enough to recruit anyone who could breathe. 

 

But Gil discovered two things:  He was really, really good at teaching Bible.  And he loved it.

 

We went back to California from 2003-2005 so that Gil could finish his master’s degree.  I taught kindergarten. 

 

In August of 2005, we returned to HOPAC.  This time, both of us working there full time.  Gil became the first-ever chaplain at HOPAC.  It was the first time that HOPAC had a full-time Bible teacher. 

 

We had a lot of goals when we returned to HOPAC, but one big one in particular:  Stay a Long Time.

 

The average HOPAC teacher stays for two years.  I’m not complaining about those teachers–they meet a huge need and often have really good reasons for moving on.  But you can imagine how that works as a school.  Every single year, we lose about 30% of our staff.  Every single year, at least 30% of the staff is new.  The proverbial wheel is invented many, many times. 

 

HOPAC needed their Bible curriculum developed.  The students needed mentors in their lives who weren’t going to disappear after a year or two.  We decided that’s what God was calling us to do.

 

The Beginning of the End

 

Fast forward 8 years, and we find ourselves today with 4 months left at HOPAC.  Ten years might not sound like a lot of time, but in HOPAC’s entire 19 year history, there has only been one couple who stayed longer. 

 

The students who were in kindergarten when we started, are now in 11th grade.  We’ve been through many graduations.  Gil has taught, counseled, and coached hundreds of students.  He has completely developed the Bible curriculum.  We’ve started many programs.  We’ve helped develop policy.  We ran a youth group for 6 years.  We’ve helped to put on 7 summer camps.  We’ve accomplished almost everything we’ve set out to do.

 

(one of the many, many teams Gil has coached)

 

 

 

Now Gil’s position is being divided into two:  Full-time chaplain and full-time Bible teacher.  The new chaplain and his family arrive next month, giving us much-desired overlap time.  The Bible teacher won’t arrive until July, but will be here a week in April to learn the ropes. 

 

 

 

 

The End of the Beginning

 

Ironically, even though we poured our whole heart and soul into HOPAC for 10 years, it was never our ultimate goal.  From our first term in Tanzania, Gil’s goal has always been pastoral training in Africa.  He was just pretty sure that a 24-year-old trainer of pastors wouldn’t go over too well, and he needed to grow up first.  So God led us to HOPAC.  

 

So that’s why our years at HOPAC, significant as they are, are really just the beginning for us. 

 

In July, we return to California.  We will spend July with our families.  We will spend mid-August through September criss-crossing the United States, visiting friends, supporters, and former students (we’ve already got 58 people/families on our list….want to join it?  🙂 

 

From October through June 2014, we will settle down in an apartment in Santa Clarita.  We will put our kids in school, re-connect with our home church, speak, speak, and speak some more.  We will attend every missions conference, men’s/women’s retreat, and special event at our five supporting churches (and any other church who will put up with us!).

 

Lord willing, in the summer of 2014, we will return to Tanzania.  To start the next season of our lives:  Training African Pastors.  But more about that later.