Friends and Family ...
“Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country... And I will bless you ...so you shall be a blessing;" ~ Genesis 12:1-2Yes, I did leave the country, and yes I am back as of January 2020 :)
God is so good ! Let me tell you why I left and where I'm going...
“Come, follow me...” ~ Matthew 4:19a
Over the past two years, God has been slowly calling me out of my comfort zone into a lifestyle of relentless pursuit of His will in evangelism, in leadership, in teaching and now in missions !“Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life. Everyone must carry out a concrete assignment that demands fulfillment. Therein he cannot be replaced, nor can his life be repeated. Thus everyone’s task is as unique as his specific opportunity to implement it.” ~ Viktor E. Frankl
If there is one thing I know, God has given me passion !
A Passion to ...
"Inspire, Equip and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders with the Love of Jesus Christ"See the Passionations movement a friend and I started to give weight to this goal !
Practically speaking...
Right now, I envision working as a teacher in a foreign country for a 6-month time frame by mid-2022. In order to move towards this vision ...
Over 2020 and 2021 - I am exploring different countries with the purpose of:
- Understanding ways people teach children in other countries...
- Understanding the cost of living for singles and married supporting a family...
- Being exposed to new cultures and seeking God's heart, to understand if these locations are places where God could be calling me full-time in the future...
The First Step ...
The first step is always the hardest :)In October 2019, my good friend Brennan Kelly connected me with a friend of his, Tyler Bouman, who was traveling to Querétaro Mexico in January 2020. Through Tyler, I met Jeremy Van Beelen !
I jumped, and said yes "I will go" ... here's a video my buddy Lee Wonten helped me create to raise money for the orphanage for Christmas 2019 !
Here's an 18min tour of the Orphanage:
So this month, in January 2020, I packed my bags and traveled to Querétaro Mexico !
Here are the Top 200 photos and videos of this adventure OUTSIDE of my comfort zone :
Lessons Learned from Mexico Trip (Top 10ish) ...
- Time-zones matter :)
- Hard work, love & respect characterize Mexican culture
- People and relationships matter MUCH more than schedules and commitments in Mexico
- This requires Type-A personalities (like me) to learn to be "FAT":
- Flexible
- Adaptive
- Teachable
- Language barriers are HARD - use a translator
- When teaching, physically demonstrate the application of the concept:
- For example: When teaching English we were teaching the phrase "Excuse me" and "No problem"... we had the students stand up and another student push through those students standing up and say "Excuse me" the other students responded "No problem".
- When teaching, affirm without immediately correcting
- When asking for feedback...
- Ask Students to WRITE answers to vulnerable Questions...
- Tell the students their answers will be ANONYMOUS, "You don't have to write your name"
- Give the students time to answer the questions (i.e. 5min)
- Every student in an orphanage may be at a significantly different level of learning regardless of their age.
- Teaching in Mexico starts by write things down, translating them, then showing an example. Much time and effort is required to get students to a level of critical / analytical thinking.
- When teaching English Language Learners, use music !
- When teaching English at Pan de Vida Brian Ottoson uses a worship music video which had the English version of a song sung in Spanish at the Sunday service. Brian then reviews the lyrics with the children and has the kiddos sing in English ! What a great idea !
- Expose kids to common verbs when teaching English Language Learners
- Living expenses in Querétaro Mexico are roughly:
- Single <= $500/month
- Couple <=$1000/month
- Couple with 4 kids <= $2500/month
Here are some of my thoughts on missions while I was in Querétaro:
*NOTE: I was grumpy and had a bit of a negative attitude when I made these two videos below - but I'm posting them anyways so you all can see that I'm seriously not perfect :) #ImNotPerfect
Fellow Teacher at Pan de Vida Brian Ottoson ...
Brian is one of the missionaries who works full time as a teacher with the students at Pan de Vida, he just had a kiddo December 21st 2019 - See Brian's Blog Here.
Currently Brian's growing family is under-supported - consider partnering with Brian and his family if you feel led - https://cten.org/missionary/bryanottoson/ -- feel free to contact me with questions :)
Shutouts to friends met in Mexico ...
Brian Ottoson - Thank you for modeling effective communication and creative teaching in a highly dynamic environment ! I have learned a ton from our few short discussions after classes !
Tyler - you are a man of character and intense flexibility, thanks for teaching with me !
Ruth - You've got serious music skills :) thanks for roaming the streets of Mexico with Tyler and I !
Frank, Dick, Jolene, Conrad, Pam, Peyton, Cole, Isaiah, Seth - Thanks for helping me understand that Canadians are some of the best friends a guy can have - love you all ! Keep practicing the glad game ;) - thankfulness never gets old :D
Carlos - God has given you some amazing gifts my friend, you will go far ! Praying that doors will open into medical field for you ! Also thanks for helping translate in that one Physics class !
Jeremy, Ana and Family - You guys are wonderful, thank you for letting me come and be a part of your family for a short time :)
Kris - Thanks for setting such an amazing example of service and sacrifice - you're a man's man brother and I love your heart for kids !
Enrique C., Feliciano, Cecilia and Violeta - thank you for trusting me to help teach in your classes !
Enrique Colorado and Enrique Rodriguez - thank you for boldly preaching powerful and practical messages that align with God's word !
Luis, Marcia and Valentina - thanks for making me feel like part of your family :)
The Next Step ...
I will be leaving to a semi-sensitive location on February 6th to observe oral story telling and see a friend get married, feel free to contact me to learn more :)Subscribe for Updates ...
Support Me ...
Sincerely,
Deo ac Veritati,
Por Dios y la Verdad,
For God and Truth,
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319-853-8620 | Jordatech@gmail.com
For more information about who I am and what I stand for please visit my Online Résumé:
Causes I'm Passionate about !
Passionations ~ Inspire, Equip and Empower the Next Generation of Leaders with the Love of Jesus Christ
Volition for Action in Haiti (VAH) ~ Empowering the Children of Haiti with Education and the Love of Jesus Christ
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“Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing;" ~ Genesis 12:1-2
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