Professor Rachel

The idea of teaching a class at the local theological seminary sat in the hypothetical world in my mind. A future possibility. Or so I thought.

It sprang on me like a cat. Out of nowhere, I needed to attend the teacher's meeting, introduce myself at teacher/student orientation, and have my first class ready to teach in Portuguese within a matter of days. All while saying goodbye to my parents.

Back in April, my team leaders had suggested the idea of me teaching at the seminary in Nampula. I had laughed it off as a joke, but they were serious. I told them I would pray about it. Me? Teach in Portuguese? Only if You want me to, Lord.

The idea moved to the back shelf of my mind to collect dust. About mid-June, however, it came up again with my German colleague. Upon hearing that I have a bachelor's degree she talked to the director of the seminary about me teaching there.

When she mentioned that I could teach the Missions course I thought she was talking about next year. My parents arrived and I forgot about it. Then, a few days before my parents left, I got told the semester was starting the following week and my first class would be on Tuesday. I freaked out for a second but then realized God had put this in front of me and He would equip me to do it. 

I showed up for the class that Tuesday as ready to teach as I could be. No students showed up. Can I say I was relieved? I probably shouldn't, but it is the truth. Apparently, it's common for students not to show up during the first week of classes. That was okay with me. It meant I had an extra week to prepare myself to teach in Portuguese.

This week I had the privilege of teaching my first official class. My three students interacted well with me and the material. I ended the class with a smile on my face and relief in my heart. I look forward to sharing my love for missions with these students over the next 15 weeks of the course.