Riding the New Wave

What a ride..

At a my LG leaders house at the beginning of the year, he had each of us pick a kanji, draw it and present its meaning as our kanji for the year.  Mine was "wave". In order to experience what God has for me, I have to be willing to get on the wave and ride it. It also means getting myself ready for it with the right position, the right timing, and the full force of moving myself in the right direction till it picks me up. Now it begins...

As I finished packing up some teaching materials and packets of paperwork to return to my company, the feeling is finally starting to set in. It only feels like a few weeks ago when I came to Yokohama, lost, embarrassed, and in need of a new start.  This job has been with me through some good times and some not so pleasant ones. It has seen me in times of mischief and in situations with serious overthinking. It has seen me in times of frustration and in times of joy. Having walked me through several seasons of my life here, leaving this job behind truly feels like the end of an Era. 

I am so thankful for everyone I met, the opportunities I found, and the experiences I got to be a part of because of my AET teaching job. Because of the nature of this job and the extra time it allowed me to have to myself, It gave me the freedom to finally discover a part of my vision here in Japan while allowing me to get to know myself.

One of the surprises I got was a whole classroom of 5th graders shooting at me with these handmade confetti tubes for one of my very last classes. As an English instructor, i never used anything but English in the classroom up until now. Considering that I would technically no longer be their sensei, I took the liberty of giving them a quick pep talk in Japanese. ".. when you get older you might have a tendency to get nervous, worry about what people think about you, what that cool guy thinks, or if that pretty girl might laugh at you.  Don't worry about that stuff. Don't care about what people may think. With whatever level you are, whatever English you might know.. even if its super sloppy, JUST USE IT.  The more mistakes you make just means you will have more chances to learn better. ... Peace!"

 

I have no idea what is in store for me next, but I trust in God. I hope I can be a blessing to everyone I meet and everywhere I go in my new Era. 

Colossians 1:16 "For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him."