My Story

The story of how Camille and I ended up Huangshi, China is quite a long, amazing tale. It all began three years when I studied abroad in Germany. I completely fell in love with Germany and knew that once I finished school, I wanted to go back and teach there. A year later I met Camille through the Holmes Program at LSU and we became best friends, spending practically every day together for two years trying to finish school along with the rest of our Holmies. Camille thought that teaching abroad was something that she would like to do, too, so we decided that we should partake on this adventure together. At first we thought that we would move to Germany. As time went on our options for where we wanted to, grew.            

            Our friend, Crista, who we also met through the Holmes Program, was the first person to put the bug in our ear to consider moving to China. Initially, Camille and I both laughed at her and agreed that there was absolutely no way we were going to move to China! Then, more and more people began telling us about how wonderful China is and how much they loved the time that they had spent here. So, we added it to the list of possibilities of where we could end up.

            In May, we graduated from LSU and I left two days later to go to Prague, Czech Republic for a Trip with The Refuge. At this time, Camille and I were sending out resumes and emails to different schools, but mostly trying to figure out exactly where we wanted to move/ where our Father wanted us to be. During my trip, I realized that whatever I did this year, I wanted it to be more than about myself, more than just teaching, more than just a fun adventure. I wanted to teach English, but I also understood that I was being called to do something more Meaningful. I talked to Camille and we decided to take some time to pry about where the He wanted us to go. The next time we spoke we shared that we both felt a pull towards China so we abandoned all efforts to move anywhere else. Within the next few days we received a few offers and schools to consider, but they just didn’t seem to fit. My sister, Amanda, got married at the beginning of September and I obviously wanted to be there for it, but school in China begins on September 1^st and ideally we would need a week or two to settle in and adjust to a new life.

            Then, just a couple days later, Camille and I were contacted by the head of Zhong Relations, a non-profit organization that helps to pair teachers with schools. Everything with this organization fell into place perfectly, because it was completely orchestrated by the Father and he is perfect. Camille and I just know He was looking down laughing at us, telling us to just chill out, He would handle it all for us. And that is exactly what He did. I returned from Prague on July 6^th and we accepted the job offers just days later. Everything happened incredibly fast as we tried to get ourselves physically, mentally, and emotionally prepared for this journey. We left Louisiana on September 5^th, just two days after my sister’s wedding and arrived in Huangshi (our new home) on September 7^th. Today is our 10^th day in China and we are still adjusting. Life here is quite different but very exciting and challenging! This is where He wants me to be and I will be obedient and follow Him and not be anxious for anything!
             I am sorry that I tried to make this a quick recap of the story and not great details, but I just wanted to get the blog started and out there for y'all to see. I will have lots of free time next week so I promise to post pictures and interesting stories!!!