One of my childhood dreams when I was growing up was to be a schoolteacher. I even had my own school room where I would teach.
As I got older, this dream kind of slipped away from me, but the Lord is ever so sweet and has given me the opportunity these next two months to re-explore this passion and desire that he has given me to teach his children.
A part of my ministry in Malawi is being a high school math teacher. The school systems are very different than America, so I am able to teach in Malawi. I have 25 students, and surprisingly enough, I am teaching math. The Lord has a sense of humor. I am sure that one of my former math teachers will be reading this and might be a little confused, but I’m learning more now than I ever have.
This is the real deal — lesson plans, grading papers, assigning homework and sacrificing my lunch break to help the students with their work.
At the beginning, I was able to sit in on some classes to see how the teacher works, the format of the class and how it is ran, but I am now teaching on my own. What a huge responsibility that I feel so honored to have. A few months ago, the Lord put substitute teaching on my heart for when I return to the United States, so it is such a blessing that he is giving me this opportunity for the next two months.
While I love teaching and the opportunities it provides for me to do ministry to these students, that’s not quite all we are doing in Malawi. Last week, we started construction. Yes, you read that right. My team and I will be helping in the building of a clinic and an additional school building. We will be doing manual labor, but how cool is it that I get the opportunity to build something that is going to change the community for years to come?
It is so cool to see what the Lord is doing in Lilongwe, Malawi. Previous World Race teams have built the school that I am now teaching in, so I am excited to see the future World Race teams that will also be working in the clinic that we are going to be building. There is no clinic anywhere in the area around us, so this will have a huge impact on the community.
Besides teaching and construction, we also are doing afterschool programs. This consists of going to different locations and teaching the children, helping them with homework or simply running around and playing with them. Recently, we had long-jump contests, sprint races and played Simon Says. It was all fun and games until I had to race in a skirt.
For the next month, I am working with Youth Care Ministries. This is also where we are living. Besides all of the other ministry that we are doing, the home we are living at also is a center where 20-plus boys and girls are living. Any time we are outside of our little two-bedroom apartment, there is ministry with the youth around us. While this is a really sweet opportunity, it also has reminded me the importance of taking personal time and time to refill and renew.
The Lord is already doing so much through my very new team, and I’m so excited and anxious to see how he is going to continue to work — sweet opportunities, sweet friendships and sweet days with Jesus.
Continue to keep me in your prayers for good health and fruitful ministry. I can’t wait to further share what the Lord is doing in my life.
Keia Blair is a Seymour native who attends Cincinnati Christian University. During her nine-month mission trip around the world, she is submitting a series of blogs that will appear in The Tribune. Send comments to [email protected].