What’s happening in Moscow?

Having discovered the ACE (Accelerated Christian Education) program at Shayandima School of Tomorrow in South Africa, I realized that this global educational curriculum opened doors into a majority of the countries in which I had longed to live. I quickly discovered that such a school could be found in Moscow. A year after that discovery, I contacted the school to see if any positions were available for the following year.

Serving as a teacher at International School of Tomorrow, Moscow, I work with a multitude of children from across the world, including Brazil, Tanzania, Vietnam, Egypt, Rwanda, and South Korea (and those are just a few of the countries represented in my class of eighteen). Utilizing a bilingual program of Russian education and American ACE curriculum, the school maintains a balance that is rare among school systems. It provides an opportunity for children to learn English while still completing a traditional Russian program, allowing for students to attend college within Russia or abroad with ease.

Although working in a place that is vastly different from all of my previous experiences has been difficult, I have learned much about myself and about the incredible plans the Lord has not only for me, but for all. The children whose lives I speak into on a daily basis will be changed because of what they learn at this school. They will return to their home countries or travel elsewhere into the world, spreading truths they have learned here in Moscow. What better result could a teacher ask for than to see her students going out into the world with the love of Christ kindling within them?

Why Russia?

When I first visited Russia in the summer of 2009, I fell in love with the country, the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg, and most importantly its people. The friends I made at an English camp that summer forever altered my life. I returned the following summer with the mindset that those next two weeks would be the last time I visited Russia. I purposed to enjoy every moment, knowing that when I said good-bye at the end of the trip, that would be it. The final farewell. Instead, I fell further in love with Moscow and knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would find myself there once more.

Although I was called to serve in South Africa for two years following graduation from university, Russia was never far from my mind. Halfway through 2012, I felt a calling to leave Africa and journey north to Russia. I sought confirmation of this, and by September of that year, I knew Moscow, Russia, would be my next destination.