How I got here.

So...everyone knows that I am a teacher in Baltimore City, but very few know how I got here. I also find that the most asked question is "Why Baltimore City?" And it is a legitimate one, but I never really thought to share my journey until now.

It was a crisp summer morning. My roommate, Carly, and I walked up Massachusetts Ave. to American University's campus. We were meeting our campus pastor and some other friends for a day of white water rafting. The seven of us piled into Mike's caravan and we made the three-hour trekk to Ohiopyle Pennsylvania.

I had just finished my Junior year of college and was officially a senior. This time next year I would be done with the four years of sweat, tears and struggles and on my way to a career. I had majored in International Relations with the goal of going into the security sector. However, upon moving to the East Coast God had other plans for my life. I soon realized my heart was invested in children and ministry. I found myself journeying towards service in youth ministry, of some sort. For an international relations major, this passion change proved to be quite nerve-racking. On top of that, I began to realize God's place for me was in Baltimore City. I spent most of my junior year figuring all this out, and it wasn't until now, in May, that I began to wonder, "how will I pursue these passions?" I was not eqipped with any real degree or skill that would give me the ability to work with youth or be in ministry. I had an international relations degree,hardly noteworthy of what I now felt called to pursue in life.

My friend Liz was sitting in the front seat of the van. Her, me and Mike engaged in a conversation about what she was going to do now that she had graduated college. I had mentioned my concerns with the predicament I now found myself in and she quickly asked, "Why not join Teach for America?" I looked at her puzzled. Teach for what? That made no sense to me, and I didn't want to be a teacher. She explained that it was a program through Americorps that brought graduates with no education background into the classrooms, as part of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. I was intrigued and I felt a tug at my heart, that it was worth some research. Liz then said that Teach for America was one of the most selective companies in the nation, only hiring 10-20% of its applicants. For a mediocre student like me, I was sure that meant I would be a longshot candidate.

That weekend I researched Teach for America and something clicked inside of me. I realized first that I wasn't doing Teach for America for the program itself, but as the vessel in which I could serve Baltimore City with. I had learned that God had called me to the city, and I felt He was providing this opportunity as a means to accomplish that plan of His.

I did not waste anytime, I began preparing for the three month long interview. The first round consisted of an application, essays and test scores that I needed to submit. Before I began the application procress I prayed about it. I made the decision that I would put all I had into this process, but that only through God's will would I be a part of this. I found that making this commitment to leave it in God's hands made my experience so much better! And I saw God's hand work so much more! My Motto was "Prepare for Rain." And I trusted my instincts when it came to hearing what God needed from me during this process.

The night before my first application was due I re-wrote my letter of intent. I had spent two months working on this essay, but the night before I didn't feel like it was the one I needed to submit. So...three hours before I was to submit my application I re-wrote the entire thing! Looking back, it was one of the best pieces of writing I ever produced, mostly because God was in it.

I recieved an email a week later congratulating my advance to the next set of interviews. I was granted a phone interview! Again I left the results to God, I just did my best. I was notified a week after the phone interview that I had been accepted into the final round of interviews. This was an in-person interview. We, as candidates, were expected to pre-read particular articles and prepare a five minute lesson plan. This happened to fall during my mid-terms, which made the task even more daunting and challenging. None-the-less, I did my best and left the results to God.

I was so nervous that October day. I had prepared a 6th grade Lesson on the three branches of government. I remember being interviewed by Stephanie from the D.C. region. She asked me, "Why are you here? Of all the other social justice programs why Teach for America?" I took a deep breath and thought for a moment how I wanted to word my response. "Well.." I began, "I am very strong in my faith and part of the reason I chose Baltimore City was because I felt called to serve that community. I chose Teach for America because they believe in faith in the classroom, whatever that looks like for each individual. But Teach for America believes in passion and faith to accomplish dreams. I agree with that whole-heartedly."

I waited two weeks to hear from them on whether I had gotten the position or not. I was convinced that God was going to provide a secondary history position in the Baltimore region, for me. I was convinced.

I recieved a phone call that Tuesday evening from a perky woman. She greeted me. "Hey Amiee, I wanted to congradulate you on getting accepted with Teach for America! However, I wanted to call and talk with you as to why you were not placed in Baltimore." My heart dropped. I had told myself that if I did not get an offer in Baltimore I was not going to accept Teach for America. That was hard for me to hold true too now because I really grew to appreciate and love the organization. I kindly asked her what region I had been placed and she said, "Philadelphia." I tried hard to rationalize that maybe God was calling me to Philadelphia, but I knew I was called to serve the community of Baltimore City.

During this process of applying God had layed Baltimore City heavily on my heart. I began to research the school system, its salary, benefits package and other teaching fellows that I could potentially apply to. I was preparing for the rain I KNEW God was going to provide me with. I had done so much research that I knew how many college requirements were needed to teach in Baltimore. I knew that I was not qualified to teach high school history, however I still hoped something could happen to allow that. I realized after that I had so much faith in what God was asking of me that I prepared for it. I did not hesitate or doubt, I made sure that I had everything in line for when God gave me that job in Baltimore City.

I stood conflicted. I either took Teach for America in Philadelphia or waited for God to provide for me in Baltimore City. I was honest with the woman and told her I was thinking about rejecting the offer. That following week I had a Teach for America representative call or email me everyday. They kept telling me the pros of the organization and I kept saying, "Trust me, I want to be a part of this organization really badly, but I need to be in Baltimore City more." I tried emailing the organization about even getting placed in California, where I am originally from, but got a response saying, "Sorry, we do not accomodate region changes under any circumstances." I knew what I had to do, reject Teach for America.

My heart was heavy the night I clicked the "reject" button. I felt like I was losing a piece of me, something I had worked so hard for. But I did not regret the decision as I felt God was calling me to Baltimore City, and I wanted to pursue that. I had decided I would work two waitressing jobs until God brought that rain I had been preparing for.

A day after I submitted my decision I received a phone call from a local recruiter. She was not supportive of my decision and asked what it would take for me to reconsider. "Being placed in Baltimore" was my response. She told me to watch out for an email from her. That she was going to look into why I wasn't placed in Baltimore. I also recieved an email from a woman, Brooke, who was beginning the faith-based movement within Teach for America. She had heard my story somehow and wanted to speak with me, so we set up a phone conversation.

Brooke was by far one of the greatest highlights of my Teach for America experience. When I heard her southern accent on the other end of the phone, talking about her passion for Christ and her faith I was even more saddened that I could not be a part of this organization. Yet, I was encouraged to continue trusting in God's plan for me, knowing He would bring that rain. Before we hung up, she prayed for me and God's plan for my life. A couple hours later I recieved an email from the Vice President of Admissions with Teach for America. She informed me that I did not qualify to teach in Maryland. I did not qualify for secondary content areas and was 3 credits short of math on the elementary level. She told me that she was going to take my case to the state board to see if they would accomodate me. I instantly remembered the credit requirements for teaching in Maryland, I saw on the Baltimore Teacher Residency website. It clearly stated that I only needed 6 math credits, which I had. I emailed this lady back in response and asked if Teach for America and the BCTR had the same requirements. Apparently the state education board required TFA to have 9 math credits while the BCTR only needed 6. I sent them the website address so they could do their own research and waited for God's rain to come.

A week later I recieved a phone call from the V.P. of admissions asking if I would be interested in teaching elementary school in Baltimore. Apparently TFA was unaware of the different requirements and the state education board re-assessed the discreponsy. Thus, not only was I able to teach in Baltimore now, but other people who had encountered that same problem could teach there too. So...In that moment I became a Baltimore Teach for America Corps Member.

I was still bummed that I wasn't going to be teaching on the secondary level, but through my journey thus far I have seen God's hand in every place. I have realized that He has me teaching in my school, this grade level for His perfect plan. This is the one place in my life that I have given God complete control of. It is the one place in my life that I have found the most spiritual growth and maturity. I look at my experience and see God's hand all over it. I also realize that He could not have gotten me here if I didn't trust in His calling on my heart and if I didn't prepare for the rain I knew He was going to bring.

I sometimes forget this testimony, but when I think about it, my faith and trust gets grounded back in His Holiness. I begin to realize that He has a plan for everything and if I don't trust Him, He can't carry me there.

Pray that I can trust the Lord
that I can have faith, especially when the Devil exerts doubt.

He has carried me this far, why will he leave me now? He wont. That's what this constantly reminds me of.