Staff Opportunities

“From the time I was born until I was 12, I lived overseas as a missionary kid, first in Kenya and then in the Philippines. In fact, I went to 5 different elementary schools on three continents, including four years at Faith Academy.

Transitions and new experiences were all I knew, it was what I felt formed my identity. However, when I was 12, my parents sensed God calling them to stay in the United States. My life as I had known it changed completely – I didn’t even get to say goodbye to my friends and life here at Faith Academy because the decision was made while we were on furlough. Needless to say, as a young teen uprooted from all I had known (even as that had changed so often), I became angry at my parents and at God. I felt that if there even was a God, surely He must not love me, since I had such a hard middle school experience. I did not understand my classmates in the US, most of whom had rarely been outside the state of Colorado, and they did not understand me, this strange girl who had lived all over the world. God used that hard transition in my life to make my heart tender towards the transitions missionary students go through. God also gave me a heart for middle schoolers, even though I first vowed I would never teach that age group, because of my own negative Middle School experience. But God knew those experiences would lead me to seek out the hurting and left-out students while working with their classmates to include them.

That is why I came to Faith Academy in 2013; I hope I can be a consistent person in students’ lives and identify with them through their struggles. When I share my story with my students, especially new middle schoolers, they seem to breathe a sigh of relief that someone understands what they are going through. I love being an encouragement to them and seeing them become more comfortable with the community here at Faith.

The students are what I love the most about Faith. I love how they bring such a richness and diversity of thought to their studies. I love how they are so grateful and that I can build relationships with them on multiple levels, both inside and outside of the school day. I pray that God can use me to show students that their identities don’t come from being a missionary kid, or a business kid, or even a Faith Academy student, but that their identities are rooted in the fact that they are beloved children of the King of Kings.”

“On my first day in the Philippines, July 16, 1990, there was a massive earthquake in northern Luzon. In Baguio City, where I was going to be working, more than 2,000 people died as buildings collapsed. There are three main roads that lead to the mountainous city and it took a week to get one of them open. So the first time I saw Baguio, it was a disaster — all of the major hotels had collapsed and they were still digging bodies out of the rubble.

There were continual aftershocks (more than 1,000 by the end of August), food was hard to find, and most people were living outdoors in tents: in front of their own houses, in the park, and along the streets. Eventually, the city was cleaned up and I ended up living there for 22 years.

People have asked me if I ever considered just getting back on the plane and going home, but it truly never occurred to me. God called me to the Philippines, so why would I leave just because it was difficult? Maybe this initial experience–seeing God work and heal and save after the earthquake–helped me see all future difficulties in the same light, and I really do; when something hard or tragic happens, I’m always watching for how God might use it (and me) to accomplish something good.”

“Music is part of my DNA, having come from a musically inclined clan. As early as 18 months old, I was singing songs with the right words and tune, and as I grew up, music became the language of my heart.

When I was 15 years old, The Lord called me to use my gift of singing to be part of our church’s praise and worship ministry. I may have loved music and singing, but I did not like doing it in front of a crowd. I was very shy and nervous, and did not think I was good enough to be singing in front of hundreds of people. I struggled and argued with God at first, unsure if this was what He really wanted me to do. He confirmed… many times, so I trusted Him and obeyed. I learned that if I am willing and obedient to His call, God will use me to accomplish things beyond my capacity and what I can ever think or imagine. With my obedience, the Lord opened many opportunities to serve Him through music.

For the past 10 years, I have been part of a Christian group called Gloryfall Band, a team dedicated to bringing true worship back to the body of Christ through worship training and leading, and evangelistic outreaches. We help churches in equipping worship teams through instrument/vocal training and teaching them the Biblical principles of worship. We have written and released 10 albums, and through these songs we are able to reach people around the world with God’s message and love. If you would like to hear or download our songs for free, our website is gloryfall.net.

Faith Academy has always been a place close to my heart. I first visited Faith in 2000, when my then boyfriend (now husband), showed me around the school where he graduated. I could not believe there was a school so beautiful, where the grounds were vast and well maintained, with classrooms that displayed so much creativity and talent. The children walking around the campus and the teachers I met were friendly, well-mannered and showed such joy to be in a place where Christ is being taught. I thought Faith Academy would be a wonderful place to be called to serve! Little did I know that 18 years later, God would open the door for me to be part of this wonderful organization.

This school year, I started teaching Elementary Music at Faith Academy. I get so much joy and excitement to see children’s faces light up when I tell them we are playing with musical instruments in class or we are going to learn a new song. It is also an honor to teach the students not only the technical aspect of music, but to be able to share with them the heart of worship. It is a blessing to share with the children how God can use music powerfully in their lives just like He did in the Bible through the lives of David, King Jehoshaphat and many others who won battles through music offered in praise and worship to God!”

“My most memorable experience while working in Middle School was my first time attending Outdoor Ed at Taal, Volcano for a hike. I had the chance to be on the island, not only that but they let me be involved in the ministry aside from working in the office. I loved being around the kids in the school ministry, singing praise songs, and sharing the word of God through storytelling.”