Staff Opportunities

“I love being able to help people physically and spiritually. Here at Faith Academy, I have my dream job: being able to do what I love and use my skills in a Christian environment with High Schoolers. I desire to portray to the students that whatever we do we can use our skills, talents, and gifts for Christ.

Because of the nature of what I do, working with the students when they are injured and in pain, I am able to form relationships with them by encouraging them when they really need it. This helps to form trust with the students, allowing a deeper relationship develop. We go from fun conversations filled with jokes, to conversations about relationships with the Lord. My goal is to be a Christ-like influence for the students here at Faith Academy.

During an overseas soccer tournament a few years ago, one of our players fractured both bones in his ankle. He flew back from Thailand to the Philippines and then flew home to Korea. His injuries required surgery and he needed to stay in Korea for a few weeks before returning to school. We ended up spending a lot of time together that semester, as he needed physical therapy with me four days a week. It was a very challenging time for him, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

I remember that he thought his injury would mean an inability to play soccer his senior year or in later in university. He learned a lot about working hard, trusting God, and what really matters in life. In the end, he was able to play his senior year and he currently plays at Cornerstone University in the USA. The most rewarding moment was during the last game of his senior year. After scoring the first goal of the game he sprinted to me on the sideline, jumped in my arms and gave me a huge hug, saying, ‘that was for you Mr. Keating’. That was a moment that makes all of the hard work with it – I will never forget it.”

“The reason that I am in the Philippines is to serve at Faith Academy, and because of that, I get to live in this beautiful country! Getting to teach awesome students on school days and explore during breaks? What could be better?

One of my favorite places outside of Manila, is Sagada. A few years ago my friends and I took an overnight bus north of Manila to Banaue only to discover the final leg to Sagada was via a jeepney. Not wanting the beautiful rice terraces in the mountains to pass by unseen, we thought to ask if we could ride on top of the jeepney. Twisting and turning on the narrow roads through the cold and cloudy mountains laced with beautiful rice terraces is one of the most exhilarating things I’ve done. I’d liken it to riding through a picture-perfect postcard.

Living in the Philippines means I don’t have to choose between ‘the mountains or the beach.’ Being an avid snorkeler and scuba diver, I have fallen in love with the beautiful, calm, warm waters of Coron on the island of Palawan. I’ll never forget swimming under a small opening in the limestone during low tide to a beautifully peaceful marine lake. Coron is also home to my favorite diving experience! A friend and I got to dive through a Japanese WWII ship that was torpedoed and now lays on its side. We weaved in and out of what was left of the different floors and rooms, ascended through the torpedo hole and spent some time admiring the gorgeous coral that’s taken over the ship. It was such a great dive!

I will always and forever love visiting the island of Corregidor! I love the history. I love the jungle-hiking. I love the pier-jumping. I love the hammock-sleeping. I love the monkeys (but not foolishly so – if you know, you know.) Ever since my first Corregidor Outdoor Ed, I envied the site staff who got to ride their motorbikes around the island all week, and this his past Christmas, I was able to fulfill a dream of mine by renting a motorbike for a couple of hours to shuttle people around Corregidor island!

While these are three of my favorite places to visit in the Philippines, in all sincerity, my favorite place to be is in my classroom at Faith Academy with my amazing students – the entire reason why I am here!”

“Although this year has only been my second year at Faith, it seems like two years has been such a long time already. I remember my first time meeting everyone at staff retreat. I was so shy and nervous to talk to anyone and only knew a few people that were working at Faith. I had just graduated from university and coming to serve at Faith was something that I felt God wanted me to do. I was just so blessed by how friendly everyone was and hearing how much they gave up to come to the Philippines was such a humbling experience and something that inspired me to serve. Serving here has been such a great experience!

I feel so grateful to have had the chance to serve in a school with such great people who I do not just call colleagues, but also dear friends. God has given me the opportunity to teach Pre-K along with Mrs. Tara Santos. She was one of the many people who set our working environment into one that promotes professional development. This was especially apparent this year as I earned my professional license to teach. I do not think I would have managed to teach a class and study for my licensure exam without the help and support of the people I work with in Elementary. They never stopped praying for me, encouraging me, and be there for me when I needed their support. I am blessed to serve alongside people who build up and edify each other.

Next year, one thing that I am looking forward to is not only seeing our kids move on to Kindergarten, but also seeing all the other kids go up a grade! It brings me joy to see how God allows them to grow and bloom each year.

Preschoolers have taught me that you can choose to worry less and enjoy life more. There’s always something to be joyful about! This may be cheesy but their smiles and laughter remind me that when we face problems, worrying won’t solve anything and instead we can depend on and look to God. This year’s group of Pre-Kindergartners will always remind me of that. Sometimes seeing things from their perspective can help you realize and learn a lot. And like what we always say in our class, “when something is challenging, put your faith in God and just keep going!'”

“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.”