“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future, Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:12-13
One thing I have learned is that when you give Jesus the reigns of your life and surrender to His leading, He will take you to the most amazing and unexpected places. God’s hand on my life has been very evident, and Psalm 25:12 holds true for me: “Who is the man who fears the LORD? He will instruct him in the way he should choose.”
At the end of this summer, I am moving to Puerto Escondido, Mexico to join Global Education Ministries for the new school year. I am so thankful that the Lord has opened this door for me. This is a new path. He has been at work in my heart, giving me new desires. I am excited to see what He has in store over the next couple of years!
A little over two and a half years ago, I had a much different plan for my life. I wanted to become a chef but was discouraged with the lack of opportunity I had to pursue that dream. One day, I sat on the beach while visiting my sister in Hawaii and asked the Lord to lead me. Becoming a chef was the one thing I knew I wanted to do, and it seemed out of reach. So I asked the Lord to give me a new desire. After much time in prayer, I went back home with a renewed trust that He had something good in store for my future. I simply got busy doing the things right in front of me. Later that year, God opened the door for me to move to Hawaii. I was so excited. It meant I would finally be able to attend one of the top 10 culinary schools in the nation!
While waiting to get Hawaiian residency, I began working as a baker and teaching Sunday school at my church, North Shore Christian Fellowship. I loved living in Hawaii so much that I even began to think I might stay permanently. Thanks to the many people who began investing in me and discipling me, I began to really grow in my walk with the Lord. He was at work in my heart, stirring me to share the gospel with the people right in front of me.
A year quickly went by, and culinary school was becoming more of a reality. In September 2015, I decided to go on a short-term mission trip to the Philippines before school consumed my life. While I was on this trip, my eyes were opened to the amazing opportunity education presented for sharing the gospel.
I have always had a huge heart for children, but never really considered becoming a teacher. After visiting the Philippines, I became aware of how fulfilling it would be to become a teacher to children overseas, with sharing the Gospel being my core purpose. But this idea seemed farfetched since I was headed in a different direction with my life. I was very close to starting into culinary school, something I had worked towards for quite some time.
I came home and told a friend, “I would love to be a missionary teacher!” I realized she took my statement more seriously than I did because she told me about a school she had visited in Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The name of the school was Manantial, and she even sent me a link to GEM’s website! I looked at it a bit and thought it looked like an impressive ministry. The funny thing is, I then told another friend she should go teach there! I continued to move along my original path.
In December of 2015, I was finally at the place where I could start culinary school, but strangely enough, I couldn’t ignore the fact that I was actually losing an
So I started to seek the Lord and spent some serious time in prayer. As I did, the Lord started showing me how little time we have in this life on earth, and I started to evaluate how I was using the time he has given me. I no longer wanted to live out my perfect little life, which I realized wasn’t all that perfect after all, if it was just for myself. It was during this time that I started to realize how much I LOVED children. And I started thinking about the time I had in the Philippines, with all the precious children. I wanted to pour into their lives.
With these new desires, I recalled GEM and started looking more into the ministry. The more I did, the more I realized how solid their vision is. I wanted to join in on the work that God was doing through Global Education Ministries.
It seemed clear that this had been a desire that the Lord Himself had laid on my heart, so I decided to start knocking on doors, trusting Him to open. I realized even if things didn’t open up for me here, He was still directing me toward teaching, somewhere.
Well, I can now tell you that the Lord has opened all the doors with GEM, and he has shown himself so faithful through the whole process. I can’t WAIT to join the dedicated crew in Puerto Escondido!!!!
“The mind of man plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Amelia Klacik is from Chehalis, Washington, originally, and the North Shore of Oahu, more recently. She loves working with children, being creative in the kitchen, and hiking around in God’s beautiful creation. She has a passion for others to receive Christ, to grow in His word, and to return His love by serving Him wherever He leads.