Airport Reflections

     The constant murmur of travelers fills my ears; some patiently waiting while others bustle through the terminal emitting an aura of frustration.  Some hurrying to board a plane for Dallas as others wait to find out which concourse and terminal will hold the plane taking them across the ocean. Each one is in transit, waiting to receive direction on where to go, or waiting to board the expected airline which will take them to a known destination. As I sit with fellow travelers in the Atlanta airport, waiting to get my boarding pass for a straight flight to Lagos, Nigeria,  I cannot help but think that this is a summary snapshot of my life over the past six months—waiting, waiting, receiving bits of instruction, movement in one direction, more waiting…. And yet here I sit, waiting perhaps for the last time for this new chapter of my life to begin. So how the heck did I get here and what in the world am I doing? Well, I’m glad you asked, because it’s a question I’ve been asking myself quite regularly. 

     As senior year at Hillsdale drew to a close, I was pretty excited that I wasn’t amongst the group of folks who were ripping their hair out because they didn’t know what they were doing after graduation. I had plans. Yes, there were a several unknown factors, but they would all be taken care of and smoothed over. I had been accepted into Teach For America (TFA) which promised a summer of training and then an elementary job placement in the Appalachian region of Kentucky. I expected to receive my specific job placement at the beginning of summer. When that didn’t happen, I just KNEW I would receive a job during the 5 week teacher training in the Mississippi Delta. Nope. After completing training, the real and stressful waiting began. Weeks at home with nothing to do, calls every day in to TFA inquiring about leads in Kentucky, now North Carolina, now Tennessee, now Arizona, now New Orleans. Each day my foreseen plans seemed to change and each day my impatience increased while my trust in TFA decreased. I began to let frustration with my job situation seep into all other areas of life as I failed to be content and embrace the small opportunities that God was given me daily. Looking back now, I see a major cause of that frustration was my misplaced trust in an organization to direct my path and provide for my needs. Poor decision, LaPlue. Probably ought to trust in the Omniscient Jehovah Jirah next time. Thankfully, God is really patient with untrusting kids like me and decided to go ahead with His huge plans for my life despite my poor response to His hand moving in my life. 

      In the beginning of August, I went on a hike with a friend from home in the Smokey Mountains. I had known for a months that Gretchen had been planning to go to Nigeria to teach for a couple of years. At this point in the summer, I had decided I needed to widen my sights and be open to opportunities outside of TFA. After hearing some about specific her plans, I asked Gretchen if she thought I ought to just come on to Nigeria with her. “Absolutely,” she replied, “I’m sure you could get a position at the school… next year.” Well, I was thinking more about THIS year. Gretchen thought it unlikely that there would be an opening seeing as she was leaving in three weeks, but gave me the contact information of her contact at the American Christian Academy in Ibadan, Nigeria.  Now, one important factor here is that Gretchen and I have spoken for years about our similar dreams of doing long-term missions work in an orphanage/school (with my focus being on children with disabilities) in Africa and the possibility of doing that together. 

      Soon after I contacted the Principal in Nigeria, I heard back that there WAS a possible job opening that I could take. I was floored. It would be such a drastic change from Kentucky. It would be so FAR AWAY. But it could be so great. So, after getting a bit more information and having a couple family meetings, I accepted the job and began making preparations to leave the country. Just like that, the trajectory of my life for the next two years has been radically changed.

So, details about what I’ll be doing… at least what I THINK I’ll be doing….

      I’ll be teaching PE and possibly other things to pre-schoolers in morning, two elementary bible classes in some afternoons, possibly some tutoring, and a high-school extra-curricular (basketball or Speech, most likely). Of course, these things could change within the next few days. The school, which is right in the middle of the third largest metropolitan area of Nigeria, is a small Christian school which, as I understand, serves a largely expatriate population which means about 250 kids from many different cultures, backgrounds, and religions. I’m living in an “American House” with a few other American teachers at the Academy, which should be fantastic. 

      Suffice it to say, I am blown away by this new path, new flight, that God has directed me towards. Waiting in the airport to board a flight is difficult, and waiting to even find out which terminal to head towards is even harder. But how worth it, when the Pilot of pilots calls you out of the waiting area, where you await a short ride across the state, onto a 747 which will take you soaring on the flight of your life.