THE PHONE CALL!

It was a Thursday afternoon. 

In southern California, it was just an average day in the middle of June.  Overcast in the morning.  Sunny in the afternoon.  The days were patterned, routine, and almost mundane.  Nothing pressing loomed on the horizon.

Then, the phone rang.

Of all the phone calls I have ever received, this one is in a class all by itself.  I am confident that no other call has had, or ever will have, the scope of impact to rival this call.  Trust me! 

This conversation will always be known in my household as “THE PHONE CALL”.

The caller on the other end of the line said that she was a recruiter for a Christian organization that sent teachers to China.  She let me know that the organization had listed a job opening with Intercristo.  She was responding to my application.  Since information flowed both ways, each organization got a printout of each applicant that matched their basic criteria.  So, as I had gotten my printout of the organizations, she had gotten hers of the “qualified” applicants.    

Just days before our phone call, the recruiter had gotten word that a married couple had to cancel going to China due to a death in the family.  With training beginning in just a couple of weeks, this was a crisis. The recruiter urgently needed to fill the positions and didn’t know how - because it was so late.  The day before the call, she had received the most current Intercristo report.  Low and behold, there was a guy on it that seemed to meet the basic qualifications.  And, he lived in the Los Angeles area not far from the home office. 

She thought, “I need to call him today and see if he might be willing to go.”  “Lord, help me!  Are you in this?  She prayed.  Dialed his number, and the phone began to ring.

I answered.

After an initial greeting, the recruiter took charge of the call.  As a good communicator, she began by explaining that she was with an organization that sent Christian English teachers to mainland China.   The teachers were placed in major universities throughout China.  The contracts were for one year.  The Chinese government paid a modest wage and covered a good portion of the expenses. The organization provided English as a Second Language Teacher Training for two months before departure, for those who needed training.  The training started in 15 days in Pasadena, CA, and the teams were to leave for China around Labor Day.

After a brief pause to catch her breath, the recruiter then said, “I see from your profile that you are a Christian, you have a bachelor’s degree, some experience teaching, and that you have lived overseas before.  It looks like you meet all of our basic qualifications.”

The recruiter then asked the question! “Would you be interested in teaching English in mainland China for a year?”

As I was listening and preparing a response, the following were some of my random thoughts: 

Hmm! China’s different.  Sounds intriguing.  Also, the organization offers training before you go.  That’s good, especially since I don’t know a thing about Teaching English as a Second Language.  Hey, the Chinese government will pay me!  Even if it’s not a lot, I don’t have to raise money, or tap into my savings very much.  This is good.  The training is in Pasadena, which is only about 45 minutes away.  I could try it.  If it doesn’t work out, I can always go to Egypt later.  There’s not really a downside.  It seems like the right thing to do.  I was planning to give my notice at work soon anyway.  Why not?  What have I got to lose?

                                       

Additionally, there were a number of other thoughts that popped into my 28 year-old-single-male-mind:  The recruiter is a lady.  Huh?  She sounds like she’s around my age.  She has a nice phone voice.  She’s passionate about her job!  Perky!  Interesting!  Her name is Lisa.  Cute name.  Hmm!  But, she’s probably married….

Once the question was posed, I took a deep breath.  And, after a moment to collect my thoughts, I responded. 

Now, I will attest to the following.  And, I do have a witness to back me up on this.  This truly was my response – verbatim!

I answered, “China?” (A brief pause) “Well, I was thinking about going to Egypt, but China would be okay.  (Pause again.)  Sure, I’ll go.  I can give my two-week notice to my employer tomorrow.   I can be there for the start of the training on July 5th.  Will that work?” 

So just like that, my life pivoted.   The mundane evaporated.  And, I had a plan. 

The next day, I gave my notice to the warehouse.  I told my roommate, Jon, what I was doing.  He was not surprised.  Then, I prepared to move to Pasadena where the training was being held. 

With that telephone call, I started a journey that would prepare me to live in China for nearly two years – and embark on a fifteen year-career teaching English as a Second Language, which included a graduate degree in the field.  It also opened me to a “bucket list of cross-cultural experiences”.  And, it started me on a trajectory to another life-changing event – four more years down the road. 

As I reflect:

I believe that God used my friend, Nancy, to expand my world of possibilities to include teaching ESL.  He prompted her to tell me to “just check the box” on that application form.  I believe that he used Intercristo to match me with the organization.  I believe that he used a special lady to recruit me to teach in China.  I also believe that an “older me”, would have counseled a “younger me” to pause a tad bit longer to consciously pray about the decision before zealously moving forward. 

And, even though I didn't know what I was doing in the midst of this transition,

God certainly did.

Next Time: Driven to Be Average: Part Two.

Note: If you have not read “Driven to Be Average: Part One”, you might want to read it before you read “Driven to Be Average: Part Two”.