The firsts are always the most memorable ones. Who could forget the ecstatic feeling of their first date, the gut-wrenching first heartbreak, the first pet, or the initial time one receives their first paycheck? These, along with many other firsts, occupy our core memory.
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
My first job is completely unrelated to the course I graduated from. I have a degree in Financial Management, but I ended up working as an assistant preschool teacher in a community school. If you’re wondering how, instead of tallying debits and credits, I found myself checking student papers and helping them identify colors and shapes, I wondered the same! Long story short, I was asked by our pastor to do that volunteer work, and as an expression of gratitude to God for helping me get through college, I obliged.
Teaching preschoolers was a humbling experience for me. When I was still in college, I was an idealistic kind of guy, dreaming of climbing the corporate ladder and making it to the top. But little did I know that I was meant for something else.
During my stint as a preschool teacher, the worst possible scenario a teacher could think of occurred. When Typhoon Ondoy happened in September 2009, the whole classroom was submerged in mud and water. All the school furniture, fixtures, supplies, and materials were either washed away, dilapidated, or completely destroyed. When I visited the school after the onslaught of that unimaginable flood, I literally burst into tears. All the efforts of the kids, chronicled in their books and notebooks, all their stories depicted in their artworks, and all the laughter we shared together, were gone. I could imagine the fear they might have experienced since they literally lived in that low-lying community.
Some of our students chose not to continue their schooling. Those who remained struggled with the few things we had salvaged. The good thing is that several kind-hearted people and groups shared their blessings with the school and the students. We somehow managed to finish the school year.
I asked the Lord, “Why did that happen? And why during my time as a teacher?” It was only later in life that I learned that it was to make me see the real picture of what I would experience in full-time ministry.
I am no longer a preschool teacher; it only lasted for a whole school year. Now I am serving as a full-time minister, and my life is dedicated to teaching. I use my background in accounting and finance to help the church with administrative and financial matters.