{"id":10575,"date":"2026-05-05T13:51:22","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:51:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/?p=10575"},"modified":"2026-05-05T13:51:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T20:51:22","slug":"follow-the-leader","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/2026\/05\/05\/follow-the-leader\/","title":{"rendered":"FOLLOW THE LEADER"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019m not going to be the principal,\u201d<\/em> I announced\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0students while we piled onto the bus\u00a0in Nicaragua. \u201cSo,\u00a0behave<\/em>.\u201d <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over spring break,\u00a0I had the privilege of representing ACS in Nicaragua as we connected with Centro De<\/span>\u00a0F<\/span>\u00e9<\/span>. This\u00a0Christian school\u00a0has been our sister school for the\u00a0past 16 years.\u00a0<\/span>I\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0the leader on the trip: I was like a \u201cresponsible adult\u201d more than anything.\u00a0<\/span>I had a wonderful experience, meeting people I\u2019ve heard so much about, connecting with ACS colleagues, and getting to know a wonderful group of ACS students during the trip (yes, they behaved!).<\/span><\/p>\n

I remember a lot about this trip, the experiences, connections, and opportunities. But what has stuck with me most<\/span> is the reminder of God\u2019s faithfulness.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Faithfulness in People<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Our in-country leader was\u00a0Sa\u00fal Carvajal, one of our secondary teachers.\u00a0<\/span>He and I go way back\u2026he was a former student of mine back in 2009, my first year of teaching. Sa\u00fal joined ACS as a refugee student from Colombia.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I found an email I sent to a colleague who was checking in on him\u00a0back in October 2009. Here are a few excerpts\u00a0from my response:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHe has used his cell phone in class a\u00a0lot and\u00a0is easily distracted. I have had him in for a\u00a0detention\u00a0for direct disobedience.<\/em>\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201cHe can do a lot\u00a0better but\u00a0is choosing not to.\u202f(I\u2019ve\u00a0caught him copying work).<\/em>\u201d<\/span>
\n<\/span>\u201c<\/span>He is rarely on task, he doesn\u2019t put a lot of effort into his work, and seems to be very disorganized in terms of test dates, etc.<\/em>\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I could write a blog on how I would respond very differently to an email about a student now, compared to back in my first year of teaching, but today, it\u2019s not about that; it\u2019s about God\u2019s faithfulness in the life of Sa\u00fal. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I would have never guessed that the\u00a0Sa\u00fal\u00a0of 2009 would end up being a colleague and leading me on a trip in Nicaragua.<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>But in March 2026 that\u2019s exactly what happened. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He was such an excellent leader. He was prepared, he understood his responsibilities, he cared about our students, he understood the culture, and realities of life in Nicaragua, and he supported our students as they navigated all of that for the first time.<\/span> It was a privilege to follow Sa\u00fal in Nicaragua.<\/span><\/p>\n

God is always working in our lives\u2014in mine, yours, and <\/span>Sa\u00fal\u2019s.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God\u2019s Faithfulness to ACS<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

I also am keenly aware that ACS is nearing its 75<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0anniversary.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God is indeed faithful. He has blessed, and multiplied Abbotsford Christian School. This trip was a reminder to me that God continues to be faithful.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u2019m\u00a0entering the \u201ctop half\u201d of our staff\u2019s age bracket, and Christian\u00a0education is both a rewarding and challenging calling.\u00a0<\/span>I was shown, yet again, that I only serve at ACS, and that God provides.\u00a0<\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sa\u00fal was a shining example of that for me during this trip.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

God formed, and had a plan for\u00a0Sa\u00fal, which (maybe to\u00a0both of our surprises) lead him back to ACS. To have him lead me,\u00a0his\u00a0colleagues, and\u00a0our\u00a0students was an affirmation that God has, and will continue to provide talented and amazing people to lead and serve him in this place.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Our trip to Nicaragua was an amazing experience. But what\u00a0I\u2019ll\u00a0cherish and hold on to for a long time to come is the reminder of God\u2019s faithfulness in the lives of His people, and ACS.<\/span><\/p>\n

May this blog be a reminder for us all, as parents, teachers, grandparents,\u00a0etc. that God is on life\u2019s journey with us and our children through the\u00a0ups and downs. We often\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0imagine what God has in store\u00a0for us and them.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sa\u00fal, thank you\u00a0for reminding me of this!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cI\u2019m not going to be the principal,\u201d I announced\u00a0to\u00a0the\u00a0students while we piled onto the bus\u00a0in Nicaragua. \u201cSo,\u00a0behave.\u201d \u00a0 Over spring break,\u00a0I had the privilege of representing ACS in Nicaragua as we connected with Centro De\u00a0F\u00e9. This\u00a0Christian school\u00a0has been our sister school for the\u00a0past 16 years.\u00a0I\u00a0wasn\u2019t\u00a0the leader on the trip: I was like a \u201cresponsible adult\u201d […]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":10585,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wds_primary_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,29],"tags":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-10575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-school-vision","category-shaping-gods-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/156"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10575\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10585"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10575"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abbotsfordchristian.com\/insideout\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=10575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}