INTRODUCTION: COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND BE A BLESSING TO THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU| BLISSFULWRITES|PEAKD

I once heard a song saying count your blessings and name them one by one.

Hello Hivers!
How's your day going?
I know you don't know me, but my heart is delighted to introduce myself. My name is Edith Joy Casamayor. I'm in my 39th year of existence in this whole wide world.
I am from Dipolog City which also known as Orchid City. You can call me "Joy" and I believe that this name is so easy to remember. I am married to Arvin, whom I met on Facebook, and we have two lovely kids, Reiven and Yohanna.

When I was still in college, I took a course to become a nurse someday. Unfortunately, because of financial problem. I wasn't able to finish the four-year course of Bachelor of Science in Nursing. Instead, God redirected me to become a missionary for more than a year. With the influence of my friends, who were very enthusiastic and active in faith, I was able to become a missionary.

I joined the training for three months and was dispatched to Mandaue, Cebu. I stayed in Cebu with a partner for a year. We met people, visited them house to house, and of course left them a word of prayer especially those who are struggling with health. We shared good news to them and made them feel that we are not just strangers in their place. After that year, it didn't end there.

They let me extend my service to a foreign land where I can be a Missionary English Teacher. I lived in a place where I didn't know anyone. God only had my faith to know them because we have the same faith. It wasn't easy because of what we call "language barrier". Sometimes I suddenly felt sad, because I couldn't understand their language. I realized I was not there for those stuffs. God sent me to that place to become a teacher for these young learners.

God made a way! He let me meet someone whom I can rely on and able to translate my thoughts and ideas. They were my co-teachers in that center. And after 2 years, the movement that I joined sent me a partner, my illonga partner.

I pushed myself to learn a bit of their language. I went to the academy for free and learned their language. Not that perfect but as long as I can communicate. I met new friends from different countries, like Thailand, China, and Vietnam.

After three years of service, I ended my stay and went back to my native land, Philippines.

Since I've been teaching kids in that foreign land, I chose to be an ESL here in the Philippines so that my passion in teaching will keep going and I can still share the knowledge that God has given me. I teach ESL online and whenever Winter camp is in, I join this camp to be with the kids and of course, to let them feel home in the Philippines.

Currently, I do not teach online but I work from home as a virtual assistant assisting a US-based dental provider.

And I would like to acknowledge Teacher @antonette for this opportunity. I am thankful because we do not only able to write our stories but at the same time we can inspire one's lives.

Definitely, God has a plan for you and me. His plan that will give us hope and future and a plan that will never fail us. We might not have a disney princess life,but a life where we can be a blessing to the people around us.

Note: Images edited from Canva