Heidi Bishop's PledgePage
“What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.”
–John 4:14
I have always insisted to everyone that I know that none of my successes can be attributed to my intelligence, but only that I have always applied myself to my goals so passionately that it makes me unable to fail. It is with this same determination that I submit this letter to you, my family, friends and acquaintances, even those of you that I don't know, please help me in my latest mission, despite the fact that I haven't the money to achieve my latest goals. I think it's a pity how everything in this world seems to revolve around either having money or not having it.
"True happiness is gained through fidelity to a worthy purpose."
-Helen Keller
My life's goal has always been law and politics, in hopes of ensuring a new trend of politicians dedicated to serving their constituents out of compassion instead of self-interest. This goal still remains and I hope to begin law school in the fall of the 2007-2008 school year. But I have always been interested in the pursuit of law for one reason, and that is to help individuals that were born less fortunate. In my opinion, the keys to power in a society come from gaining power from avenues like literacy, education and access to legal services, all things which many of us take for granted in our everyday life. And as I began searching my heart and praying to God about how to serve between now and law school, my heart settled on busying myself in service, specifically, traveling to a Latin American country to aid in teaching English. I performed some searches of various teaching English websites and found many short-term opportunities in various Asian countries. Though many of them offered Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification in their employment packages, these were not in line with my goals to assist Hispanics. Being of Peruvian heritage myself, and also being a Texan my entire life, brought on a specific urge to work at the Texas-Mexico border and to reach out to the people there, both in word and deed. I also learned more than I ever knew about the tragedies of the Texas-Mexico border during my master's work in London in 2004-2005.
The international border between the United States and Mexico extends over 1,952 miles, with Texas having the longest stretch of the border of any state. This border has the highest number of both legal and illegal crossings of any land border in the ENTIRE WORLD. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 1,954 people died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border between the years 1998-2004, from all causes and the number of deaths of illegal immigrants in the United States-Mexico border has been increasing on a regular, yearly basis since the middle 1990s. The leading causes of death are natural death causes, including, among others, heat stroke, dehydration, and hypothermia. A significant numbers of illegal immigrants also die in car accidents and other accidental causes. However, authorities think that most of the deaths that were violent in nature were orchestrated by illegal immigrant smugglers, known as coyotes. Many of these immigrants come to the United States with the American Dream in mind, but many of their trips end in death, incarceration, or living in trash dumps with their children foraging through garbage in order to live another day.
With my heart set towards this region, I finally stumbled upon an ESL Missions Opportunity on the U.S. Mexico Border offered by Dryander Ministries on the Internet. After researching Dryander Ministries, I learned it is an organization which "seeks to advance the kingdom of God by means of publishing, educational, and charitable efforts." A major focus of theirs is the teaching of English as a second language, which creates a context in which informal yet powerful Christian witness and outreach can take place. They offer an English teaching position that offers both direct and indirect ministry components, a position that would allow me to not only teach English to adults, but to also help with the organization of other ministry and educational activities like trips to the beach with youth and prison ministry.
I strongly believe I can still achieve my political goals through the avenue of teaching and ministry. The two can indeed, become one. Because how can one effectively lead a nation without having first gained an understanding and appreciation of all socioeconomic levels of society? I am convinced that teaching English in an impoverished area like the Texas-Mexico border is an excellent spearhead to my legal/political career, as immigration continues to be one of the most important issues in our country, and I believe my key to understanding this phenomenon will come from direct participation in these communities.
My alma mater, Abilene Christian University's motto is "Creating leaders who will change the world for Christ." This statement not only epitomizes who I am, but constantly reminds me of my ultimate goal in life, which is to "Change the world." First, I want to bring these people a message of promise and hope that comes from Christianity. I also want to practically aid this society by fostering and encouraging English literacy. The only thing holding me back from beginning right away is the lack of a TEFL certification. The CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course is the best known teacher training course for English language teachers in the world. It is a full-time program over the course of four weeks and while the program itself is $1,756, I estimate a total of $3,000 to cover my tuition and transportation and living expenses in either Houston or Mexico commencing on November 23rd. If I happen to raise more then the cost of this program, it will be donated directly to the aims of Dryander Ministries, of which I have come to highly respect.
Also, please feel free to bookmark the link to this page, as I will continuously update everyone on my progress towards this goal and beyond.
I realize that work ethic is difficult to observe on paper, and that you work very hard for your money, but I can assure you that in these goals I will never disappoint, as I am completely confident in my abilities to teach English and spread Christianity. I strongly believe in myself and my abilities and I hope this letter moves you to believe in me as well. Please help by donating a small amount or passing the link to this webpage along to anyone who might be interested.
If you are comfortable using Paypal at www.paypal.com, you can click on the "Send Money" link and enter my email address, crazycutie97@hotmail.com.
If not, please contact me via email for a mailing address to where you can send checks and money orders to directly.
Please be sure to include your name so I can list it on the contributions link. Also feel free to sign my guestbook and let me know what you think of my latest goal! You may also contact me by e-mail(heidi.bishop@gmail.com) with any questions. I also thank you all in advance for your thoughts and prayers while I seek God's direction in my life.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
All the best,
Heidi Bishop
–John 4:14
I have always insisted to everyone that I know that none of my successes can be attributed to my intelligence, but only that I have always applied myself to my goals so passionately that it makes me unable to fail. It is with this same determination that I submit this letter to you, my family, friends and acquaintances, even those of you that I don't know, please help me in my latest mission, despite the fact that I haven't the money to achieve my latest goals. I think it's a pity how everything in this world seems to revolve around either having money or not having it.
"True happiness is gained through fidelity to a worthy purpose."
-Helen Keller
My life's goal has always been law and politics, in hopes of ensuring a new trend of politicians dedicated to serving their constituents out of compassion instead of self-interest. This goal still remains and I hope to begin law school in the fall of the 2007-2008 school year. But I have always been interested in the pursuit of law for one reason, and that is to help individuals that were born less fortunate. In my opinion, the keys to power in a society come from gaining power from avenues like literacy, education and access to legal services, all things which many of us take for granted in our everyday life. And as I began searching my heart and praying to God about how to serve between now and law school, my heart settled on busying myself in service, specifically, traveling to a Latin American country to aid in teaching English. I performed some searches of various teaching English websites and found many short-term opportunities in various Asian countries. Though many of them offered Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) certification in their employment packages, these were not in line with my goals to assist Hispanics. Being of Peruvian heritage myself, and also being a Texan my entire life, brought on a specific urge to work at the Texas-Mexico border and to reach out to the people there, both in word and deed. I also learned more than I ever knew about the tragedies of the Texas-Mexico border during my master's work in London in 2004-2005.
The international border between the United States and Mexico extends over 1,952 miles, with Texas having the longest stretch of the border of any state. This border has the highest number of both legal and illegal crossings of any land border in the ENTIRE WORLD. According to the U.S. Border Patrol, 1,954 people died crossing the U.S.-Mexico border between the years 1998-2004, from all causes and the number of deaths of illegal immigrants in the United States-Mexico border has been increasing on a regular, yearly basis since the middle 1990s. The leading causes of death are natural death causes, including, among others, heat stroke, dehydration, and hypothermia. A significant numbers of illegal immigrants also die in car accidents and other accidental causes. However, authorities think that most of the deaths that were violent in nature were orchestrated by illegal immigrant smugglers, known as coyotes. Many of these immigrants come to the United States with the American Dream in mind, but many of their trips end in death, incarceration, or living in trash dumps with their children foraging through garbage in order to live another day.
With my heart set towards this region, I finally stumbled upon an ESL Missions Opportunity on the U.S. Mexico Border offered by Dryander Ministries on the Internet. After researching Dryander Ministries, I learned it is an organization which "seeks to advance the kingdom of God by means of publishing, educational, and charitable efforts." A major focus of theirs is the teaching of English as a second language, which creates a context in which informal yet powerful Christian witness and outreach can take place. They offer an English teaching position that offers both direct and indirect ministry components, a position that would allow me to not only teach English to adults, but to also help with the organization of other ministry and educational activities like trips to the beach with youth and prison ministry.
I strongly believe I can still achieve my political goals through the avenue of teaching and ministry. The two can indeed, become one. Because how can one effectively lead a nation without having first gained an understanding and appreciation of all socioeconomic levels of society? I am convinced that teaching English in an impoverished area like the Texas-Mexico border is an excellent spearhead to my legal/political career, as immigration continues to be one of the most important issues in our country, and I believe my key to understanding this phenomenon will come from direct participation in these communities.
My alma mater, Abilene Christian University's motto is "Creating leaders who will change the world for Christ." This statement not only epitomizes who I am, but constantly reminds me of my ultimate goal in life, which is to "Change the world." First, I want to bring these people a message of promise and hope that comes from Christianity. I also want to practically aid this society by fostering and encouraging English literacy. The only thing holding me back from beginning right away is the lack of a TEFL certification. The CELTA (Certificate in English Language Teaching to Adults) course is the best known teacher training course for English language teachers in the world. It is a full-time program over the course of four weeks and while the program itself is $1,756, I estimate a total of $3,000 to cover my tuition and transportation and living expenses in either Houston or Mexico commencing on November 23rd. If I happen to raise more then the cost of this program, it will be donated directly to the aims of Dryander Ministries, of which I have come to highly respect.
Also, please feel free to bookmark the link to this page, as I will continuously update everyone on my progress towards this goal and beyond.
I realize that work ethic is difficult to observe on paper, and that you work very hard for your money, but I can assure you that in these goals I will never disappoint, as I am completely confident in my abilities to teach English and spread Christianity. I strongly believe in myself and my abilities and I hope this letter moves you to believe in me as well. Please help by donating a small amount or passing the link to this webpage along to anyone who might be interested.
If you are comfortable using Paypal at www.paypal.com, you can click on the "Send Money" link and enter my email address, crazycutie97@hotmail.com.
If not, please contact me via email for a mailing address to where you can send checks and money orders to directly.
Please be sure to include your name so I can list it on the contributions link. Also feel free to sign my guestbook and let me know what you think of my latest goal! You may also contact me by e-mail(heidi.bishop@gmail.com) with any questions. I also thank you all in advance for your thoughts and prayers while I seek God's direction in my life.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
All the best,
Heidi Bishop