Mrs. Kimberly Surface

God gave me an amazing family and church that taught me who Jesus was from an early age. When I was six, Dad came to pray with us that night after Good Friday Service, and both my sister and I prayed to give our lives to Jesus. At this age I was comforted knowing Jesus loved me, was with me, and that I’d be with him in Heaven someday.

As I grew in my understanding of God, I began longing to have a deeper relationship with him. When I was 15 I decided to commit a summer to working at Camp Forest Springs, a place I had always felt God working in my heart. During this summer God directed my heart towards understanding how to have a closer relationship with him. Dick Angelo had a service that summer challenging us to look at Romans 12 which talks about us being a living sacrifice. It was then I realized that when I accepted Christ as my savior, I also accepted him as my Lord. My life was not my own anymore, it was HIS. And I would not rather have anyone as the Lord of my life than our God and Savior. Also that summer, a mentor came alongside me, and she challenged me to be spending time with God daily. Though I had read the bible before, it was never consistent. My prayer time was also scattered, and I had difficulty focusing. She gave me a prayer journal, and challenged me to start reading a devotional. Ever since then, I have been spending time with God each day, praying in a prayer journal and learning from his word through a devotional and studying his scripture. I worked at camp each following summer for 6 years and became passionate about serving Christ with my life. I met a young lady who went to Moody Bible institute, and decided to pursue Elementary Education there with the hopes of learning to teach with a Biblical Foundation.

My Elementary Education degree at Moody Bible Institute trained me well for teaching in a hands on way and to incorporate biblical integration into all subjects. I also met my husband at Moody, and he has been a blessing from God and has brought me closer to Him with his patience and Godly leadership.

Then I taught two years at a Christian preschool in Naperville, IL, and God showed me that I dearly love teaching preschoolers. Their joy and wonder gives me something to look forward to, and the growth they experience is amazing. These years have prepared me well to plan, manage, create, teach, and guide students toward learning. The past two years I have been staying home with my daughter, and doing some tutoring positions to keep me fresh with teaching methods. Now I enter this position as a humble learner. I strongly believe teachers are to be life-long learners, and I look forward to another year of learning, growing closer to God, and teaching my students from the Gospel.