Category Archives: Outreach Options

“Over here we live like kings, but back home we are like everyone else!” – The South African diplomat said to me as we toured their palatial dwelling in Seoul, South Korea

Somewhere on Lake Annecy, France – You never know where your travels for outreach may take you! 🙂 CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet 🙂

 South African Embassy Friends – Over here we live like kings! …

We were based among the rolling lush green hills and mountains of South Korea. My friend from church  was from South Africa and taught at a local village Hogwon English school while I was teaching at the local university in a nearby city. She said, “Well let’s get on with it … how about skip down with us to Seoul for a visit. We can stay at my friend’s house from the South African Embassy. So my wife and I said sure and off we went. Seoul is a large metropolis of 10 or so million folks. It is an ultra modern city covered with towering glassy apartments that are quite expensive. But our embassy friend, one of zillions we would meet overseas, lived in a sprawling small mansion with a zillion rooms to spare. It was a fun visit. And she said to us, “Over here we live like kings, but back home we live just like everyone else!” I marvelled at the remark, but it pretty much sums up my life over here overseas.

Everyone has a maid, nanny or chef?

Continue reading “Over here we live like kings, but back home we are like everyone else!” – The South African diplomat said to me as we toured their palatial dwelling in Seoul, South Korea

Live the dream – Live and work internationally as a teacher – Retire early, become financially independent and/or buy a holiday house – All Over the World

Chamonix Mont Blanc, France – You never know where your travels may take you for outreach! CPO, From the far side of the planet!

My story – A little

I work as an international school teacher … so I am able to live, work and stay anywhere in the world that I can get a job. I am F.I. (Financially Independent), but not R.E. (Retired Early). In fact I have become a multi-millionaire by living and investing overseas. So I am free to do outreach work as an international expat until I die.

I live in Asia and travel around the world or locally or back to North America as I get 3 months holidays each year. In the past 3 years we have been to Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, and China and the like. My homebase is here in Asia  and so I have a green card too.

Thus I am kind of like a dual citizen. I don’t need a Visa …

Where are my colleagues and classmates now or have worked?

International schools are cool! Heck living overseas as an international expat is cool! Who wouldn’t want to travel the world and get paid to do it.

 

Continue reading Live the dream – Live and work internationally as a teacher – Retire early, become financially independent and/or buy a holiday house – All Over the World

Local Overseas Schools? Series Part #2 , Your child’s education and what you should do about it? , Local schools for expats and is it right for you? … While in an overseas expat context? Is it worth it? This blog will explore some of these ideas … By CPO, from the far side of the planet! :)

Somewhere in Semi-Tropical Hong Kong – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

Local Overseas Schools? … By CPO, from the far side of the planet!

One of the choices international expat families choose for their children is local schools. These schools usually come in 2 or 3 different flavours – pure local schools, local schools that cater to foreign expatriate families and variations of the above in the private school sector but are not international schools with a foreign curriculum.

Advantages

The advantages to such local schools is many fold, but namely they boil down to flexibility, culture, languages and saving money.

Flexibility

So why do you say flexibility? The reasons are perhaps obvious and not so obvious. First of all is location, location, location. When it comes to local schools they are everywhere and usually in close proximity to your home. Near our home are a zillion kindergartens, Primary Schools, Middle Schools and High Schools. So if you add local schools to your mix of choices, your options multiply exceedingly. Depending on where you live there will usually be a large range of school options near to your doorstep.

Around Hong Kong Bay – – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

What About The Cultural Bubble World?

Continue reading Local Overseas Schools? Series Part #2 , Your child’s education and what you should do about it? , Local schools for expats and is it right for you? … While in an overseas expat context? Is it worth it? This blog will explore some of these ideas … By CPO, from the far side of the planet! 🙂

“Hudson Taylor – In Early Years” and “Hudson Taylor – And The China Inland Mission” By Mr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor

Hudson Taylor In Early Years – You never know where God may lead you for outreach! CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet! 🙂

Hudson Taylor

If anyone were to ask me, “What are you top favourite inspirational books?” I would have to mention “Hudson Taylor – In Early Years” and “Hudson Taylor – And The China Inland Mission” by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor. There are many other versions or the same as mentioned above … of Hudson Taylor’s life through various biographies found at OMF or Amazon.

The twin set of books cover the early life of Hudson Taylor in England through the 1800’s to the creation of the China Inland Mission and its continued work up to the early 1900’s.  CIM is now called OMF or Overseas Missionary Fellowship that does work throughout the world but mainly in Asia.

To a great extent his mission either directly or indirectly has inspired millions. Not only that but many of the, up to 100 million by some estimates, Christians in China can trace their roots back to the China Inland Missions message and work.

It is interesting how Hudson Taylor’s outreach efforts continued from one to another he had minister to and taught. Below is a portion from one of the books that illustrate this …

Excerpt from Hudson Taylor – In Early Years – Growth of a Soul “Far away from Ningpo, in a beautiful valley

Excerpt from Hudson Taylor – In Early Years – Growth of a Soul “Far away from Ningpo, in a beautiful valley, lay the farming district … but

Continue reading “Hudson Taylor – In Early Years” and “Hudson Taylor – And The China Inland Mission” By Mr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor

Tag Team Married Couples Make For Great Overseas Ministry Opportunities – By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet

Somewhere on the roads in Germany not far from Switzerland – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

Couple Tag Teams?

So you have decided to let you light shine across the great divide in some far off distant land? Perhaps you are interested in humanitarian efforts, or perhaps some outreach efforts or a bit of both. So what exactly could that look like? Being on the scene for 20 years has given me some insights and I will share 4 stories of just that. Off course I will use fictitious mystery? names and so those folks can remain anonymous – though the light of their work still shines … over on the far side of the planet.

Tag Team One

Continue reading Tag Team Married Couples Make For Great Overseas Ministry Opportunities – By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet

Yo ho, ho! A CPO Diplomat’s life for me?  Life as a diplomat ….? By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet

Around Lake Geneva, Switzerland  – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

A CPO Diplomat’s life for me?  Life as a diplomat ….?

Yo ho, ho  – and a bottle of orange juice?  …. Oops I mean, a CPO Diplomat’s life for me? Hmmm maybe or maybe not? But there are different options… but before we go exploring plan B options let’s also look at how difficult it is to get into the diplomatic core.

I remember my first awakening to this world. We were at a university bible study meeting for the Navigators and a fellow named Scott started chatting with me … I come from a fairly small town along the beaches of the Great Lakes … which I mentioned to him and he said,  “Oh I will be swimming in the Indian Ocean for Christmas.”  I said what? In confusion … looking out at the snow ( … and dreaming of tropical beaches far away) … seeing my small town mind had never come against such a being …. India???? I said??? Ocean??? I said. And he said, “Yes my parents work for the embassy as diplomats and we have lived all over the world” … He said matter of factly, “We were in Russia on our last posting!”  Well it was a world I didn’t even know existed except distantly as the background of some adventure movie.

My imagination was piqued.

Continue reading Yo ho, ho! A CPO Diplomat’s life for me?  Life as a diplomat ….? By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet

Targeted International School Job Searches – A Job Affair? – Your 2 Best Job Finder Friends – Series # 2

Black Forest, Germany – Apples Free to Pick – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO

(What if I said you could get a ticket to virtually ANY OF THE 195 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD by becoming a CPO … – … And it  is relatively easy … ??? Well that is what this website endeavors to help you to do.)

***  Clueless in Asia???

By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet! 🙂

Yes that was me when I first arrived on the international scene so many moons ago… I found a job via this new fangled thing called the Internet in the 90’s and have never looked back…. but did wonder how to go forward.

I Remember it Well!!!!?! 🙂

I remember it well …. getting off the plane in a run-down airport, masses of bicycles swarming the streets, meandering dark ally-ed village like ancient streets and housing, maze like labyrinths of convoluted byways with wafting smells and odours from refuse, cooking or outhouses, coal burning heaters and cookers with smokey haze rising … scenting and coating everything with coal dust … strange foods that surprised with delight and street food with food poisoning … it was a different world for me …

The Dark Side????! 🙂

Continue reading Targeted International School Job Searches – A Job Affair? – Your 2 Best Job Finder Friends – Series # 2

Targeted International School Job Searches – By City or Country – Series # 1

Tokyo, Japan – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO.

(What if I said you could get a ticket to virtually ANY OF THE 195 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD by becoming a CPO … – … And it  is relatively easy … ??? Well that is what this web site endeavors to help you to do.)

Virtual Tourism? 🙂  … Ooops I mean Job Search – There are many ways to search …..

There are many ways to search the international school job scene. The experienced teacher to the expat world will find this obvious, but for newbies you may find this article useful.

Having said that … maybe some of you old hands may find a few variations here that you have forgotten about too.

A lot of teachers take the shotgun approach, and we will explain more on that in following posts …. but lets look at the question ….

“But what if don’t wanna teach just anywhere?!!!” I have a dream….!!!

Continue reading Targeted International School Job Searches – By City or Country – Series # 1

In the News …. Retirement Options … Full Time Cruise Life vs Assisted Living, By CPO – From the Far Side of the Planet

Fun Options to Live Internationally, Even in The Twilight Years

Live the Dream?! 🙂 … Have you ever dreamed of living on a cruise ship – FULL TIME? (By CPO, From the Far Side of the Planet) Lake Annecy, France

Live the Dream?! 🙂 … Have you ever dreamed of living on a cruise ship – FULL TIME?

Of course I have heard of and knew some folks lived full time on cruise ships, but it never occurred to me as a possible option for retirement living, let alone for assisted living.

If you have the means to retire … it is surprisingly cheap!

Surprisingly the costs are much the same, around a $100 dollars a day or less with senior discounts.

Oceania Cruises

Continue reading In the News …. Retirement Options … Full Time Cruise Life vs Assisted Living, By CPO – From the Far Side of the Planet

Christian Professionals Overseas – Series – Part 2 – About Us – I have a dream …

Japan Disney – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO.

What if I said you could get a ticket to virtually ANY OF THE 195 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD by becoming a CPO … – … And it  is relatively easy … ??? Well that is what this website endeavors to help you to do.)

I Have a Dream … to the Moon? …

I have always been a bit of a dreamer … when I was 5 years it was like be a garbage-man because they are cool … and they have a cool truck. Hmmm then it was like be an Apollo astronaut ’cause they can go to the moon … I collected all these NASA pictures, made rockets out of toilette paper roles and dreamed of blasting off to other worlds.

Next it was like start a billion dollar business with real estate, stocks and oil …. I had it all planned out meticulously on paper.

Goals are important but? …

Continue reading Christian Professionals Overseas – Series – Part 2 – About Us – I have a dream …

Christian Professionals Overseas – Series – Part 1 – About Us

Shanghai – You never know where your travels may take you and what opportunities there are for outreach … :), By CPO.

(What if I said you could get a ticket to virtually ANY OF THE 195 COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD by becoming a CPO … – … And it  is relatively easy … ??? Well that is what this website endeavors to help you to do.)

 

My name is Michael and my wife’s name is Yan.

Continue reading Christian Professionals Overseas – Series – Part 1 – About Us