In the following blog post, Naara Urrea—homeschool mom, Foundations/Essentials Director, Support Representative, community manager, and missionary—shares her journey through motherhood and her experience homeschooling around the world and in her own home in Chile.
Education and Provision in Malawi
It was a long wait until I became a mom—fifteen years, to be more precise. During those years of longing to embrace my own children, I decided to love as many kids as possible. Nephews, nieces, cousins, my friend’s kids . . . well, you get the picture.
It was a long journey—sometimes painful—but God had promised my husband and me that we would be parents of hundreds of children, and we believed him.
Years went by, and we moved to live in Malawi, East Africa, to become missionaries. Over a four-year period, we met people from all over the globe. We made new friends who were also serving, and all of them were homeschooling.
Mulungu Apatsa: “God Provides”
They introduced us to a new way of education that we were not familiar with.
In Chile, in those years, we never met anyone homeschooling. We loved seeing their kids learning not only the common topics but also building their lives with a strong foundation in Scripture and giving them life skills. Under those lenses, my husband and I were committed to home education. They inspired me even though I was childless.
Looking back now, I realized that meeting them made me open my home in Malawi to all the children in my village. Hundreds of them started to come and see the “nzungu” (“white” or foreigner) reading English books to them, handing over some broken pencils, some toys, and pieces of fabric to show them how to sew, and loving them as my own.
Oh my, those busy days! They bring tears of joy as I remember their happy faces. From that small beginning, we started a project in 2012 after we returned home, which is still running today: a school in the middle of nowhere by a remote area in Lake Malawi.
The name is Mulungu Apatsa, which means “God Provides.”
Motherhood and Homeschooling in Chile
You might wonder what that has to do with homeschooling.
Well, after 15 years of marriage, I was expecting my first baby!
God did it! Our miracle was in the making. My daughter was born in May in Chile, and we called her Mary Grace. She’s the one who officially inaugurated our home school.
The Fear of Failure
Yet, despite my unmeasurable joy for having her, I was full of fear, not knowing how I would homeschool her without failing. As a mom, everything looked much harder now than I’d pictured seeing my friends doing with their kids in Africa! And all of my friends and relatives here had their kids in school.
I felt as if I was swimming against the current until, one day, the Lord reminded me of his promise of provision found always in everything in Him. He was going to be with me all the way.
I started homeschooling my child boldly, though underneath it all, I experienced the fear of not being good enough to teach her.
Unexpectedly, three years later, my second miracle arrived! The doctors told me that I was never going to be able to have any children . . . and here I was laughing just as Sarah, Hannah, and Elizabeth did and praising God once again.
I became a mom of a three-year-old girl and a newborn baby girl by the mercies of our faithful God.
Now, I was determined to do my best to teach these precious girls. I put on a brave face, but honestly, I was battling the fear of failing most of the time. I tried to connect with some friends here and there, but everyone was using a different curriculum or homeschooling method.
Mission and Connection in Peru
Then, we moved to serve as missionaries in Lima, Peru.
No one I knew was homeschooling there, and I had to start all over again, building some new friendships and preparing myself with any tools I could find. It felt very lonely having just them at home and no one else to share their advances. Most of our new friends were so busy with long school hours that it was so hard to have playdates or simple trips to a museum. While we loved being there, homeschooling became a great challenge to me, and I wondered if I should carry on or maybe enroll them in a school like everyone else I knew.
Classical Conversations: God Provides
Two years later, we came back to Chile.
We had to leave our dear new friends and routines again and start all over. I must say that I was anxious about homeschooling, and I started searching for schools in the area we were moving.
I knew God had called me to teach my children, but I wasn’t very excited to continue. I felt lost, and most of my materials were packed in suitcases while we were traveling for about two months, ministering to churches in southern Chile.
Thankfully, I saw some light ahead of me when we found a home after tirelessly searching during the several months of lockdown due to the pandemic. The Lord helped us to find a nice place in the countryside of Santiago in 2020, which enabled us to learn out in nature despite the COVID-19 restrictions.
And it so happened that one of my neighbors was an old friend and colleague from our former church who was not only homeschooling her three kids but also directing a homeschool community with Classical Conversations!
God always provides!
Connection, Community, and Classical Conversations
It was the first time I’d ever heard of Classical Conversations. I was curious about the program, but I didn’t understand much, as classical education was new to me.
At the end of 2020, we went to an Open House. My girls were eight and five years old at that time, and I saw them thriving and having so much fun! I made some new friends too and found old ones in the same community! Bonus!
At last, I’d come across something I didn’t know my family needed: connection.
One can homeschool with passion and a whole heart, but having a friend who is there with you and knows exactly how you feel, either cheering you up or crying with you, gives the experience meaning and accountability. Someone you can learn from and to whom you can offer your support in turn.
I’m beyond grateful to have found just that in these last three years of homeschooling together with such beautiful families. Some of them have moved away, but new ones have been added, which is such a gift to us.
Overcoming Fear and Becoming a Parent-Leader
I was invited to be a Tutor for Foundations in 2021, and from 2022 until the present, I’ve had the privilege of becoming a Foundations/Essentials Director. I’ve loved serving these beautiful families and seeing my girls as my best advocates anytime we shared our homeschool journey with friends.
One of the reasons I decided to continue was that I am sure God called me to teach my kids. Now I know for sure what He is able to equip the ones he calls. He’s always faithful, and He is not surprised when he sees me going a few steps back in my mind, thinking if what I teach is good enough for them or not.
“The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing . . . he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23, NIV
As if my story wouldn’t have enough flavor (ha ha), last year, I was invited to be part of the International Leader Team to oversee the North of Chile and north of Santiago. That role has expanded my mind as I’ve embraced Directors and families beyond my circle. It’s such an honor to get to know them and cheer them up as they start their own communities. My heart is so grateful to God for sending Classical Conversations my way and for the resources shared that make my life so much easier and enrich the way I teach at home.
I’ve had so many opportunities to grow personally, and my girls have too. They learned to love learning, and they still love their mom-teacher. I’m looking forward to serving anywhere God puts me and to celebrating the lives of my two girls (eleven and eight years old today) as I witness firsthand how they know God and make him known.
Laying Down My Fears at the Feet of Jesus
Maybe more fears will arise as the Challenge years approach, but I’m laying down my fear at the feet of Jesus. I know he will be with me all the way, and I’ll share about his goodness.
He doesn’t want my perfection(ism); He wants my heart surrendered to him and totally dependent on him. I do my part—I study, read, and plan—but at the end of the day, my fear is silenced when I recall his Word and lean on him: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:5–6, NLT).
I invite you to lay down your fear, too, for God is faithful!
Speaking of missionaries and homeschools, learn more about how the Classical Conversations Foundation supports homeschool families on missions, and join the John 1:1 Mission Partner Campaign!
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