When autocomplete options are available, use up and down arrows to review and enter to select.
Apply Give

Fulbright recipient sees God’s hand throughout teaching experience in South America

Heist (center) pictured with a Brazilian English teacher and a student at the federal Technological University of Paraná

Liberty University graduate Sara Heist (’17) was waiting patiently to receive news that her Fulbright grant would place her in a job as an English Teaching Assistant (ETA) in Guatemala for nine months. It was a logical conclusion given that she had previously traveled to the country and had experience with the culture and language.

But she soon learned that the Lord had other plans for her.

As a junior studying both English and Spanish, Heist had used her language skills in Guatemala on a trip with Spanish professor Dr. David Towles. The opportunity opened her heart to the wonders of experiencing another culture and instilled in her a deep desire to return — so much so that she applied for a Fulbright to Guatemala the following year.

“In January I was made a semi-finalist for the Fulbright, and in April I learned that I was an alternate. In July I got an email, out of the blue, that said ‘Do you want to be considered to go to Brazil?’”

Surprising news considering she didn’t know the culture or the language.

Very few Brazilians speak Spanish, so Heist spent about one hour per week learning to speak Portuguese before she left. But most of her language lessons occurred after she arrived in Brazil, and as she recalls, were “terrifying.”

“It was four months before I could even tell a joke in Portuguese.”

Sara (center) poses students from one of her English language classes

Heist was placed in the small town of Pato Branco at a satellite campus of the federal Technological University of Paraná in the south of Brazil where, as an ETA, she taught American culture, basic English, and even cooking. Heist taught her students to bake traditional American dishes like pumpkin pie and used the experience as an opportunity to learn about each other’s cultures.

Fulbright students are required to prepare a community engagement plan on how their time will be spent in the host country, but because she was placed in Brazil and not Guatemala, her original plan was scrapped.

“I was looking for something else to do for my plan. I knew I wanted to be part of a church, so I found one the first Sunday I was in Brazil and ended up attending there the whole nine months I was in Pato Branco.” At the church, she taught English classes for elementary, high school, and adult students.

But God surprised Heist once again with an opportunity to impact the area with her faith. She was invited by a woman at the church to be a group leader for a children’s retreat, one element of a larger effort to engage and strengthen families from churches throughout the region. She forged a relationship with her new friend and, unexpectedly, the two began writing a vacation Bible study curriculum in Portuguese.

“This was NOT part of the original plan,” Heist said. “I taught her English one-on-one, and we began writing and working on getting a VBS curriculum published in Portuguese.”

Heist was able to work with a kid’s VBS program at her church in Pato Branco

And in a culture where Biblical education and corporate worship are largely focused on adults, Heist said the VBS will open a whole range of possibilities, especially for evangelical churches to preach the Gospel to children.

Heist returned from Brazil in November and started as a full-time Spanish teacher at Liberty Christian Academy (LCA) in December. She plans to use her experience to help her students see how big the world is and that “there are students just like them halfway around the world who have some of the same hopes and dreams and worries and concerns that they do.”

Heist is grateful for her professors and Liberty’s Fulbright team for helping her pursue the prestigious grant.

“Fulbright is not a vacation,” Sara said. “It is a real opportunity to be shaped as a person, a real opportunity to have God use you and purify you and stretch you in ways that you may never have to be stretched here in the States.”

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, the Fulbright U.S. Student Program is the largest U.S. exchange program. It is designed to build lasting connections between the people of the U.S. and other countries by offering opportunities for international graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools worldwide. Recipients are selected on the basis of academic and professional achievement, as well as record of service and leadership potential in their respective fields.

The Liberty Fulbright Scholarships & Study Grants program is administered through the office of Dean Robert Hurt of the Helms School of Government (HSOG) and is supervised by the Office of the Provost. Edna Udobong, associate professor, serves as the Fulbright Program Advisor and Scholar Liaison. Liberty University students in all disciplines are encouraged to apply, and they will receive support through the very competitive application process.

For more information on Liberty’s Fulbright scholarships and study grants, contact Edna Udobong at eudobong3@liberty.edu or visit Liberty’s Fulbright page.

Chat Live Chat Live Request Info Request Info Apply Now Apply Now Visit Liberty Visit Liberty