Seth and Laura O'Day

Seth's Story

I have been interested in teaching as a profession since college. But it was not until much later that I chose to teach high school and got my certification in chemistry and physics. Around the same time that I decided to teach high school, my wife and I began discussing the possibility of teaching overseas at a missionary school. My sister had taught at a missionary school in Vienna, and I felt like God might be calling Laura and I to do something similar. In 2010, everything came together for us to begin serving at Faith Academy: God provided us with generous and faithful ministry partners, and we finished up all of our pre-field training in time for the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year.

In the past two years of teaching at Faith Academy, I felt a strong pull to continue serving as a teacher at Faith Academy long-term, which is why Laura and I are currently on furlough, increasing our financial partnership team, deepening friendships, seeing family, and preparing ourselves for long-term service. It has been the adventure of a lifetime, and it is only just beginning.

Laura's Story

I have been interested in overseas teaching and MK education since high school. After college, I taught for 8 years in public schools in the Chicago area. God brought Seth and me to Manila and Faith Academy in 2010. I have continued to teach or be involved at the school in varying ways, depending on the year and the ages of our two children. Starting in 2019, I was given the privilege of supporting my TEAM-Philippines colleagues as Ministry Area Leader.

Ministry Focus:

Seth’s Ministry Focus:
By teaching at Faith Academy, we support missionary families by providing an excellent education to their children, at an affordable cost; we also minister to the spiritual and emotional needs of students themselves.

Laura’s Ministry Focus:
As Ministry Area Leader of TEAM-Philippines, I work to empower my colleagues in this country in their lives and ministries (community medicine, theological education, church planter training, and more). At school, I have taught middle and high school French and English at Faith Academy. There, my ministry is to my students– kids from many nations and many backgrounds.

Primary Prayer Request:

From Seth:
That we will develop deep, long-lasting relationships with our ministry partners in the USA during this time of furlough.

From Laura:
That I will grow as a leader and will faithfully serve the missionaries in our field.