I just had a most amazing date. With the most amazing being of all. God! It may sound cheesy, but there are so many small things that happened that I just felt so blessed by God from. I took a long walk at the park that used to be my grandmother's property. I climbed a tree, ate honeysuckle, climbed through a bamboo forest, hiked up a path I'd never been on before, picked a beautiful bouquet of wild flowers, felt the cool breeze flow and conversed with God. Beautiful times!
One month from today, almost to the hour, I board a plane headed for Brussels, Belgium. In my long and drawn-out search for plane tickets I typed in all sorts of combinations to find the cheapest flight to Uganda and back. It's quite handy having 3 airports close by! Despite the search for somewhat direct flights to Entebbe, I found that it would save me over $60 to stop in Brussels for 27 hours on my way there. I thought seeing a new country and saving a bit of money was a good deal! Alas, I arrive in Uganda in 1 month, 2 days, 2 hours and 10 minutes :)
Not that I'm counting...
Honestly, I have not had that much time to think about my mission trip. School ends in 1 1/2 days sadly. I am really going to miss these kids. They've been a real blessing to me as I've slowly re-acclimated myself to the culture that I grew up in. It's been a journey and the fact that these little minds were willing and eager to learn about a place halfway around the world made it that much easier. They even learned the phrase "kiki (pronounced chichi) banange" loosely meaning "for goodness sake dear one, what are you doing?"
My Literacy Volunteers course is done (though I still have to complete my take home final exam). It really was a good experience for me to go through and although I knew a lot of it already, it really prepared me more to work with adults. Adults who need help with their literacy skills (i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing) don't want to be belittled. They need actual guidance that is going to help them, not the English language structure they may have learned in the past. I really look forward to using these tools to tutor more people!
I've also been busy this past week or so searching for jobs. The school that I have been teaching at for the past 10 months or so is downsizing significantly due to extremely low enrollment. As of right now it looks like they are only going to be having 3 teachers next year. I would appreciate your prayers as I search for a job in the month before I leave for Uganda. I've already sent out about 15 applications to various schools around New Jersey. I know I have a job offer in another (far away) state and several offers in Uganda...but I just sent my application into start Grad school here in New Jersey and I feel that this is where I am supposed to be at this stage in my life.
I need wisdom. I find myself thinking that so often these days and just asking God to continue guiding me as he has so well all of these years. As often as I fall he is always there to pick me up and whisper in my ear.
Thanks for checking in, and know that I'm praying for you! Send me those requests!
Financial Update: According to my most recent calculations I only need $405 more dollars until I am officially released to go! Praise God!!!
One month from today, almost to the hour, I board a plane headed for Brussels, Belgium. In my long and drawn-out search for plane tickets I typed in all sorts of combinations to find the cheapest flight to Uganda and back. It's quite handy having 3 airports close by! Despite the search for somewhat direct flights to Entebbe, I found that it would save me over $60 to stop in Brussels for 27 hours on my way there. I thought seeing a new country and saving a bit of money was a good deal! Alas, I arrive in Uganda in 1 month, 2 days, 2 hours and 10 minutes :)
Not that I'm counting...
Honestly, I have not had that much time to think about my mission trip. School ends in 1 1/2 days sadly. I am really going to miss these kids. They've been a real blessing to me as I've slowly re-acclimated myself to the culture that I grew up in. It's been a journey and the fact that these little minds were willing and eager to learn about a place halfway around the world made it that much easier. They even learned the phrase "kiki (pronounced chichi) banange" loosely meaning "for goodness sake dear one, what are you doing?"
My Literacy Volunteers course is done (though I still have to complete my take home final exam). It really was a good experience for me to go through and although I knew a lot of it already, it really prepared me more to work with adults. Adults who need help with their literacy skills (i.e. Listening, Speaking, Reading or Writing) don't want to be belittled. They need actual guidance that is going to help them, not the English language structure they may have learned in the past. I really look forward to using these tools to tutor more people!
I've also been busy this past week or so searching for jobs. The school that I have been teaching at for the past 10 months or so is downsizing significantly due to extremely low enrollment. As of right now it looks like they are only going to be having 3 teachers next year. I would appreciate your prayers as I search for a job in the month before I leave for Uganda. I've already sent out about 15 applications to various schools around New Jersey. I know I have a job offer in another (far away) state and several offers in Uganda...but I just sent my application into start Grad school here in New Jersey and I feel that this is where I am supposed to be at this stage in my life.
I need wisdom. I find myself thinking that so often these days and just asking God to continue guiding me as he has so well all of these years. As often as I fall he is always there to pick me up and whisper in my ear.
Thanks for checking in, and know that I'm praying for you! Send me those requests!
Financial Update: According to my most recent calculations I only need $405 more dollars until I am officially released to go! Praise God!!!
