I am currently living in a sweet house near the twin cities that my good friend, Katie, and I are housesitting for the year.

I am currently working three jobs and volunteering in my spare time :)  My main job is being an aide for an 11-year-old girl with autism, Surreia.   Every day I travel to her home, get her up and ready for school, and drive her to school, and then after school I pick her up and do various therapies: we go swimming at the YMCA, play on the playground at school, do “heavy” work on the machines at the YMCA, or use some of her sensory equipment for autism therapy.  Although she definitely tests my patience most days, it is a joy to be a sort of “big sister” to her and be able to develop my skills on her.  I've been reading tons of books about autism in my spare time and plan on doing speech therapy with her as well.  Her parents are in charge of a non-profit autism center and once I get the feel of things, they want me to provide speech therapy for families who can't afford it otherwise, so I'm excited about all the possibilities this job provides!  There's talk that the family might take me with them (while still getting paid!) to Hawaii/Australia the first two weeks in December, but I'm not getting my hopes up yet!

        

My other job is a speech therapy assistant for a three-five year old early childhood articulation program through an Elementary school.  Basically, it's only four hours a week, but the kids get bussed in and, along with one of the actual speech therapists, I help with the program.  It's been eye-opening to see how much I still need to learn but encouraging to be able to get my feet wet a little bit before I embark hopefully next fall on my Master's degree in Speech Therapy Education.

Lastly, I'm just working at the YMCA as a childcare worker (what I've done the past 4 years now), to fill some time in the afternoon when I'm off and also to keep my YMCA membership for free ☺.  It's real enjoyable to see the babies I had now all grown up and talking and walking! 

I'm volunteering with our University's chapter of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and co-leading our “Freshman group”, a group for new students to connect and learn how to study scripture, and also keeping busy by doing a lot with women's discipleship in the chapter.  My week consists of a few meetings, and a few “coffee dates” with freshmen-senior girls talking and seeing how they're doing.  I really enjoy still being so close to UWRF that I'm able to keep relationships and connect with new students as well. 

Now that all the current stuff is updated, I figure I'll tell about my summer!  As many of you probably know, I spent my fifth and probably final summer at CFS as a wilderness trip leader.  This job sent me off camp property for six days out of the week, 14 weeks out of the summer, with no showers, toilets, electricity, or running water...it was awesome!  After a scare of a lot of panic and anxiety throughout the training trip with the rest of the trip leaders, I quickly learned that the Lord's strength was definitely bigger than my own strength and the words of Joshua 1:9: “be strong and very courageous, for I am with you” became the hope I clung to many of the weeks when being so far away from any sort of safety or comfort was impossible.  It was an incredible summer of growth and fun.  The weeks consisted of a youth group coming in, us going on a 3-6 day canoe trip, backpacking trip, or rock-climbing trip, or a combination of a few of those.  Luke, my trip partner, and I would be in charge of all the cooking, cleaning, activities, safety, devotions, etc., or we just learned how to delegate well ☺.  We'd pack all we used for the week in a blue barrel, and load it all up in canoes, say goodbye to our bus driver, and be on the river for the week☺... Amazing!  I quickly fell in love with canoeing and the beautiful Flambeau river, even the rapids that seemed so scary at first.  My big adventures of the summer include going down a class 3 rapids in a tube and cliff jumping. 

 

Many of you also may know that during this time “something happened in the wilderness” with my good friend and trip partner for the summer, Luke☺.  Well, the rumor is true, and we officially started dating after the summer ended and I now have my first boyfriend…!  He is in his senior year at Bethel University here in the twin cities becoming a nurse and it's been great having him so close. Fun fact, while we were counselors at CFS in 2006, we found out that he had my aunt Sue for his Kindergarten teacher! 

So, hopefully you're all better informed how what's up in my life.  Sorry it's long...I never was one to keep things short!  Katie and I are planning on staying here at our house for the full year (I decided in May that the year-long missions trip I was thinking about going on just wasn't for me right now), so I'm excited for that.  Hopefully I'll make some time to finish writing a book project I've been working on for the past 8 years!  This  next summer I'm thinking about going on a short-term missions trip to do speech therapy for special needs kids at an orphanage in either China or Morocco, but once I figure that out I'm sure I'll write another update. 

Hope everyone is doing well! :) 

I'm running a half marathon Sunday!!!  Prayers definitely appreciated!! 

To all you faithful readers, I am doing well

Life is still incredibly busy, I'm trying to do too much (as usual) and the official countdown until I graduate is at 68 days today.

Last week was our Campus Mission week, and if you don't remember that from last year, here's some links to jog your memory...

http://weblog.xanga.com/thisisyourcall?uni-22-direction=n&uni-22-nextdate=3%2f16%2f2007

http://www.intervarsity.org/news/when-everything-goes-wrong-dont-panic

This year my women's group also had an outreach cafe, where we brought in a very wise older woman who took the gospel and used it in simple language relating to beauty and love to speak truth into the girls who came hearts.  We also decoupaged "boxes of truth" and filled them with scripture to encourage and delight our heart and soul in Christ.  My domestic skills were established as I seriously made the best fondue ever as well :) It overall was a hectic, but blessed night.  27 women came from all across campus, desperate to hear that they ARE beautiful and loved.  Sigh. Have I ever mentioned that being a part of something like that is what makes me feel alive?  And that I'm tearing up at the very mention of being able to encompass women's live with truth about who they really are?  Brings me to my second thought for this month...

As I'm still waiting on a definite decision from God whether or not I should go to grad school, I've been looking at different options.  Option 1 # The World Race.  Option #2...rethinking my decision against becoming an IVCF staff worker.

So, who knows.  Basically I'll probably be finding out this week whether or not I'm going to grad school.  Part of me wishes I get waitlisted at every school just so that allows me to go after these dreams and passions this year...but maybe I am supposed to "settle"...go to school for another 2.5 years...but it just seems that part of me gets lost in school.  Like the reason I keep myself so busy is that the things I keep myself busy in are the things that supply the joy in the Lord in my life.  The weeks where I'm locked away in the library or my room studying and don't have time for "dates" with girls are the most depressing weeks...and I guess I'm just worried that that will happen in grad school...because in grad school we're not allowed to get a C or else we'll be kicked out...so it's not going to be allowed for me to put my prime focus on others anymore...it's going to be me studying...alot.  And yeah, I know I'll have a ministry in grad school if God sends me there.  But how do you really know where God is sending you?  When a passion is one way, but practicality is another way, which way do you choose?

I heard today that the last school I have to hear from and where I originally wanted to go to grad school the most sent out their letters today...so a lot of decisions to be made this week....

I'll close with a quote my mom sent me...but the only question is what to do with feeling like I have a few destinations and passions and purposes and can't choose between them?