Post-College Life

Well, it's official.  I am a college graduate. I have received my diploma, moved into a house in Seward, and have already been accepted to teach(!).............that is, in 6 months at an international Christian School in Bogotá, Colombia.  It's so weird. I know what I'm doing starting July 2012 for at least two years but now is a time of awkward waiting and living.

I have put my name in at several schools to substitute teach and still have yet to get a call.  In the meantime I have been searching for other jobs and interviewed at a place and will hopefully know more next week what my "daily routine" will look like for these next six months.  It does look like I will help with E.D.E.F.Y. (children's program) at People's City Mission (a homeless shelther in Lincon) so I am really excited about that!

So...the question is...what does Allie do during this awkward time in her life?? Right now my days are wide open and I'm trying to embrace it and take advantage of this rare opportunity--a time of relaxing and rejuvinating without too many obligations.

The Following list consists of things I am doing with all this free time:

1. Start the process of raising support (writing/sending letters, connecting with people, etc.) to help fund my time as a missionary teacher down in Bogotá.

2. I have been able to spend wonderful/intimate time with my Savior that is sometimes hard to find or set aside when dealing with a "busy" schedule.

3. A lot of leisure reading. No more textbooks! (For now...I mean I am a teacher...getting a masters is pretty much a necessity on every educators list to do in life...) I've been reading suggested books on missionaries raising support and other books such as Kisses from Katie by Katie Davis,  currently reading When Helping Hurts (How to alleviate poverty without hurting the poor and yourself), and soon start reading Discipline: The Glad Surrender by Elisabeth Elliot.

4. Exercise! I have had time to bike a LOT. I say bike and not run because my foot has been hurting me. :( I'm supposedly running a 5k race in Feb. and signed up for the full marathon in May.  It's actually been quite frustrating because I do have all this time and I could be using it for running but alas, I cannot because of the pain.  I think it's getting better though....please just pray for me. :)

5. Cook! I have been able to use this time to cook some yummy recipes. My favorite so far is Sweet Potato Enchilada Pie Stack. My host mom made this while I was in Frankenmuth. Deeeelicious!

6.  Connect with friends.  I have had time to spend time with friends who still live in Seward and/or go to Concordia and that has been wonderful.

7.  Help out at Hillcrest Evangelical Free's new church building by cleaning getting ready to move in.  Hopefully we'll be able to occupy the new building in less than a month!

8.  This one is a goal that I still have.  As you can tell I have been keeping busy with 1-7 so I've been putting this one on the back burner.  I would like to set aside time for studying Spanish and getting better at it before moving down to Colombia.  We'll see if that happens....

But there you have it.  In a sense I have felt that my days have been worthless and that my college degree doesn't mean anything because I'm not using it.  But I think that is a sense that comes from this world.  "You are what you do."  When someone asks you who you are the next question is usually "What do you do for a living?" And right now I don't have a "consistant" answer to that.

Thankfully though it's not about what I do but it's about what He's doing--refreshing, preparing, and teaching me.

Last week I went to a woman's Bible Study on the book of Revelation (intimidating, right?) So I have been reading through the book lately.  I love how it was/is being approached though.  It's not a "Let's figure this out so we know what to look for in the End Times" or  even "Let's use this time and debate on the different interpretations." Rather, it is "Let's study this book, and as we study it may the Lord use it to bring us into a state of awe and worship showing us what kind of God we have who loves His Bride, the Church."   I get overwhelmed just thinking about it. One day Christ is going to return and every knee will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord!! No more mourning or suffering... oh, what a glorious day that will be!

Check out this song by Brian Littrell (former backstreet boy! Fun Fact: I was a HUGE fan of Backstreet Boys in my pre-teen years.  I admit, I had a celeb crush on Brian...and now look--He's singing for Jesus and His Glory!)  Anyway, check it out: You Alone  (click on the first one) The lyrics come out of the following verses in Revelation.

"Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name? For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed." Revelation 15:3-4 (NIV)