So I fail at posting on here, hopefully I'll get better as time goes on and I get more information :)
Here is an update of what has been happening with the Peace Corps since I made the first post :) God has been doing some amazing things, so hopefully I'll be able to express those accurately, if my human words fail, just know that God is awesome and has been blessing me through this entire process and I can't wait to see what he continues to do through it!!!!!!
About a week after the last post I received my medical packet in the mail. There were a ton of forms that needed to be filled out by a dentist, eye doctor, and physician. To look at all of them, it was overwhelming, so I decided to tackle them one appointment at a time. I decided to tackle the dentist first because it can take a long time to get in there.
This is one point where God was super awesome!!!!!! I was reading the packet and it said there are some dentists who have agreed to provide the dental appointment for free to people volunteering to go into the Peace Corps. I looked them up online and it just so happened that their was a dentist in Midland that would do this, and at the time I was working at SVSU, so it would be a 15 minute drive to go to the office. So I decided to give them a call. I called on a Thursday and they gave me an appointment the next Tuesday. Definitely a better timeframe than what I was expecting!!!! So I went there for my appointment and they did the panoramic, 4 bitewings, and filled out the paperwork for free, and I was in the office for less than 45 minutes total. They were so efficient and so nice, I walked out of the office blessed by how kind they were and what they did for me. I'm not sure exactly how much it would have been, but they told me that each bitewing is normally $50, so that part alone would have been $200 let alone the panoramic x-ray and the exam to fill out the paper work. God was so awesome to provide Dr. Mead and his office and their extreme generosity!!!!!!
I decided to tackle the eye appointment next, putting off the medical exam that was 6+ pages. One day I decided to check out a bunch of eye places as I hadn't had a new pair of glasses for 9ish years and now needed to get two pairs. I went to 5 places in one day and got price estimates from each place. At one place, it was going to be around $450 for two pairs, at another place it was going to be $350-$500 for two pairs, etc... I was getting pretty disappointed and was wondering what I was going to do because I couldn't afford to pay that much at the time. Then I was driving and saw this place that said glasses and contacts, so I decide to get an estimate from them. I went in and they gave me an estimate of $215 for two pairs. This was about half of what the other places were going to charge me and my dad's insurance would cover about half of it. I talked it over with my dad that night and we decided that I should go with America's Best. I made the appointment on a Monday and they got me in on Thursday. It was so amazing to be gotten in so quickly once again. The tricky part was that while I was getting estimates from all of these places I tried glasses on at each place. I never noticed this before, but apparently my eyes are really close to my nose because when I put adult glasses on my face, my eyes are in the corner and the glasses stick about an inch off each side of my face. So I went in to the appointment dreading to have to choose two pairs of glasses. They were really nice though and we ended up finding two pairs of kids glasses that looked alright, one of them happened to be High School Musical though... My only fear was that my students would have the same glasses as me, which would either make me cool in their eyes, or they would wonder why their teacher shops in the kids section... Anyways I ordered them on a Thursday with the promise of 7-10 business days, knowing that the last planned day for me to be in Saginaw was the following Friday, 6 business days away. Don't worry, God is awesome and at approximately 3:00 on my last day of working at SVSU my phone rang and it was America's best saying my glasses were in, I immediately went and picked them up and have been wearing them ever since. I will admit, I'm still not used to seeing myself in them, I think the combination of new haircut and new glasses for the first time in 8 years is a little too much, and this is after having them for over two weeks.
The final appointment was the one that I was dreading the most, the physical exam. Lets just say that I wasn't a big fan of the idea of them checking every part of my body twice, plus getting shots and bloodwork and who knows what else. I finally decided that I really just needed to get it done before too much time had passed and student teaching started. My mom was really nice and made me an appointment at the clinic that she works at for the day before I started going into meetings for student teaching. The day of the appointment came and I went in and lets just say an hour and a half later I came out with completed paperwork, 3 shots, a TB test, and two holes where they tried to draw blood before they realized they didn't have the right vials and I needed to go to the hospital to get my blood drawn. I left the clinic and went straight to the hospital and got my bloodwork done so I wouldn't have to worry about anything except getting the test results back from everything. By Friday of that week, all of the test results were in and I was able to pick them up and make one final check that my name and social security number was on every single page I was submitting and that all of the boxes were checked and lines were filled out. When I was interviewed, they said the main reason that people's departure is delayed is because their medical paperwork has to be sent back or more has to be requested several times because they didn't check it thoroughly before sending it in. I'm really hoping that I got everything checked over and that it will go through the first time.
I sent it in this week, and they said it takes up to a month to process everything, so we'll see how long it really takes. Everytime they have given me a date for something so far they have met it in about half the time... I'll try to take time to write another post soon updating my student teaching and how that is going, as well as what I find out from the Peace Corps after they receive my paperwork :)
Sorry this is so long, a lot has happened in the almost two months since I last posted, hopefully I'll get more consistent so their will be more shorter posts and less books disguised as blog entried :)
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Summary of the last year of my life...
So I've been thinking about starting this for awhile now and just never took the time to sit down and start. However, after having what was possibly the most amazing week of my life, with so many BIG updates on my future plans, I feel like it is the right time to start blogging my journey :)
To start, lets go back to last summer... I was being a faculty for a Christ in Youth (CIY) Conference and one night, God made it clear to me that I needed to finish up college (December 2010), then go overseas by September 2011 to teach and work with children who don't have the opportunity to learn and have someone believe in them and their abilities for the future. I then started a search for an organization or way to get overseas and over the next year pursued many different organizations, just to find that they didn't have what I was feeling called to, or that I just didn't have peace about the situation and what was required.
Then one day, in the middle of May, I was talking to someone and they suggested that I look into the Peace Corps. I kind of laughed at the idea and thought it was silly when God was calling me and this was a government program. However, when I looked at the website, the Peace Corps offered the opportunity to go and work with children overseas and they pay for it :) It doesn't get much better than that. I really looked into it and saw that the Peace Corps uses the skills and abilities that you have to go to a city and really immerse yourself in their culture. You live with the people and have a stipend each month that allows you to live at the same level as the people you are working with. It is a 27 month commitment, with 2-3 months of training, then 24 month of work in the field. You are assigned a project that uses your abililities to help the people who you are living with. After several days of looking at the website and praying I had peace about this option and started filling out the online application.
Filling out the application turned out to be a process that took over a week of spare time to make sure that everything was accurate and worded properly. I also had 3 amazing people who were willing to fill out reference forms for me so I could apply as well. I submitted this all on June 16th or 17th. When it was submitted, they said that it would take 2-3 weeks to hear back from them. We left for a 2 week family vacation on the 19th. On the 21st I received an e-mail with forms that they wanted me to fill out and resubmit, this e-mail also said that they sent me a letter with things that had to be filled out and submitted by July 5th. This was a little crazy because we weren't getting back till the 5th. So, I filled out the online forms and then sent them to her in an e-mail letting her know that I wouldn't send in the other things until I was home. So, when we got home I went and was fingerprinted and sent those in.
Then, last Friday (July 9th) I received an e-mail saying that they expected me to be in Chicago at 2:30 on the 13th which was right in the middle of when I was to be at Rock Lake with the High School week of camp. I had a mini freak out, prayed about it, talked to people and considered my options for awhile, debating if I should leave camp to go to the interview, ask if we could do it over the phone, or ask to reschedule. I ended up e-mailing her and letting her know that I was supposed to be at camp and that if I needed to I could leave, but that I would prefer doing it over the phone or rescheduling. Within ten minutes, she e-mailed me back and let me know that we could do it over the phone at the scheduled time which would be during free time at camp. God definitely had it planned out for HIS glory. Not only did I save the $100+ dollars of traveling to Chicago, I was able to stay at camp and spend time with my group, and I was also able to prepare myself for the interview and sit overlooking the BEAUTIFUL lake while interviewing. When the interview was over, I asked her what the timeline looked like from here. She said that she wanted to recommend me for service and would process my thing by Friday. Then I will have to have a doctors appointment, dentist, and eye appointment and fill out paper work for each then send it in. From there they will make sure that I am able to serve medically and will probably have some other paperwork type things to go through. Then, if they still want me they will give me an invitation to serve that will give me a specific project and departure date. She said that I will receive this about 6-10 weeks before I am to leave for service.
Lets just say that after this phone call I was super excited because she basically said that they were putting me through to the next round. It was so great to be able to come out of this interview that so many people were praying for and to have positive news to report. It definitely lifted my spirits and made me so excited, this dream that started over a year ago is finally becoming a reality. It definitely gave a whole new spin on my week at camp, knowing that God was in the process of orchestrating my future and that he had a plan to send me overseas. It made worship 1000 times more meaningful, knowing that when we sang about going out into the world that was quickly becoming a reality in my life.
Wednesday I got a call from them, letting me know that they were processing my file and that they wanted to know if I was ok with riding a bike 3-5 miles during training. I called them back and left a message saying that it was fine.
When I got home from camp today, there was a package from the Peace Corps, there was a book of stories of people who have volunteered, a booklet for families and friends to read to answer their questions, and a letter of recomendation. Recomending that I serve in Asia starting in January as a Primary Teacher Trainer. When I interviewed, she told me that the recommendations change about 50% of the time, however, it is just so exciting to have a general area, project, and time frame to shoot for.
God has really been moving a lot these past couple of months in working with the idea of the Peace Corps and then making it so it looks like it is becoming a reality.
I just can't thank God enough for all that he has done, every time I think about it I am amazed and get excited about the opportunities that are coming. God has big plans for this and I ask that you will join me in praying for the people that I will be working with and that everything will be worked out for His glory.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I'll try to keep them shorter in the future :)
Have an amazing day!!!!!
To start, lets go back to last summer... I was being a faculty for a Christ in Youth (CIY) Conference and one night, God made it clear to me that I needed to finish up college (December 2010), then go overseas by September 2011 to teach and work with children who don't have the opportunity to learn and have someone believe in them and their abilities for the future. I then started a search for an organization or way to get overseas and over the next year pursued many different organizations, just to find that they didn't have what I was feeling called to, or that I just didn't have peace about the situation and what was required.
Then one day, in the middle of May, I was talking to someone and they suggested that I look into the Peace Corps. I kind of laughed at the idea and thought it was silly when God was calling me and this was a government program. However, when I looked at the website, the Peace Corps offered the opportunity to go and work with children overseas and they pay for it :) It doesn't get much better than that. I really looked into it and saw that the Peace Corps uses the skills and abilities that you have to go to a city and really immerse yourself in their culture. You live with the people and have a stipend each month that allows you to live at the same level as the people you are working with. It is a 27 month commitment, with 2-3 months of training, then 24 month of work in the field. You are assigned a project that uses your abililities to help the people who you are living with. After several days of looking at the website and praying I had peace about this option and started filling out the online application.
Filling out the application turned out to be a process that took over a week of spare time to make sure that everything was accurate and worded properly. I also had 3 amazing people who were willing to fill out reference forms for me so I could apply as well. I submitted this all on June 16th or 17th. When it was submitted, they said that it would take 2-3 weeks to hear back from them. We left for a 2 week family vacation on the 19th. On the 21st I received an e-mail with forms that they wanted me to fill out and resubmit, this e-mail also said that they sent me a letter with things that had to be filled out and submitted by July 5th. This was a little crazy because we weren't getting back till the 5th. So, I filled out the online forms and then sent them to her in an e-mail letting her know that I wouldn't send in the other things until I was home. So, when we got home I went and was fingerprinted and sent those in.
Then, last Friday (July 9th) I received an e-mail saying that they expected me to be in Chicago at 2:30 on the 13th which was right in the middle of when I was to be at Rock Lake with the High School week of camp. I had a mini freak out, prayed about it, talked to people and considered my options for awhile, debating if I should leave camp to go to the interview, ask if we could do it over the phone, or ask to reschedule. I ended up e-mailing her and letting her know that I was supposed to be at camp and that if I needed to I could leave, but that I would prefer doing it over the phone or rescheduling. Within ten minutes, she e-mailed me back and let me know that we could do it over the phone at the scheduled time which would be during free time at camp. God definitely had it planned out for HIS glory. Not only did I save the $100+ dollars of traveling to Chicago, I was able to stay at camp and spend time with my group, and I was also able to prepare myself for the interview and sit overlooking the BEAUTIFUL lake while interviewing. When the interview was over, I asked her what the timeline looked like from here. She said that she wanted to recommend me for service and would process my thing by Friday. Then I will have to have a doctors appointment, dentist, and eye appointment and fill out paper work for each then send it in. From there they will make sure that I am able to serve medically and will probably have some other paperwork type things to go through. Then, if they still want me they will give me an invitation to serve that will give me a specific project and departure date. She said that I will receive this about 6-10 weeks before I am to leave for service.
Lets just say that after this phone call I was super excited because she basically said that they were putting me through to the next round. It was so great to be able to come out of this interview that so many people were praying for and to have positive news to report. It definitely lifted my spirits and made me so excited, this dream that started over a year ago is finally becoming a reality. It definitely gave a whole new spin on my week at camp, knowing that God was in the process of orchestrating my future and that he had a plan to send me overseas. It made worship 1000 times more meaningful, knowing that when we sang about going out into the world that was quickly becoming a reality in my life.
Wednesday I got a call from them, letting me know that they were processing my file and that they wanted to know if I was ok with riding a bike 3-5 miles during training. I called them back and left a message saying that it was fine.
When I got home from camp today, there was a package from the Peace Corps, there was a book of stories of people who have volunteered, a booklet for families and friends to read to answer their questions, and a letter of recomendation. Recomending that I serve in Asia starting in January as a Primary Teacher Trainer. When I interviewed, she told me that the recommendations change about 50% of the time, however, it is just so exciting to have a general area, project, and time frame to shoot for.
God has really been moving a lot these past couple of months in working with the idea of the Peace Corps and then making it so it looks like it is becoming a reality.
I just can't thank God enough for all that he has done, every time I think about it I am amazed and get excited about the opportunities that are coming. God has big plans for this and I ask that you will join me in praying for the people that I will be working with and that everything will be worked out for His glory.
Thank you for taking the time to read this, I'll try to keep them shorter in the future :)
Have an amazing day!!!!!
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