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!!!!!
Awesome!!
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