In my head...

So it's been almost a year. When you don't have the Internet at your home, sometimes it's easy to forget that things like blogs exist. So I figure I should give an update of the last 9 months or so. Most of the time since I've gotten back from Venezuela has been split up a number of ways:


I'm still dating her (mostly via cell phone from Montana to Iowa), so that takes up a good amount of time at night after work. And a lot more time when we actually get to visit each other like we did this week. :)

2. Becca.

My little sister, Becca, is now a freshman at Northwestern College (I know! the irony!) and so we try to hang out together at least once a week. It's been really amazing getting to know her better and to see her mature as a young woman of God. I love seeing that she's making amazing friends, and she's really finding herself at college. And she's going to be 19 on Thursday! (wow, I feel old). Happy Birthday, Becca!!

3. Niessink.

Good ol' Niessink home. How I love thee. Sometimes. :) That's the boys' home that I work at, and it has definitely had some ups and downs in it. For a while, I think I was getting burnt out, just because of the crazy, split-shift hours and the way some of the guys were acting for a while was just hard to deal with. But God keeps giving patience...and it's a good things, too...because I wouldn't be able to do it otherwise. :)

4. Christ Community Church.

I love my church. It's amazing to be a part of the OuTbUrSt! jr. high youth program and be able to see some of those kids mature and grow in Christ everyday. I also started giving guitar lessons to 4 of the youth in our church, but that's cut back to 2 because of spring sports schedules. There are some amazingly talented kids in our church and community. Love the family and the fact that Christ and the Bible is preached!

5. Kinsey Elementary.

I also have the wonderful privilege of volunteering at the local elementary school about 4 days a week in the midst of my random schedule. They are very flexible with when I help...usually from about 12:30pm to 2 or 3 (depending on if I work at Niessink at 2:30 or not). So that's been awesome helping out one of the 4th grade boys that has some learning disabilities. Through that, I've been able to help some of the other kids and get to know them (and the teachers), as well.

6. Friends.

Then the rest of my time has been spent trying to spend time with friends and continue developing relationships with some of my friends in the area.

7. Medical scares.

I found out about a month ago that my mom got taken to the ER for heart-attack like symptoms. That was a really scary time that really reminded me that I'm not in control and nothing in this life is certain. But (Praise God!) there were a lot of people praying, and it ended up being related to her acid reflux. Some acid had somehow gotten into her esophogas and caused the chest pains and lack of breathing. So she's home and doing a lot better now. Then we found out in March that Rachel's mum was diagnosed with breast cancer. So that's been a roller coaster in itself. Greta just had the port put in on Friday for her chemo and starts treatments in the beginning of May.

8. News!

So amid all the other things that have been happening, Rachel and I have been praying and trying to see if there is a spot where we can both get jobs so that we can be closer together. Well, Rachel had been interviewing with a few different schools, and one of them (Heritage Christian School in North Liberty, IA) asked to fly her out for a second interview. Rachel had that interview last week Thursday, but they said they won't be able to get back to her until the end of May. In the meantime, I applied and interviewed for a job in Iowa City (about 10 miles from North Liberty). While I wasn't offered the supervisor's position that I applied for, I was offered a job as a direct care staff with the company (Systems Unlimited). The company is similar to Hope Haven, in that it serves people with disabilities, in order to try and help them reach the potential they have within them. I would be working in the vocational setting, directly with clients at the workplace, helping them with their goals and objectives during the workday. (8-5!!) Anywayz, we were really unsure about whether I should take this job or not, because we didn't know if Rachel was going to get the job. And so I talked with Rachel for a while after her interview as she was traveling home from Iowa City (to Rock Valley), and about an hour later, the school called back and offered her the job!! So we both have jobs in Iowa City that start in August!! We're moving to Iowa City!!! Praise God!! Rachel told me later that she had prayed for God to either open the door wide open or shut it completely...and a little while later, she gets offered the job. It's a huge blessing, and we are so thankful. Rachel and I are going to look for apartments in June and July and hopefully be able to move into our apartments in late July, early August.

It's gonna be weird...leaving Sioux Center. Now that Becca's in the area, and I have good friends and a great church...but I really feel like God has orchestrated this whole thing, so I'm excited to see where it goes from here. I'm not sure how many people still read this, but if you do, I hope this helps give some semblence of where life is leading right now. Glory to God!!