Job Update-Part 3

I'm officially moving on to round three (out of 5) in the interview process. However, we're waiting until the week of March 16th because of scheduling stuff. This next interview will be with the director of the whole organization.

Also, they asked me if I could come downtown to Cabrini about once a week to volunteer and get a more in depth feel for the organization. I'm going to start doing that probably the week of March 16th, as well. Fortunately, I was able to reduce my involvement at my other internship from two days a week to one day a week, so I'm not really adding anything else to my schedule (Hallelujah!)

Thanks for your prayers!

Job Update-Part 2

This week on Monday, I went downtown to By the Hand's Austin site (Austin is a neighborhood on the west side of Chicago) to shadow a couple staff members while they did home and school visits. I went with one guy to one of the inner city elementary schools to visit a couple students that he is in charge of as well as talk to their teachers. Afterwards, I went with another staff member to the home of one of her kids and I listened in as she talked with his grandmother (who he lives with). It was very interesting and it was very cool to see how the staff work with the kids' teachers and parents/grandparents/guardians. And since you stay with the same kids for up to 3 years, you get to know their families very well.

Tuesday, I went to the Cabrini site to attend and observe the after school program there (this is the site where I'd be placed). Within about 30 seconds, I had a couple little girls attached to me. :) It was awesome. I got to talk to the site director there for a while beforehand, and that went well, but I felt a little nervous at that point.

Throughout the day, however, I was able to ask a ton of questions to staff members and hang out with the kids. I helped out in a 4th grade classroom and did some 4th grade homework (I need to work on some math!) and then I went to a 6th grade classroom for a while. It was cool because I felt like I could jump right in and work with the kids like I've been doing all year at my other internship. I had more of a chance to talk with one of the staff members in particular and she was able to answer a lot of questions and just share her experience with this ministry.

The organization drives the kids home on buses/vans every day, so I tagged along with that, too. It was a very eye-opening and helpful experience to see these kids walk into extremely run down apartment buildings in Cabrini.

After the day was over, I talked more with the site director. By this time, I definitely felt pretty comfortable there and I felt much more like myself talking with her. She said that what she's looking for is someone who is able to help with preparing Bible studies and working on chapel, and someone who has administrative skills. I think that those needs pretty much describe my abilities and passions perfectly! I want to be able to teach Bible to some extent and I definitely am a type-A, administrative list-maker. We both got really excited because it seems like what they're looking for is exactly what I might be able to bring to the table.

Thanks so much for your prayers. I did have to miss a class but I met with my prof this morning and got some of the missed material. I do have a final exam in that class next week, so I'd love your prayers for that, too! I was up since 2:45am working on a paper the same day that I did my Cabrini site visit, so thank you so much for your prayers, because I didn't know if I'd make it through the day. I'm glad I drink coffee.

Anyway, things are looking very positive. They're going to get back to me near the end of this week to let me know what the next step is. Please keep praying for wisdom for the organization and myself to see if this really is the best way to go. They all told me to really pray hard about it because it's a very difficult job--it's a lot of work and can be emotionally and physically draining--and these kids have so many problems that it's hard to leave work and not bring those burdens home with you.

Thanks so much for your love and support! I'll keep you updated!

Job Update!

So I have been in the process of looking for jobs after graduation, and I had my first interview last week. It went well, but it is just part 1 of a 5 part interview process. I go through part 2 this week, which involves visiting the sites and spending time shadowing other employees so that both they and I can get a feel for whether or not this job fits me.

PLEASE PRAY!!! I am VERY interested in this job. It involves working with inner-city kids (the site they're looking at for me is in Cabrini--well, what used to be Cabrini). It's pretty much exactly what I want to do. Pray that God makes it clear to both myself and the organization whether or not this job is right for me.

Also, I have to go downtown twice this week for part 2 of the interview process, and frankly, I have no time to do that. I am in the midst of finishing up a few classes and I have a number of papers and tests in the next few weeks. And, since it's an after-school program, I have to visit the site during the program one day--and I have all afternoon classes. So, unless I want to wait until after spring break (3 weeks from now), I have to miss a class or two in order to make this interview happen. And missing classes right now is rough since the classes that I'll have to miss are ending next week.

All that to say, the first interview went well and I'm really excited about this organization. However, fitting things in is stressing me out a little bit, so I'd greatly appreciate your prayers in that regard.

The organization I'm interviewing for is called By The Hand. Click this link to check it out.

Off to write another paper...

Valentine's Day

I have been house/dog-sitting at the Flanigan's house this past week, so for Valentine's Day Colson and I decided to cook dinner together. We made an awesome chicken and pasta dish as well as homemade eclairs. Here are the links to the recipes...the chicken dish was definitely one of our favorite things we've made.

Just a few hints--don't worry about getting fresh herbs if you don't have them; we used the stuff in the cupboard and it worked fine. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. Also, I made a bit more marmalade sauce than she calls for because I usually like more sauce. It's also really good if you sweeten the pecans a bit in a pan with some sugar or honey (I actually used maple syrup). And I used more cheese on the pasta and served the chicken on top of the pasta. Serving the chicken over the pasta made the flavors of the two dishes blend really well and it was really really good.

Orange-Balsamic Chicken Thighs with Pecans and Sage Butter Pasta

Eclairs



We had to share our Valentine's Day with Tippet, the Flanigan's dog.


The finished product---homemade eclairs...And one in the shape of a heart. Yeah, we're cheesy like that.


Dipping the eclairs in chocolate...yum!


The main course masterpiece...note the wonderfully folded napkins (Colson did that) and the roses that Colson bought for me. :)




The master pastry chef at work


Making some dessert

"Who am I?"-An excerpt from a poem by Bonhoeffer

“Who am I? This or the other?
Am I one person today, and tomorrow another?
Am I both at once? A hypocrite before others,
and before myself a contemptibly woebegone weakling?
Or is something within me still like a beaten army,
Fleeing in disorder from victory already achieved?

Who am I? They mock me, these lonely questions of mine.
Whoever I am, thou knowest, O God, I am thine.”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Letters and Papers from Prison, 348

Even though I don't have fun pictures to post right now, I ran across a few quotes that I had used for a project a while ago...I thought I'd start sharing some of them...

My life so far this year...

So I haven't posted anything on my blog recently--and not because I don't want to...it's just...well, all I've been doing is studying for the last month. So, if you really want, I can take pictures of me falling asleep on top of my books, but I thought I'd spare you.

Oh yeah...and I'm also addicted to caffeine again.

But on a good note, I could tell you all you ever wanted to know about ancient Greece and Rome from about 100 BC to 100 AD. Exciting, huh?

I have taken some fun breaks from studying that included visiting the rest of the Chicago family (and playing Rock Band for a whole afternoon), going out to dinner and a movie with Colson, seeing Wicked with Colson (I forgot my camera so I don't have pictures of us!), and planning a Valentine's Day Competition with Colson (we're getting a bunch of people to do somewhat of an Amazing Race type competition in Chicago). So there definitely have been REALLY fun things in the midst of all the studying. But even in the middle of the movie Colson and I went to, I made a comment like, "Oh my gosh! They totally got that idea from ancient Roman practices!" And the worst part was...it was a cartoon and I was making that comment.

I am such a dork.

Okay, I'm off to write a paper...and it's on ancient Greece and Rome. Go figure. This class is going to be the end of me...