The aftermath of the storm

To Haiti From Elgin With Love

Last Saturday, the Salvation army in Elgin packed 1,040,920 meals for Haitian earthquake survivors.

Big rims left side? FAIL

1, 2, skip a few

So I missed a lot of days... I tried to make up for it by taking extra today.

I present: a drive through Elgin

There are a lot of weird small businesses in Elgin... I wonder who shops at them

  

  

  

  

 Ahh, the casino

  

  

  

 Greater things are still to be done in this city!!

  

  

 The End

 

Ode to Elgin

Greater things have yet to be done in this cirty!!!

God loves to keep on surprising me and give me things I think I don't want or can't handle just to prove that I can do all things through HIM!

So I was pretty much ready to run away from everything here- memories and people (good and bad) and start over, as terrifying as that was. I was looking for jobs all over, confident that although I was having no luck there was something out there God had for me. But, with nothing else to do I began to become lazy and depressed.

The school district I worked for last year called me up last Wednesday and offered me a job on the spot- take it or leave it. Despite my feelings about returning there, I had no other prions so I took it! And while I don't think there is 1 exact right thing for me to do, I think this could be really good!

The position is teaching morning Kindergarten at one school and afternoon Kindergarten at another school. This is going to be really crazy and busy but there are several things that make it unique and "doable"
-I have an hour and a half between my 2 sessions and they are 15 minutes driving time apart
-both classrooms are "mine"- I don't share with another class/teacher
- I am getting lots of support already from the people at both schools!!!
- I have relatively small class sizes (20 and 14 now)

As much as I wanted to get out of Elgin, I began to think about my time here. We have lived here 9 years now (crazy how time flies) and I feel I have not utilized this time as well as I could. Our church does a homeless ministry 5 days a week and I have helped with that exactly once. I have never set foot into our local house of prayer. There is a neighbor near me who is elderly and lives alone. All of these needs are right outside my doorstep, and yet I always look to the "next thing". I go all the way to Kenya to serve God but can't serve those in my community. I keep thinking when I am married or have kids or a job then I will be fulfilling my calling in life. But I overlook the things I could be doing in the here and NOW!

Not that I will have any extra time now, but still I think God has a lot to teach me over this next year.

I don't know what to do, but my eyes are on you

I am currently "job seeking" right now which is frustrating because I realize more every day that I really don't know what I want.

I know I need to pray and seek God on this, but I thought some help/advice from friends would be good too.

So here we go!

Who (I am): I have always loved working with kids. I love reading, singing, dancing, doing art, etc!! I have a bachelor's degree in early childhood, an IL teaching certificate, a car, some money saved, a huge collection of children's books, and some misc. teaching supplies.

What (I am looking for): direct contact playing with and loving on children without having to tel them every 2 seconds not to kill each other and/or me! I have a soft spot for the homeless and orphans. It would be good to be able to make enough to live off of but $ is not important.

When: ASAP! I'm ready to dig in!

Where: Anywhere! I am thinking I want to get away from Elgin an go somewhere new. The East Coast, Seattle, Kenya, who knows?

Why: I want to serve God and make a difference in people's lives!!!!

Let me know what you think! Thanks!!!