October 29, 2007

I hope you were able to view the photos through the link I attached last week. If not, don't forget to let me know. I am now back in Franklin again. Fortunately things are beginning to slow down due to the upcoming holidays, at least as far as the travelling goes. I have a couple of short trips planned not to mention my weekend trips to Charlotte, but other than that I'll mostly be in this area. I am thankful for the light at the end of the tunnel!

Tomorrow I will be completing a take-home exam for my Church History class. I am not sure what to expect, it's only 3 essay questions long and I have 3 hours to complete it, but I'm not not allowed to use my notes. It really is an honor system! Other than the test I am taking tomorrow, I also have 2 critical reviews to write, some reading to do, and I have a research paper that I need to work on! Wow! It is always an eye-opener to be on the other side of the school setting (that is the student as opposed to the teacher)!

I talked to my real estate agent about a week ago and he said that there just hasn't been much interest in condominiums for a little while, that area of real estate is sort of in a lull. He was able to sell 2 condos in the same area where mine is back in April, but now he has 3 on the market and none have sold since. He said that typically it takes about 6 months for a condo such as mine to sell and mine has been on the market for only about 5 months. However, in my mind, another month will put us close to Christmas and I can't imagine anyone wanting to buy property that close to Christmas. I just keep reminding myself that God's timing is perfect and that He will provide a buyer when He chooses to. The hard part is that financially, it would be a real blessing if it would sell. Please continue to pray for patience as I wait on His timing.

I guess that's all for this week. Have a wonderful week and tune in next time for another up-date!

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

I thought I would try something a little different in this up-date. I would like to show you a few pictures that I took while I was at Gordon-Conwell last weekend. However, it takes awhile to download photos and I have more than I usually include in my blog. Therefore I have put them in my shutterfly account and have attached a link up above. If you only see an empty looking box with a small red x...try clicking on it to see if the link will open. If it doesn't, email me and I will be glad to send you the link separately! These pictures should give you at least an idea of what classes are like for me on the weekends. One thing that I frequently get asked is how large the classes are. Each of my classes has somewhere close to 60 students. They are pretty good size classes!

I am at Emily and Christopher's house in North Carolina this week. I got to babysit my nephew today so that was lots of fun! Tomorrow, Emily and I are going to Seagrove Pottery. For those of you not familiar with North Carolina, it is basically a town where everyone makes and sells pottery. I am excited! I have heard a lot about it, but I have never been there myself!

Well, it's getting late and I need to get to bed! Enjoy the pictures and feel free to email me if you have any problems or questions! Blessings to you all!

Travels, travels, and more travels...

Greetings once again from my cozy little bed, upstairs at my parents' house in Franklin, Virginia! I am thankful to be writing this up-date from home.

Thank you so much for all who prayed for my trip to Chicago. I had a great time catching up with relatives that I haven't seen in awhile. I also enjoyed meeting possible recruits interested in South America Mission at Moody Bible Institute and Wheaton College. All in all, I believe it was a fruitful experience. One thing that I found very interesting, was that there have been many times in my adult life that people have described me as having an introvert personality. However, it is times like the few days I spent in Chicago that I realize just how much of an introvert I am. As much as I enjoyed being in Chicago and meeting people, it was quite exhausting for me.

After returning home on Wednesday night, I spent most of the day on Thursday running errands and packing before the next road trip. On Thursday night mom, dad, and I drove to Emily's house. Then on Friday, we went on down to Selma, AL where my Aunt Marg lives as well as my cousin Anna and her husband Bill. We were able to spend a wonderful weekend visiting with them! It was really a blessing to get to spend time with them as well as to get to share my pictures of and experiences in Bolivia. We arrived back in Franklin today, stopping to spend the night at a hotel just north of Atlanta.

All in all, I have enjoyed the experiences that God has allowed me to have in the past week. As for this week, I will be glad to have a few days at home to study and rest before going down to Charlotte this weekend for class. It is hard to believe that I am already about halfway finished with my classes this semester! That is pretty incredible! Thank you in advance for your continued prayers as I finish up all of my exams and final papers. Please continue to pray as well for the sale of my condominium as that is a constant worry of mine. Thank you as always for your faithful support and prayers!

First Exam Completed!

I know it's Saturday, not Monday. I am writing a quick note a couple of days early, because I'm not sure I'll have a chance to up-date my blog on Monday. Thank you so much to all of you who prayed for my first exam today. It was such a blessing to feel God's peace and presence with me as I worked. It involved a lot of writing, but overall I feel pretty good about it.

I'm also writing to let you know that I will be flying to Chicago tomorrow so that I can represent SAM at recruiting fairs which are being held at Moody and Wheaton. I am fortunate to have several friends and family in the Chicago area so I have places to stay and people to help me get around. I have been playing phone tag with some of them, however, so I feel like the trip isn't as well planned as it could have been. I know it will all work out before I fly back on Wednesday morning, but I could use your prayers for safety and guidance. I'll up-date again when I can! Thanks so much for your faithfulness!

October has begun!

Here we are in October...I have now completed the first weekend of each of my classes. It has been interesting to see how different each of the professors are. I also told my parents what a blessing it was that God led me to take these three classes at the same time. There have been a lot of themes that have appeared in each of the classes. Needless to say, that makes studying a lot easier. This week I have 2 critical reviews to write, plus an outline for one of the research papers that I need to do, and I need to organize my notes for an open note test I have on Saturday. This will be my first test as well as my first written assignment so I am a little nervous and want to do well. Please pray that God will guide me and give me the strength/wisdom that I need to prepare for those things.

I am also staying at Emily and Christopher's house this week. Today Emily was working so I got to play Aunt Laura and babysit Wesley! We had a very fun day together! I took advantage of nap times to get a few things done. When I'm not studying, Emily and I have a few exciting things planned while Christopher is working or out of town (as he will be at the end of the week).

I have one other quick prayer request that I keep forgetting to mention. Some of you may know that I was buying a condominium in Eden, NC where I lived before going to Bolivia. While I was overseas, I was able to rent it under the management of a realtor in Eden and the help of Emily and Christopher. However, a few weeks before I came home, I decided to put it on the market to sell as it doesn't fully pay for itself, even when it's being rented. Praise the Lord for providing a current rentor on a month by month basis who is willing to allow potential buyers in to see it. Anyway, please pray that God would provide a buyer and that I would be patient in waiting for His timing on that.

Well, I guess that's it for this week! Blessings to each of you!