My Adventure Book: Next Stop: Chinatown, Chicago!

So, for those of you who were wondering about any updates on my life...here they are:

I just got a job at Pui Tak Christian School in Chinatown, Chicago! I am so excited! The Lord has really challenged me to trust Him in this all and as usual, he has provided for me :) I am so excited and slightly nervous for this opportunity, but know it will challenge me which will grow me, so I am looking forward to it!

"How did it happen?", you may ask. Well, here's the CRAZY and yet providential story :) We'll start back in November of last year. I applied for several positions at Americorp (TechMissions branch) and asked to be placed in Chicago. I will have you know that I did all of this BEFORE James and I started dating and before I was even interested in him like that. They emailed me back and said that they may have some positions open as soon as January/beginning of February. So, January rolls around...so does a new boyfriend. At the end of January, I assume I will not hear back from Americorp because the positions have seemingly started. So, I go into Starbucks, ask my old manager to hire me back on and she says, "YES!" but on the condition that I stay AT LEAST 6 months! I said, no problem, I have not heard back from the other position. THE VERY NEXT DAY, I get an email asking me to interview for the TechMissions (Americorp) position. I was so confused. Should I quit Starbucks and interview? But what if I interviewed and didn't get the position. I gathered wise advice from many, including my wonderful boyfriend, and decided not to take the interview. I knew that if I gave up Starbucks, it would look bad and if I left for Chicago on a whim, I probably would be ending my newly started relationship because I know myself all too well and would have freaked about the long distance at the start and just given up. So, I had to decide if the new relationship and the bad look of quiting was worth it...and I decided to stay :) So I asked if, due to the circumstances, they could interview me in the summer again. They agreed.

Since the positions usually start in June/July, in May I emailed the people I had been corresponding with at TechMissions. Another emailed went by and another...and no response. By June I was feeling slightly hopeless, but decided to give them a phone call to remind them of the interview they had promised me! By the end of June, I made my decision. I WAS NOT going to wait around in Apple Valley for some opportunity to come to me. I wanted so badly to just do something crazy and trust that the Lord had not given me this big of a passion to do Urban Ministry and NOT do anything but work at Starbucks in Apple Valley. Chicago was my dream (besides NY) and since James was moving to Indiana in the fall, why not do it there! So, at the end of June I gave my 1 month notice and started packing up. It seemed unreal, but I knew it was what I needed to do. I had prayed about it, though not as much as I know I should have (looking back on it) and felt a completely overwhelming sense of peace. For those of you who know me, you know I am adventurous, but only to a degree. I like to go travel and do crazy things, BUT I would NEVER move somewhere without having a job or an apartment. Haha...little did I know the Lord would be leading me to trust Him in this epic journey :) So, my strong desire to move won out and while some people thought it was great and exactly what I needed, others looked at it with hesitancy, which isn't surprising! But I tried my best to not let these people discourage me because I had a peace that surpassed my understanding at this point and needed to follow the Lord's leading. I was tired of just feeling like an opportunity would come my way if I waited. I wanted to be active in my faith. I wanted so badly just to say, "Lord, I know you provide for me and I will trust you". It's easy to live our daily lives without having an active faith that just calls out for the provision of our active God. I wanted to live KNOWING that the Lord would provide and this has been one of the biggest impacts of my Christian faith. The Lord lead me, just as He did Peter, onto the water...and I wish I could say that I did better than Peter, but I had my moments of, "Maybe I am CRAZY!" James would keep reminding me that I needed to be like Abraham and trust the Lord, despite the fact that I knew not where I was going, which was such great encouragement. I mean, the heros of faith aren't there for nothing! They are there so they can be an example of how we should act and believe the Lord. They are there to show God's glory over all of life. So, as the story goes....

As I was packing and getting ready for this madness, I get a call, two weeks before the big move, to interview for Americorps! I jumped at the chance and had my interview. It was an hour long and felt like the very WORST interview in my life! (Not to mention there are 800 applicants for about 60 positions throughout the United States and my crumby interview was NOT going to make the cut!) I bombed it completely and was SO bummed, yet the Lord was constantly reminding me that he will provide. And that was the promise that got me through the next week when I didn't hear back from the position. I was supposed to hear by the following Monday and yet I heard nothing. Disappointed, I prayed that the Lord would remind me of His provision over my life and his care for me despite my "failure" at this interview. July 30th I shipped out to Chicago and came to Indiana on August 1st. On August 3, my 24th birthday, I spent the day in the city and came home very late at night. Although I did not have internet at my house, I opened up my computer, attempting to access the internet somehow. I open it and it connects...to a McDonalds internet. Now, the closet McDonalds is a few miles away...but in God's providence, I was connected long enough to receive an email stating that if I were interested to work for Americorp there may be a position opening at a school in downtown Chinatown, Chicago! I sat there and responded and cried. I cried because I was so grateful that the Lord had been providing for me. Although I knew it was not set in stone, I knew that it was, if nothing else, the Lord showing me that in someway he would provide! I was so happy that night as my mom and I were crying! It sounds corny all this crying, but it was seriously amazing seeing God's hand on it all :) So, I was scheduled for an interview today and received a phone call last week from someone from the school who was reassuring me that I was likely to have the job (which was timely in my somewhat pessimistic and Peter-like mood of unbelief). I was worrying about not having a job and about not having an apartment to be in as of August 26th when the boys move back in. But the Lord always is reminding me, because I am so forgetful, that he would provide, just like He did with Ruth. ( Needless to say I've read that book numerous times since I have been here! :) So, I interviewed today and was so happy to be at the school; just seeing it all and loved the people I met. But, I had heard of other interviews going on so I started to get slightly discouraged, until I remember that the Lord would provide, regardless of this position. BUT His provision came in this position and for that I am forever grateful!

His glory and providence is written ALL over this because nothing that I did got me this job and it's amazing when you can see that in your life. The Lord has been oh so good to me and might we always be reminded of his covenant faithful love and provision for His people. To God be the glory, now and forever AMEN! :)

Now onto the job! The job is for an after school program director/ volunteer coordinator. I guess a lot of the kids, despite the fact that they are in Christian schools, aren't Christian and grew up in Buddhist or other religious background. So this is a wonderful ministry for the city to non Christians. Although I won't be making much, I am excited to learn and minister to the inner city Chinatown! It's funny how the Lord does things because when I applied, I looked at some of the cites and this was the last site that I wanted...and yet I am SO excited about it now!

I ask for your prayers as I live and work in Chinatown, Chicago and learn how to effectively communicate to the community :) I pray that the Lord uses me in big ways and makes me feel uncomfortable, but all for His glory!

Now, I'm off to watch Mulan and eat Panda Express to hopefully encourage a more Chinese me ;)