We have quickly reached the half-way mark of Chelsea's semester. I'm sure most know how challenging this semester has been. The workload has increased and there are many challenges with her clients as well. But, despite the challenges, Chelsea has maintained great grades and has done an incredible job in clinic. I'm really proud of her diligence in studies and I applaud her modesty given her reputation with her peers. We greatly appreciate everyone praying for the many tests Chelsea has endured. I think Chelsea has really high standards for her marks and she has been able to do terrific things in her classes. Chelsea is at a hearing screening right now in Boise. She has learned a lot of new information and some pretty exciting things. Chelsea is incredible, and she is doing an incredible job. She is doing a good job balancing her school work and extracurricular requirements well and is excited about the effectiveness she has had and the difference it can make in lives. It is, indeed, and incredible things, and she does a great job at it. It's no surprise that this is her gifting, but we are praying for clarity for where we will go and where she will be called and most effective. I am crazy proud of what she is doing.
This week we had to take Payette in to the vet to help control the pet population. After about a week of telling Payette (through song) that the day was coming we finally dropped her off with heavy hearts. Our little rascal was so sad when we walked out of the room and was not very happy when we returned. Minus her lovely lady lumps, Payette looks incredibly thin, and incredibly frail. She is finally starting to come back to life, but the first 24 hours were pretty tough. She wandered around the apartment with her mouth hanging open and glazed eyes as if she was sleep walking in slow motion. We know it is all for the best to live a longer, happier life, but we do not like having our little buddy down.
My search for work, extra work, another job, a better job...basically anything that will help pay off student loans, continues. Alright, my ambitions are more advanced, but I feel like I would take any of those options just to feel like I'm progressing. I have taken many interviews for many positions and have been rejected by all. From server to architect or janitor to sales rep, I am either over-qualified, under qualified, not a good fit,... etc.
It has been a frustrating time. There seems to be no explanation beyond the economy, but it hasn't helped to build the confidence. Last wee I returned home from an interview that I thought went well, checked my messages and heard back from Hummel architects. I had interviewed a while back and heard they NEEDED to hire two people. I have been pursuing them since we came out for our first visit, so I was excited about the news. But after talking to them, calling them, visiting them, emailing them, calling them again, visiting them again, emailing them again, I finally heard they were not going to hire anyone after all. Then I checked my email and received a message that another company decided not to move forward with me. Disappointment in the situation and myself followed. But within the next minute after reading that I read Isaiah 41:10 in three different locations, out of the blue. It seemed like I was immediately inundated with that message. It certainly helps to know that promise. So, I keep looking.
We heard this week that it was really nice back in Michigan. We hope everyone got to enjoy the outdoors. We were surprised because after the hot summer and mild winter we thought we would have the warm weather first. But good for Michigan! It was actually raining and 38 here that day. We have had an opportunity to break the rollerblades out once this year and are looking forward to the warm weather. We are disappointed that we didn't have enough time to explore more of the Idaho winter landscape this year. Here are a few pictures of the past couple weeks that Chelsea took.
I had an opportunity to explore some caves this past month. I had never been caving before, so I was excited about the prospect, while Chelsea shared her disdain for the activity and, thus, chose to stay home. I went with a few guys to Mountain Home and explored a fissure cave in a field that was supposed to be one of the more challenging caves nearby. It was indeed very tight and allowed us to channel our inner Yukon Cornelius...did he cave? Or was he a surface dweller? either way, I'm keeping it. It was a good little adventure and challenged us athletically. One section named 'the birth canal' required us to bridge ourselves over water and through a small opening to the second half of the cave. Long story short, I could barely fit through the opening, almost lost my drawers and got my rear wet. We clipped though the cave quickly though and found another one nearby. The second cave was far more challenging and consisted of a series of ropes throughout. After going down two of the ropes and across a gap we turned around after seeing a hole with two ropes and no evident bottom. We will return at some point with gloves and a little more rest, because this cave is taunting me.
I do apologize for this post. I wrote this entire post last night, but lost the information. My previous version rivaled any literature written by Hemmingway, but my autosave didn't autosave. I would love to take time to do a better job, but I promised I would get it done because we haven't updated and I am extremely hungry and seriously angry for not saving. I am trying to save face...not our best post. But seriously, if you could have read the earlier version...I didn't think that kind of magic could come from these hands.
We love you all and miss you. We cannot thank you enough for your prayers and remembering us out here. We do miss a lot of information that people share in passing, so if we can pray for anyone, let us know, please.
Also, we just got news today that Ted Vanderson passed away last night. Please pray for his wife, Shirley and their family. Celebrate his relationship with Jesus Christ and remember where our home is.
