I came back from Taiwan right before Christmas in 2010 and had no idea what to do with my life. I wasn't a student any longer, yet I wasn't really a professional. I didn't know if I wanted to continue school or if I was done. I didn't want to find a job working in another other except my area of study but those jobs seemed few and far between. Honestly, I didn't want to get a job at all. I was tired. I crammed a lot of school and two study abroad/missions trips into a few shorts years. All I wanted was to figure out what was happening to my life! And things just seemed to be going down a drain hole, with increasing speed. I had no vision, no purpose, no goal for my life. I felt trapped. Like life had just dropped me at a bus stop in the middle of no where, with nothing in walking distance and no other buses coming back through these parts for the foreseeable future. I felt so depressed.
On the home front, my mom was working out of the home, which she hadn't done since she had us (a loooooong time) and my dad was home on disability waiting for shoulder surgery. Needless to say, things were quite different on the home front.
Nothing with my life changed for the next several months. Nothing that memorable, anyways. lol A lot of frustration and exasperation with myself and with my seeming inability to change my circumstances. All I could do was wait.
On May 5th, my dad finally had his shoulder surgery after much delay! Thank God! He is recovering quite nicely and has regained his movement in the left arm. Good thing it wasn't his dominant arm this time!! Also in May, our church started going through a period that has been difficult in more ways that I can tell you or would be appropriate to discuss. Both as a family and as an individual, I was hurt in many ways. For probably the first time in my entire life, I dreaded going to church. It became a place I didn't feel safe in. People took sides against each other and the true colors of human nature are not a pretty sight. People from other churches and even other countries thought they knew what was going on, but what was really happening, we couldn't talk about or try to set the story straight because of reasons of respect. We had ministers come through and give the congregation lectures about respecting the ministry when they had no idea what our church was really going through or how broken we were. It didn't mean we weren't trying to respect the ministry. It was just that respecting the ministry wasn't the problem at all ... it was that we were the ones who needed to be supported by the ministry and we weren't getting any help or encouragement, only beaten down. We were bruised and crushed and no one seemed to see it. But God is a Help in the time of trouble. All I can say is that it was, and in some ways, still is, a really difficult situation. Slowly, I'm starting to feel some normalcy in my spirit, but I'm waiting on the Lord to either do a miracle here or direct me/our family to a change of location.
During that time, I also applied to grad school and got in! I'm now a student in the Masters of Teaching program in the TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) track through USC. They started providing their program online so students out of the area can participate and it's a wonderful program. I attend classes every week through an online platform in which I get to see and hear my professors and fellow students. We also have small group study sessions so I feel totally connected to my classmates in a way that most online programs don't provide. I think it also fosters a sense of accountability because I have to look my profs in the eye every week!! lol
The same day I found out I was accepted into the program, I also got a lead on a teaching job here in town to Chinese student pilots! Isn't God good!! I ended up getting the job and have been working there about 7 months now. Monday through Friday, I lead two classes teaching Aviation English to "my boys." All my students are male as they are in pilot training and female pilots are rare, especially in China. They are a great group of young people and I enjoy them so very much. They keep me laughing!! I applaud their patience with me as I have tried my wings at teaching a subject that I previously knew little to nothing about! They are real troopers!
However, this phase of my employment will soon be ending because my company is closing the branch here. All my students will be moved to Redding in the near future and I'll see them no more. But, we have each others' info for Chinese facebook, etc. so we'll stay connected for sure! They have told me when I come to China, to call them up and they will show me around. I hope to take them up on that offer someday in the not-too-distant future.
Right before school started last fall, I bought a mac. :) My computer was getting tired and I made the very logical argument that, because my program was entirely web-based, I would need a computer that would be a pro at media. It arrived somewhere around the 10th of September and I have been in love every since. <3
So, where does that leave me now? I just finished the 3rd week of this quarter, only 7 more weeks to go! Then we have summer quarter, which will last from April to June, and then I'm off for the summer. One more quarter in the fall and I'll be finished with my degree. It's a quick program but they make you work for it! ;)
This last Tuesday, I started observation hours. I sit in a 3-hour long ESL(English as a Second Language) class, watch the teacher, take notes, and then re-write them in a specific format answering certain questions for the professor. It's weird not being the student, nor the teacher in a classroom. It's also hard when I heard the students breaking class rules and I can't correct them!! lol It's hard to quiet the "teacher" in me sometimes. haha.
I'm going to Ladies Retreat in just a couple of weeks. This will be my first time to go to a Ladies Retreat and I'm excited! We are going to have a great time together in the Lord and enjoying each others' company. During that weekend, my grandma is going to be turning 91 years old (So I may come back home for the night to celebrate)! God has blessed us with her presence in our lives! Please continue to pray for her as I believe God is working in her heart and making her more sensitive to the things of God.
Currently, I'm trying to convince my older sister that we NEED to go back to the south-ish for a singles conference at the end of June. Not to prey on men, but to make friends! We need to get out more often and meet people! She and I are scheming about how to "modify" the trip, and possibly add another stop on the "way home." :)
I have picked up a terrible habit since coming home ... well, probably at least two ... 1. Chewing ice!!! 2. Online shopping!! It's addictive, I tell ya! And it comes right to your door!!!!!! What more could you ask for? Lol! But seriously, I am in the process of breaking those two habits! I have to in order to stay a sane woman! ;)
Well, I think that pretty much catches you up to speed on my life in big chunks! And, it's rather late here so I'm going to call it a night. I have mega laundry and room cleaning to do tomorrow, plus I need to do some reading/school assignments. In the afternoon, I'm talking Mom to lunch and to her birthday gift, a facial. Should be fun!
Until I write again, all my love~
Kate
P.S. One other thing! I forgot to mention that my job sent me on a trip to China during October! Me and a coworker went to do the prep work for selection of the next group of student pilots. The trip was quick and very busy, but we had a great time. The jacket I'm wearing in the picture below was bought at a silk factory in Beijing on that trip during our only day off! It was an amazing day! I also got to see/walk on the "Ba Da Ling" section of the Great Wall! That was an incredible moment to be sure! They say, "If you haven't been to the Great Wall, you haven't been to China!" I think there might be some truth to that! ;)
