This one is for Kristina Mosier

Kristina Mosier wrote me a long newsy email in the beginning of February. I started to write back to it, but then was unable to finish my email to her, because of school, work, Kenya, etc. Her email to me is still in my inbox, and my half-written note is still in my drafts... waiting to be finished.

This update is dedicated to her.

Hi darling!

Sometimes I use the opportunity to send an email to one person to create an "update" that I can use for all peoples - so here goes. :) YOU are the lucky solo recipient and my blog will get the reheated version.

To utilize your format...

Regarding School:
I love graduate school. Have you considered going? Normally I would say that people should get some work experience before they go to further study... but when you don't know what you want to do, sometimes grad school is a good option. You could get a masters in Social Work or Theology or Divinity.... just throwing it out there. In an unrelated topic... perhaps you should come to Baylor for graduate school. :) Anyway, about me. I love graduate school. I enjoy what I'm studying and that makes it less of a burden. Last semester was pretty challenging - lots of reading in every class, lots of papers, but even though I was exhausted by December, it was like the exhaustion of a good workout. I did well in my classes, too, so that was nice. This semester is a little easier, but still a lot of reading and a lot of forcing me to make decisions about what I believe about Higher Education and my part in it. I'm thrilled with this choice for my field of study and career.
Each semester I only have three courses. They meet one time per week, for three hours each. This semester two of those classes are evening classes. That makes for a really full feeling week because it means that if I go to sorority meetings on Monday nights (see below) I am booked Monday - Wednesday nights. :( boo hiss.
March (which to me seems like its almost over, because next week is spring break and when we get out its the 20th!) and April are going to be doozies (is that how you would spell that?)! I have two big papers and two projects due. The one I am most excited about is a 25 page paper based on a case study of a college - I have to pretend I'm the newly hired president and developing a strategic plan - crazy. I have some friends visiting next weekend and hopefully near the end of March, so I'm hoping to be really diligent with my homework in the meantime!

Regarding Work and other activities:
Work is good. I have been worn out lately, because I've had a lot of intense meetings with people one-on-one, and they have often been back to back to back. I don't think it would have been so tiring except that I haven't had a lot of relaxed fun interaction with my friends to charge me up. A couple weeks ago some friends and I, along with my roommate and her parents played this game, Settlers of Catan, and we had a rollicking (literally) good time! There was competition, laughter, shouting, wheedling, etc and I felt totally charged up and refilled. I really like my job a lot and I'm hoping to get more opportunities this semester to teach small groups, though its slow in starting (i'd like to start a bible study for a segment of campus, but I have to wait two more weeks until this other campus activity - not spiritually related - is over).

I'm advising my sorority - Alpha Delta Pi. I'm the "membership education advisor" and that has actually been really fun. I have enjoyed spending time with the girls and learning about their lives. Sometimes its hard because right now the sorority needs a lot of attention (there is a big campus-wide musical production at mid-semester - it just ended - and all the sororities and fraternities are involved and so I've been helping make costumes and attending practice, PLUS helping them learn how to recruit and coordinating initiation for the new members, etc), and I don't want to sacrifice the time that my other students (for my work) get. So I've really had to balance my time carefully.

I'm co-leading a mission trip to Kenya this summer. (our group website is: http://kenyahelpusgo.blogspot.com) I've really had a good time getting to know the other leader - Marquette - better. We have breakfast on Thursdays and it blessses me. We've met with the team and they are really starting to enjoy each other. They are working on fundraising right now and thats been great. Balancing my work with fraternities and sororities with my work with the Kenya project has been difficult.

My parents came to visit two weeks ago (I can't believe its already been two weeks!) and we had a GREAT time. We visited the Dr. Pepper museum (Waco is the original home of Dr. Pepper... it was invented here!) and Cameron Park (the second largest municipal park in the country - second to Central Park), toured campus, ate at a lot of places and attended "Sing" that big musical event). I won't see them again until Christmas, so it was nice to have them out here for a little bit.

Thats probably all from me for now. I miss you! I miss Greenville, I miss church and Jo's Java and Tuesday mornings. But slowly I'm finding my place here and seeing God working. I hope I get to visit again before too long, but it may not be until next school year (or late summer). So maybe you should consider a road trip here?!