Tagged

I was recently tagged for a little survey thingy... I can't say I've ever really done this before but I found it slightly interesting. It forced me to take a look at who I am after so many years of neglecting certain parts of myself and/or blindly running about like a headless chicken. I've started asking myself other questions too, it's been eye opening. Reflection plays such an important role in learning and growing. So Shiloh, here are my answers:

Five Things to do on my List today:

• Go to the bank
• Go to the Department of Licensing to get a a drivers abstract so I can drive the school van
• Pack for Mexicali
• Do laundry so I have clean scrubs to wear to work tonight
• Figure out what I'm going to do for devotional books for 20 kids

Snacks I Enjoy:

• Frozen grapes
• Almond Joy (this was my food of choice for long curriculathons)
• Chili chocolate (yes, you read that correctly)
• Raspberries

Things I would do if I were a Millionaire:

• Pay off my mortgage
• Start a nursing school in Kibogora Rwanda
• Get a PhD and not work at the same time
• Use my millions of dollars to get Shiloah Health Outreach off and running

Places I have lived: (too bad extended trips don't count)

• Des Moines,Washington
• Federal Way, Washington
• Seattle,Washington
• Milton, Washington
• Kirkland, Washington

Bad habits I have:

• Not taking my trash can out to the curb in time
• I'm terrible at making schedules for myself
• Not backing up my computer files!
• Going through life sleep deprived
• Being "anti-social" at times

Jobs I have held:

• Lifeguard/Swim Instructor
• EMT
• Camp Nurse
• Nursing Clinical Instructor
• ICU Nurse

Masters of the Universe: What's Next

The master's degree is finally a reality! I completed my thesis defense on June 11th and walked at the UW School of Nursing graduation on June 13th. I had just come off of a 12 hour night shift so some parts of the day are blur but overall it was enjoyable. The best part however, wasn't parading across the stage sporting my new hood; it was knowing I had the support of family and friends.
So now that this part of my life is over, many people have been asking me what's next. I'm trying hard not to be too tempted to start back in school right away. I'm really thinking that now is the time to gain a little balance, take some time to regroup. In the immediate future: I am leaving for Mexico with a group of 20 teen-agers THIS Friday! We'll be working with a church and their youth on construction projects and Vacation Bible schools. This is my 12th annual trip with this group. In the not so distant future: I am accepting a position at Buntain School of Nursing at Northwest University teaching a clinical group and helping with management of the skills lab. I will be decreasing my FTE at University of Washington but plan to continue in clinical practice to maintain a current perspective on patient care. I am hoping that this will led to a more normal schedule and a better balance.
Ultimately over the next year I would also like to concentrate more on the development of Shiloah Health Outreach as a non-profit organization. Also on my list: clean the house, fix the back deck, write the Mexicali Bible studies BEFORE the meetings begin, sew more, sleep more, and the list goes on... Of course we'll just have to wait and see if God doesn't have different plans...

I'm Back...

It's been a long week. Saturday and Sunday I found myself "practicing" my public speaking in churches and at missions events. All of those things went well but I couldn't help but feel a little guilty that I wasn't working on my thesis.
Sunday night and Tuesday night were perhaps the last all nighters of my academic career. It wasn't as bad as I thought it might be. I talked myself into thinking that these nights were sacred events. I even went down to the store and bought some special coffee beans, a stack of printer paper, a printer cartridge, a new flash drive, and some fruit snacks. By yesterday morning when I left the house for the university, the only thing I had left was a stack of the printer paper. I had used the rest of my purchases completely!
The presentation went well, thank you to everyone who prayed for and/or showed up at my thesis defense. My project was approved for graduation and all my papers were signed. I had a nice lunch with some great friends afterward and then headed home to sleep. I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate.

Defender of the Thesis

Well folks, I finally have a date to defend my thesis! Mark your calenders for June 11th at 9 am and pray hard. Unfortunately I have to work nearly everyday between now and then so I'm a little stressed about having enough time to prepare. Will having my project "critiqued" by a panel of academics somehow desecrate my experience? I hope not! Here goes...

Some Long Awaited Photos

Naomi took this picture, it's one of my favorites.That is the Rwandan flag, the other side of the lake is Congo.This was our house. (Just kidding)

A backboarding lesson.

Missionary Mail

The postal system in Kibogora is unreliable at best. So... Every time someone from the states comes out, they always end up transporting mail to and from Kibogora. The night before we left I was met by several folks who brought mail by in hopes that I could take back with me to mail from the states. I ended up with 74 pieces of mail! Five or six days from Rwanda to any of the 50 states sure beats 6-7 weeks!

Borrowed Students and the Macarena

I know... I've fallen down on the job of posting more Africa pictures. Actually, I've just been saving them up for you and building the suspense. ;)

A few days before we left Kibogora a group of students came from Roberts Wesleyan College in New York to help teach English at two local high schools. The night before we left they were invited to one of the schools for a special performance of some traditional dances. I finished teaching my last class a little early so I decided to go along with RWC group.

Long story short we found ourselves as the guests of honor sitting in front of a huge throng of Rwandan high schoolers watching the performance. It was actually quite the interesting experience. However, by the time the performance ended we found ourselves trapped in the building as there was a torrential downpour outside.

We were stuck there, sitting in front of 500 students who were all staring us expectantly. It was our turn. We were all asked to introduce ourselves. I decided it would be too complicated to try and tell them that I wasn't associated with the Roberts Wesleyan group and it didn't really matter anyway so I borrowed some students. After the introductions and several awkward moments of silence I finally figured out that they wanted us to perform.

I told them "Quick, do the Macarena or something." I didn't think they would actually do it!!!