Belize

I feel like I never stop moving. This is my fourth week as an intern in a 2 year old room. It is going great. Everyone thinks that I am a natural and this is the age I should stick with. I love the kids but I feel like I am a little more structured then this age group. Everything is just so free flowing and the schedule is so loose. I understand exactly why they do it, it is necessary. So it is not my favorite but if offered a job in this age group I would totally take it.

In addition to this I have been working and doing other classes. I can't say I have no free time but I feel like I am constantly busy. I keep meaning to blog but I feel like I never have time. So I have totally exciting news I am going to go on a mission trip to Gales Point, Belize April 27th to May 5th with my church. Many years ago a couple from my church went down there and lived for a year helping start a church. The church has grown and flourished, the pastor is from the village. Last year and then again this year we are doing a women's retreat and men's retreat for the village. My group will be going down for a week and spending the first half doing a project, probably helping the school they have. Then for the second half we will take 30 women to a nearby island on a retreat. We will plan break out sessions where each of us will have a verse to talk on. I am pretty excited!

Now the tricky part. First, the cost $1800 per person. That is a lot of money. Most of the money is actually to cover the cost of taking the women on the retreat. I am living very carefully with my budgeting so I am not really going to put much toward the trip. We are having fundraisers and I will send out sponsor letters to ask others to help me with the cost. I trust that God knows where every penny will come from. I am being pretty good so far about when I want to go out to eat reminding myself that I am trying to save money for the trip and not eating out. I have eaten lots of ramen noodles and protein bars for the cause.

The second concern I had was about school. My online classes end on April 27th. If you remember from above that is the same day that we fly to Belize. I had been mostly concerned with this but the Lord has given me peace about it. I had two classes ending that day but I was able to move things around and now it is only one. Then I found out more details about the class ending that day and it appears that the big project for the class is due the week before and the last week I just review how the process went or something to that effect. So now I am pretty calm about all that. If I wanted to walk in an actual ceremony it would cost $25 and be on May 8th. I don't really want to. People keep asking me why and so after some thought I think it is because it is like the production of wedding but not as cool. I have wait in lines and crowds and my friends and family would have to wait around too for the ceremony to start and park far away and then all of us would have to listen to boring speeches that nobody cares about and all that all for my name to be called and to walk across a stage for something that I am going to get if I walk across the stage or not. My high school graduation was boring and I don't see that my college graduation is any better (especially after it took 13 years!) So I figure instead of cards or time I will ask people to support my trip to Belize because it's kind of what I am doing for graduation instead.

Last weekend we had a fundraiser at the church. We sold items for the "Big Game." I baked a million cookies, ok like 9 dozen.  I also made honey almonds, spicy almonds, and a snack mix. It took a day and a half. We also had home made salsa, football shaped cookies, bean deep, brownies, home made fudge, rice krispe treats, and home made fluff dip.  In total we made about $800 due to some very generous people at the church. Right now we have nine people going, the number may still change, so that is like $80 a person. So I kind of only have to raise $1720 more, kind of.

Well I should be working on my sponsor letter or homework instead of blogging right now so I should probably get to it.