Last Newsletter, May 2019

Dear Friends and Family,

I haven’t written a lot lately for various reasons, but I wanted to send one last update to close out my Sakeji story and introduce my new chapter. It’s been an interesting few months as I’ve worked (and continue to work!) through the process of reentry; there are lots of parts that had to come together, and there has been a lot of waiting on the Lord’s timing. While waiting is never easy, I know that this slower season was a gift of the rest and healing I needed before I was ready to start my next adventure. Nine years is a lot of life, and while my experiences at Sakeji absolutely shaped and prepared me for my next adventure, there are also some things that need working and praying through as I look forward to the future.

There have been so many things to be thankful for in this season of life. Several people have been very helpful in suggesting job opportunities and helping me make connections. Another thing that has been very helpful for this season of life is getting to spend time worshiping at One Hope Presbyterian Church here in my hometown. Getting to sit under the excellent teaching and participate in the thoughtful worship has been very refreshing and encouraging; God knew what He was doing to lead me here at this time. And, perhaps most importantly, I have had the time to seek Christian counseling for help and Biblical perspective in this season of change. Yet again I can see the hand of God in my life moving things so that I would be ready to hear and engage with some hard truths; I am so thankful for the wisdom and input I have received through these sessions. All these things have been coming together to prepare me for my next adventure.

A dream I have had for a long time is to be a part of a classical Christian school; a school that is intentional about academic excellence, focused on training minds how to think critically, and searching for God’s revealed truth, goodness, and beauty in creation and the rich legacy of human history. After many applications, a few interviews, and much prayer, I am very excited to announce that I will be joining the amazing team of teachers at Regents Academy in Nacogdoches, Texas this fall! Because Nacogdoches is so close I have been and will be continuing to spend some time getting to know the faculty, students, and school before I officially start teaching in August. Also, as a part of my preparation for jumping into this big role, I’ll be attending the Association of Classical Christian Schools conference in June this year. While next year is going to be challenging on several levels, I am looking forward to growing as a teacher, building new relationships, establishing my first home here in the States, and for the opportunities that this new area of service will provide. God is so good!

Thank you so much for your support over these last nine years; it has truly been an incredible experience in which I have learned a lot about myself, about what is important, being a teacher, and my God. I suspect that those nine years were often far more about refining my character than they were about what I was doing, but I also know that there were lives impacted at Sakeji other than my own! As I move forward, I hope I’ll get to see and visit with many of you in person, and that from my experiences I can be a better and more compassionate encourager of others as they serve the Lord in their various callings.

May God bless you richly for your support and kindness to me, and may we not grow weary of doing good wherever we are called,

~LB

Lots of little things add up

While I knew it would likely end up this way, I'm rather disappointed that I haven't been able to find a teaching or desk job for this spring (so far!). I finally heard back in the negative about the job I interviewed for over a month ago in the next school district, and I haven't heard back about any of the other local jobs I've applied for. However, I had a good phone interview with a classical Christian school a few towns over, and I was asked to apply for another one further south, and I'm waiting to hear about an interview for another one a few towns over, so it's not over yet! I plan to check out schools in the DFW area as well, and see if they have openings for the fall.

In the meantime I've been doing some odd jobs to help get me to a full time job. I've house/dog sat for a friend from church, I made knit and crochet circles for a friend's Alzheimer mat project, and I've start driving for Lyft. My hometown isn't exactly a Lyft hotspot, but I've had good experiences so far, and plan on going to a bigger city nearby to try and make a bit more in the next few days. Also, I'm going to be working for my dad at the pre-school cleaning contract he does three nights a week, so that will be another bit of income. I'm still on two classical Christian school's sub lists, and one has already booked me for two days in the next few weeks. It feels like I'm not doing enough, but all these little bits are making something. So, the process of praying, waiting, and trusting continues, but at least I've got a little bit to show for my time now.

This week I have an appointment with a pastor at the new counseling center here in town which is an outreach of one of our local churches. One of the things I strongly felt I needed to do when I got home was to have some help unpacking the last 9 years and getting some Biblical perspective and help sorting through the complex process that is reentry/almost complete life change. I am committed to the process of healing as well as the ongoing, lifelong process of sanctification. Thank the Lord He's not finished with me yet!

So, while this season continues to be challenging and a test of my patience, little pieces are coming together, and the Lord IS working for and through me. I can't wait for the day when I'll be more settled, but until then I'm trying to learn the lessons that this season of my life is sent to teach me.

Baby steps

Well, I am still not employed, but I did get the chance to connect and sub at another local classical Christian school last week, and as of today I am an approved Lyft driver, so that should be both interesting as well as helping me work towards independence again. Unfortunately I seem to have picked up bronchitis, so I'm hoping I can get over that quickly as I continue to job hunt not just for now, but also for the fall. I have a location and a tuned piano to use for teaching; there are still a few things I need to think through on that front, but hopefully I'll be able to find a few students. This has been a very challenging season of life for me, but I am trying to view it as a growing time as well, where I work on some areas that need refining as I head into my next chapter. I was thrilled and encouraged to see a rainbow yesterday evening while on the north side of town; it's been very gray and rainy the last week, and to have a beautiful reminder of God's faithfulness painted so brilliantly across the sky was so encouraging. God is good, all the time.

Still waiting

Well, I was kind of hoping to have more to share before the next time I wrote, but it's been a month, so I guess y'all are about due for an update. I am still deep in the process of trying to find a job; I have several applications/inquiries out, and an interview on Friday, so I'm praying for guidance, patience, and direction. I have a place to teach piano, so I am working through the steps needed before I start my piano studio up again. I did some subbing for a local classical Christian school and hope to do some more if I am not able to find a traditional i.e. full time job. I'm slowly starting to find ways to connect in town again, and I'm looking to start volunteering at the library. It's a mixed blessing, this slower pace of life. On the one hand I'm realizing how desperately I was in need of rest-physical, mental, and emotional. On the other, I really need to have some sort of income by the end of the month. So, hour by hour I'm trying to take advantage of opportunities and ideas while still trusting that God knows what He is doing with this unstable feeling season. Thank you to everyone who is praying and encouraging; knowing people are rooting for me makes all the difference. I don't know what all God is doing right now, but I'm trying to use the slowness to listen better. As I keep reminding myself, no time spent getting to know God better is ever wasted!

Big Step 1!

While I absolutely knew that it was time for me to come back to the States and start a new chapter of my life, one of the hardest parts has been the fact that after nine years away there were three big, rather daunting steps that needed to happen, and in this order. 1) car, 2) job, 3) my own place to live. I'm a planner and find it really hard to wait patiently for something, but maybe learning more about that is what this season of my life is about!

Shortly before new years I called a used car dealer here in town that we've known for years. In fact, we used to go to church with him. He looked at a few auctions for cars in my price range, but also had ready to go on his lot a 2009 Toyota Matrix. I went up with my dad last week to check out the Matrix, and was very happy with it. I waited to make sure the dealer didn't find anything better, prayed a lot about this car it felt like the Lord was leading me to, and on Wednesday this week I signed the papers for my first car in my name! It isn't new, it's got a few dings in it and a lot of miles, but so do I! And it's mine, and it's low cost means I'll be able to get it paid off soon and not be carrying a big debt as I continue to settle back to the States. Praise the faithful Lord who provides so much!

Now, on to step 2!

Quick update; life has been 'interesting' lately!

Sorry it's been so long; rather predictably my life got super crazy. Things are a little quieter now, but I don't expect the interesting to end for a few months yet. Here is the highlights reel of what I've been up to.

* I survived the end of the 2018 school year, which included report cards, playing for the program, prize giving, interviews, and lots of teary children saying goodbye. God gave strength, and I stayed healthy. I'm so grateful for his help in ending well!

* With the help of the incredibly generous and helpful Ruthie and Anna I spent an intense afternoon and evening working on packing up my house and leaving it ready for some much needed maintenance. I did not get as far as I would have liked, but without those two wonderful ladies helping me I would have been in much worse shape.

* While I was packing up, I found that I had been robbed and among other things, my laptop and all my cash had been stolen. The thing that makes me really sad, is that it had to have been one of the school's employees, and they would have had to watch all afternoon for a chance to get into the house when no one was there. On the plus side, they left my cards and documents, and I had just backed up my files the day before. So, while it is pretty inconvenient to have lost a tool I can ill afford to replace just now, things could have been so much worse. Not that this is likely to leak out the rural community I just left, but if you want more details please communicate with me directly, in respect for the person handling this at the school's request.

* I spent an afternoon and a day in Lusaka with some longtime friends before heading out on a whirlwind tour of Germany! I have an uncle and aunt, and several cousins living there, so I got to see the Frankfurt area, the Black Forest, and Bavaria. I had so much fun reconnecting with my family, and it was a very healing time to talk through some things and bounce some plans off wise people. I'm so thankful for belonging to a family of wanderers and Christ followers that makes time for each other and supports each other in the Lord.

Now I'm back in the States, and will be heading to Colorado for my brother's wedding tomorrow. Some prayer points for me at this moment include,
* Wisdom in replacing my laptop and beginning to restart my life Stateside
* Health as I've done a great deal of traveling during cold season, and I feel one starting to take a grip. I'd rather be well for Christmas!
* Finances--an unexpected electronic need as well as the need for a car so I can find a job quickly has left things a little stretched.
* Traveling safety as my family and I head to Colorado and back. There are no guarantees in this life!

Thanks so much for all your prayers and encouragement, and I look forward to a new chapter in my life and a new adventure with the Lord. While there are a lot of things for me to work through, I am so excited to see what will come next!