i'm back

So... I know no one was waiting on the edge of their seat for me to continue my blog, but it's been quite awhile since my last entry after the Global Night Commute.

Since then I have:
-whittled my employment down to two, working on Paint Crew for Hope by day and Ruby Tuesday's (an eatery comparable to Applebee's) by night.
-moved in with my brother and sister-in-law in Holland
-experienced a dramatic turnover weekend which included my moving out, checking out residents, my friend's beautiful wedding, and beginning work at Ruby's
-tried to spend a lot of time alone reading, thinking, and philosophizing
-made attmempts at being domestic (my recent conquest was a pillow cover)
-bought a Polish phrasebook, map, and made several Polish connections to learn about history, culture, and people
-thought a LOT about my life next year - studying in Chicago in the fall and graduating in the spring
-mourned the mounting loan figures I check up on sporadically
-decided to give restaurant servers my utmost respect and pity, after messing up (I like to call it rearranging) some orders and begging the cooks in back to pity me and my failed attempts at being restaurant savvy
-almost conquered the art of 'looking like I know exactly what a customer wants, even if I have no idea," which is sometimes good and sometimes bad (see previous)
-become fast friends with my paint crew
-taken a new outlook on work in general, thanks to John Piper and "Don't Waste Your Life"
-made a lengthy, but somewhat flexible reading list and summer to-dos
-made a quick trip with Samuel and Bethany back home for my great grandma's funeral ..much more later. it was a great experience - praise the Lord for His timing and blessings of family.

...Of course, much more has transpired, but I thought I would hit some highlights. There are many stories wrapped up within each, but I'm about to get kicked out of the library, so I'll have to wrap this up.

If you read this before tomorrow, it would be wonderful to know you could pray for me. I am going to training weekend for my mission trip to Poland. It's in Beloit, WI and I'll be able to meet people from my trip and learn more about what we'll be doing.

I'm excited to start keeping up with this and hopefully will do a better job.
Grace and peace