What's Next?

Sorry I haven't written very much on the blog lately. Here is an extra long post with no pictures to quench your thirst. It's mostly rambling of how I am feeling right now (I must be in a weird mood today because this post is all over the place), but I think there is some good stuff anyway.

I have been super busy with work, and honestly, there hasn't been too much exciting going on around here. I haven't really done any traveling lately, and day to day life here isn't as interesting as you might think (though I do love it). We just finished up the Eagle's Wings project last week and we are quickly approaching our deadline for Watoto.

It's crazy to think that I will be leaving in less than four weeks. I feel like there is still so much to do. Apart from finishing up what seems like a lot of work in the office, I have a long checklist of things to take care of.

1. I have to see all my wonderful friends one last time.

2. I have buy all the trinkets and things I want to take home with to help me remember this place.

3. I have to go to the places where I haven't been but have always wanted to go.

4. I have to go to the places where I always go because I don't want to leave without being there one more time.

5. I have to pack. (I don't want to even start thinking about that. You accumulate a lot of stuff in ten months and it's tough to fit it all in just a couple of suitcases.)

Needless to say, I am trying to cherish the last moments I have here. Over the past ten months, this place really has been home. While I know some people are counting down the days til I come home (you know who you are), I am trying not to count them as I am going to be very sad when I leave this place.

But with the days, in fact, dwindling away, I have begun to think about the future recently. This begs the question, "What's next?" I have been reading through Proverbs recently and this passage really helped me think through my answer.

1The plans of the heart belong to man,
    but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
2All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes,
    but the Lord weighs the spirit.
3Commit your work to the Lord,
    and your plans will be established.
4The Lord has made everything for its purpose,
    even the wicked for the day of trouble.
5Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord;
    be assured, he will not go unpunished.
6By steadfast love and faithfulness iniquity is atoned for,
    and by the fear of the Lord one turns away from evil.
7When a man’s ways please the Lord,
    he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.
8Better is a little with righteousness
    than great revenues with injustice.
9The heart of man plans his way,
    but the Lord establishes his steps.
-Proverbs 16:1-9

The simple to answer to the question above is "I don't know." There are a few things I do know:

1. I will be unemployed for an unspecified period of time. (This post is turning out to have a lot of lists.)

2. I am going back home to live with my parents. (You can't exactly to afford to live on your own with no source of income after spending a year in Africa traveling and not making any money. (Despite what you may have thought after my comment about missing Africa, I am really excited about going home and spending some quality time with my family and friends (I just put parentheses inside of parentheses. Is that allowed? I hope so because this comment just did it again.)))

3. I am really excited about getting involved with the church I briefly started going to last summer. (Do I use parentheses too often?... I think I use them too often. I don't know, you decide.)

After that, I don't know much. But that's kind of the rough outline until something different comes along. Proverbs 16:3 was the verse that really stuck out to me. I really don't know what is ahead but I know that if I commit my work to God, everything will work itself out. Maybe it means getting married soon or not for a long time or maybe not at all. Maybe it means I will find a good engineering job and settle down in Chicago (or somewhere else) or maybe I will find myself back in Africa someday working with the poor. I can't really tell what the future holds, but I find comfort in the fact that God does. Just before Jesus' ascension, he said, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority." (Acts 1:7). I know that life isn't easy and that even if I plan every second of every day, things can change. I can plan for tomorrow, but it is the Lord that establishes my steps. So all I can do is seek after him and let him take care of the rest.

[Side note: I am most grateful for verse 6 above. God took care of my sin/iniquity with his "steadfast love and faithfulness" so that this relationship where God watches over me is even possible. That is a whole other post, but praise Jesus for what he did to reconcile us back to God!]

Well, I guess that is enough rambling for now. If you are still reading at this point, congratulations, you are part of a select group of people.

More pictures to come soon. I promise. I had a fun day with 200 street kids yesterday which you hear about shortly.