Last week Jason and I headed to Gulf Shores to visit his cousin and her husband, who serve as missionaries to the Gulf Shores region. Nathan does many, many things, but we went to help with day camps that are run at some of the RV parks. It was a great experience – nothing strenuous, so it was incredibly relaxing.
I will share more about Gulf Shores, but before I do I need to share something else.
To be quite honest, this has been a very hard summer for me. I don't do a great job of sharing my personal stories here on this blog, so let me fill you in on what has been going on. As some of you know, I have worked several jobs since graduating, but for the last two years I have worked as a kindergarten assistant. My degrees are in communication and business administration, but after working in business I felt that it was not for me. I've always loved teaching (in fact, I wanted to be a teacher when I was a child), so I tried my hand as an assistant teacher. To clarify, Mississippi does not require that you have a degree in education to be an assistant. You have to have either 48 hours of college credit (which having two degrees, I had no problem filling that requirement) or you have to pass some test.
Though kindergarten is an exhausting grade, I loved being around the students and I loved teaching. I was very blessed to be with two teachers who encouraged me in that area and allowed me to do more than just running copies off. I was able to lead centers and create activities for students who fell out of the norm, either very behind or far ahead.
So, I began working on becoming certified to teach. Now, I had a bachelors and master's degree, so I was not inclined to begin working on yet another degree. I was not opposed to it, but I was tired of being in school. Mississippi has a program where if you have a college degree, you can become certified to teach via the "alternate route." I took some classes, took the required tests, and now am certified to teach 4th-8th grade. (Of course, after starting my program, one of the local universities began an online program for assistant teachers to become certified with a bachelor's degree, but since I was already in my program I didn't choose that option.)
Of course, who could know that the country, especially the state of Mississippi, would be in such an economic crisis? Sure, if I wanted to move to the Delta I could easily have a job. But, I wasn't about to move – first of all, my program required me to be within so many miles of my school for my first year of teaching, and second, Jason and I were not about to move. He has just been promoted, so end of discussion.
As I write this post I am still jobless. I have had one interview, but it didn't work out because of budget issues with the school (they had two teachers for one grade, but only needed one, so they ended up filling the open position in another grade with that teacher). I've had several encouraging friends remind me that most new teachers are in the same boat as I am, and that they know so-and-so who was hired two days before school started.
And, while that is encouraging, I have to admit that the waiting is still extremely hard. Some days are good and some are bad. Because as I continue to wait, our income and savings decreases. Assistant teachers are not paid during summer months. You can see why I am so eager to know what is next in my life. I've already thought about some options if nothing works out, but right now I'm stuck in what feels like a purgatory – just waiting and waiting for what is next, not able to move yet, just stuck.
I know that the Lord is going to provide for me, though it might not be what I planned. That is the hope that gets me through this. But it has been a struggle. And being stuck at the house for two months has not helped. Don't get me wrong – I would love to be at home. But when ends are barely meeting and I don't have the money to get together with my friends for lunch or go on trips, I end up feeling very alone.
That is why the trip to see Nathan and Alicia was very much necessary for me. It was so good to help them out, but it was also good to see dear friends and be somewhere different for a change. During the morning we worked a day camp (like a mini-VBS or backyard Bible club) at one of the RV camps. **Moment of praise – One little girl accepted Christ as her Savior. How awesome!**
On the last day of our trip we went to the Alabama Gulf Coast Zoo. This was the first trip to a zoo for Zach, Alicia and Nathan's little boy who is two years old.
Here are some of my favorite pictures from the zoo.
Here is a Gopher turtle, which is an endangered species. Every now and then you can find one around where we live. Camp Shelby does a lot with gopher turtles, to help them repopulate.
This was one crazy goat. Seriously. The zoo had certain areas that were called "puff feeding areas." You could buy $2 worth of puff feed, and feed animals such as donkeys, llamas, sheep, deer, and…goats. You might think he looks like an average goat, but this sucker was HUGE! He was the size of a horse. He would stand on the fence and lean over trying to steal the puff cup out of your hand. Let me show you.
Here are some more of my favorites. (You can click on any of these photos or to visit the entire set on flickr.)
After the zoo (and a hurried lunch at the most upscale McDonald's I've ever been in – flat screens, aquarium, gaming system), Jason and I went on a dolphin cruise. If you are ever in the Gulf Shores area, I highly recommend it. Two boats go out at one time and split up to search for dolphins. When a boat spots some, the driver radios the other boat and the two boats team up, riding side by side to create a wake that the dolphins love to swim and jump in.
Jason and I had a great time searching for dolphins and we were lucky enough to end up on the side that, three out of four times, faced the middle, so we got great pictures of the dolphins. We even saw a momma dolphin with her baby.
Thank you, Nathan and Alicia, for allowing us to come and serve with you (and providing food and a place to stay while we were there). It was a lovely mini-vacation for us and very refreshing for me to get away for a little bit.
