13 Months from when, exactly...(Update)

I received news yesterday that my training has been pushed back a little. It is now tentatively scheduled to begin in either September or October.

At first, I wasn't quite sure how to take that news. I mean, it gives me a lot more to time to raise money and get prepared and it gives me more time to spend with Angie. Plus, I won't miss Hannah's fifth birthday or her first day of kindergarten.

More importantly, though, Courtney pointed out that it means I won't miss NBC's new one-hit-wonder competition show which begins next week. ;-)

Ephesians 6:19-20

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

A Little Nervous

Today I feel a little nervous about the whole IQ thing. Someone, who shall remain nameless, reminded me that it was a huge life change. Not only going somewhere new, but leaving a life behind. (One that I'm pretty fond of, I might add.) I was doing a pretty good job of avoiding thoughts like that.

I can't believe that I only have 9 days of work left. It's insane to think that, in less than two weeks, I will walk out of my office and probably never go back. I have an office plant with a plastic spider in it that I've come to think of as my own, but it'll stay behind for the new testing coordinator, the new "me," so to speak. That makes me a little sad.

Not to mention the people here. They've all become an important part of my life. I mean, 9 hours a day, I'm with them. I know God has great plans for me, but I think I'll miss playing cards on slow Saturdays or just hanging out at the front desk looking at random websites. I pray that the new "me" gets as much out of these people as I did. I hope the new "me" appreciates the people around the office and can see them as more than coworkers, but also as the wonderful people that they are. I can't wait to hear where life has taken them 1, 5 or 10 years from now. Franklin's SLC has always been blessed with the best staff, whether they stay long or not.

Maybe the new "me" will leave in a couple years to become a missionary. I've told the plant to use his best persuauion tactics. I asked the plastic spider, too, butI don't trust him. :-)

13 Months From When Exactly?

As of today, I have 10 days of work left here at Franklin. The inevitable question then is, "When are you leaving?"

The answer is still, "I don't know."

My educated guess is still mid-June, although I've started saying mid- to late-June just to be safe. It's hard waiting. Everyone talks about "God's timing," but it can be hard on a person to relinquish the control of knowing.

I know that God's using this time to get me more prepared for the work and to give me more time to build some key relationships with important people in my life and, for that, I'm thankful.

As soon as I have a date I will post it here. In fact, I'll probably shout it from the rooftops.

Sis graduates this weekend! Praise God!

Post #1

I thought that it would be a good idea to have someplace for everyone to get quick and up-to-date information on me as I prepare to go overseas.

So, here it is...

I hope to update as often as possible. Daily even, if I can.

I don't know about security issues so, I won't be too specific on where I'm headed (I'll use IQ); I assume that, if you're here, you already know :-)

As of today, I have 12 more days at work. I still do not have a final concrete date for training, and therefore, no concrete date when I'll officially be in IQ. Please pray that these details will come together soon.

Fundraising has gone well, and I have truly been blessed. I'm about half wayto $25,000, which is pretty awesome.

I guess that's all for now. I'm pretty new to this whole blog thing, so bear with me.

About The Author

I started this blog in 2005 as a way to communicate with family and friends when I went to Iraq.

Over the years, this blog has seen three trips to Iraq, a marriage, a baby and hundreds of posts.

I am a two time graduate of the Ohio State University with a Masters degree in Public Administration. I worked in academic testing after college and throughout graduate school and my first post-graduate job was as Testing Coordinator for a local university.

In 2004, I made a life-changing decision to spend 6 months working for an NGO in Iraq, a journey I began in November 2005.

I spent January through July 2006 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq and, before returning, decided to return.

In September 2006, I married Angie and we began planning to go back to Iraq. In December 2006, we found out Angie was pregnant!

I went back to Iraq from June to August 2007 and came home just in time for Nila's birth on September 1.

The whole family went to Iraq in November and stayed until May, 2008. Nila was a huge hit with the Kurdish people! Everyone loved her there almost as much as the family that loved her here from the US.

Now, we're back in the US, but we're still very much interested in the Kurds! We want to go back one day and continue to serve them as Jesus would.

Brothers Together Iraq is an organization we were lucky enough to meet in Iraq. They send children to Israel for heart surgeries and they could use your help! Read more here.