Life is a roller coaster

Hey! Wow! Missed November and December. And before you know it we are in the new year. So, I guess I left off in Belize, teaching English and working in mechanics at the mission training school. I finished the last classes of the mentoring program they teach at the school and working on organizing most of my next project in Colombia. But SO MUCH has changed since then! I finished teaching the program in Belize the end of November. The students were commissioned and a large portion of them are already in their mission projects working away. At the end of the program I caught this really nasty ear infection. As I got closer to my flight back to the states I started getting worried cause my ears were basically swollen shut from the infection and I knew that the flight would burst my eardrums. I decided to travel to Cancun even though my ears weren’t cleared up and take the flight regardless, because I didn’t have money to buy another ticket. On my way to the airport in the taxi I just prayed that God would make the flight painless, or would get my ear swelling down. Up to the entrance of the airport I still didn’t feel any change in my ears. But the moment I walked into the airport in Cancun my ears cleared right up! I caught my flight to Detroit and as soon as I got off the plane when we landed my left ear swelled shut again. God is so awesome! I had my ortho doctors appointment the morning after I flew in and he told me that if I didn’t clear my ears and get rid of the infection in 3 days, we would have to postpone the knee surgery. I went to the doctor and got medication and the ear cleared up before the surgery. I had surgery 2 weeks after my pre-op appointment and it went smoothly. I am currently 3 weeks post op and my knee is recovering much quicker than when my right knee was done 3 years ago. It is still a big test of patience not to go too fast and mess up the surgery. I’m doing pretty good though! I also went and visited SMAT (school of missionary aviation technology) in Ionia, MI. I applied and was accepted, but was interested in checking out the school in person. The tour was super amazing and I definitely will be going there for the mechanics program this fall. I also became very interested in taking their flight program following the mechanics program, because it is geared specifically for missionary/bush aviation, and is taught by former mission pilots with a lot of experience under their belts. Only God knows how I am going to earn/raise money for these classes because they are definitely not cheap. I also got in touch with Adventist World Aviation (AWA) and talked to the director about applying and asked him a lot of other questions about AWA. I started the application process to be a part of that mission organization. I guess we will see what happens in the near future. I also went and did more testing for the FAA, and we are waiting for an answer again. This doctor was much more open with me, and explained some of the problems that the FAA was having with my previous testing. Now I am just praying that God’s will be done and that I will be willing to accept whatever happens. I had applied to be a substitute teacher at the public schools in the area for the spring to earn some money for my classes this fall. I was supposed to go in and finish up the application this next week. But... God had other plans! Just about a week ago I received a call from an old acquaintance from back at camp a few years ago. He is the head dean at Highland View Academy in Maryland and asked me to be the assistant dean for the spring semester (in 2 weeks). Before teaching in Belize I would have definitely said no cause I don’t work well with teens. I’m not as comfortable around them as with kids. But! Working in Belize with a bunch of young adults (18-33) made me feel a little more comfortable working with them. Anyways! Long story short, I talked to the principal, sent my resume, and was called and asked officially to come be the assistant dean there within 3 days of first talking to the Dean from the academy. They even said they would pay me a little bit each month and room and board would be free! I accepted, knowing that I would have to leave within the week to make it out there in time for classes. I let them know that if the SDA Union in Colombia gets back to me, I will be heading to Colombia at the end of April to lead another church building project, and even though they weren’t super excited about me missing the last month of school, they accepted. They also offered me a chance to go on a mission trip with them in March to India if I can get the money to go. So! Turns out this Saturday night I will be driving out to Maryland to be the assistant dean. I also just received an email from the principal asking me to teach classes for a month for a little extra money. I also have to find a physical therapist out there to keep working on my leg while I’m there. I have had contact with a few church members in Colombia asking me to come down and build about 3 churches right now. However I’m trying to work with the SDA Union to establish connections so that I can continue to build churches down there. But it takes time when you work with big organizations. I’m hoping that soon my connections will let me know where they want me to build the next church. That's all I can do at this point, and keep waiting and praying to see if this is God's will! I applied for camp and if I get the job I will most likely work there. I can't wait for another chance to work with kids and just create good friendships and be a positive influence. After camp I hope to head straight to Oshkosh International Pathfinder Camporee in Wisconsin. So looks like I will be heading to Maryland for work, potentially India, potentially Colombia, then back to Michigan for the summer. Followed by working at Oshkosh, and the rush back for fall classes in Michigan. It’s funny how when I came back from Belize I really only knew that I would be having surgery and I was interested in SMAT. But, only God knew everything else planned! I wouldn’t have believe any of this if someone had told me I would be an assistant dean or teaching a class for high school students. But God has some cool plans! I see that God has amazing plans! He has also helped me have more faith in him. Looking at all these plans, it's a lot of money! A lot! More money than I’ve ever made. But God has shown me time and time again that He always has a person, or a plan that will cover the things I need in order to continue serving Him. A couple weeks ago I was thinking about money again, knowing that I would have to put $500 dollars down to be registered for the mechanics program at SMAT. I knew I had about $700 dollars in my bank and just told God that I’m ok with surviving the next few months on $200 if that’s His plan. That afternoon I was heading out to a Bible study and received an email from Southern Adventist University (where I attended college for 2 years). Their accounting office sent me an email saying that they had taxed some of my food bill wrong from the second year I was there, in 2015-2016, and that I would be getting a check for the error. The error was only about $170 dollars. Before knowing this, I had already accepted that I would be surviving on limited financial reserves, and decided not to worry about it and just keep pushing forward in faith. It was awesome how God gave me that faith and then let me know that He had it in control by just throwing a little bit more help my way. Who looks at finances from 3 years ago at a university? God just has the craziest plans. I’m so blessed! God cleared my ear infection just for my flight, and just in time for my surgery. He provided money just to let me know that He is in control of the situation. And He gave me this job at an Adventist academy, where I can influence the youth for the good, also giving me a job where I can make a little money to go towards my classes! So! Off to Maryland I go! I will try to get back to posting every month so I can share more about how God provides and takes care! Thank you for the continued support and prayers.