update

Happy Halloween everyone!  Stephen and I celebrated by dressing as burritos so that we could get free burritos at Chipotle.  This consisted of putting some foil on our bodies, and that's about it (to look like a burrito wrapped in foil...although mine was pretty minimal ;)).  Spontaneously, half of Allelous decided to go so we had a festive time with a bunch of our community-mates. 


And now I'm stuck in for the evening working on two papers.  But at least I get an extra hour tonight!  :) 

I have a part-time job now assisting a physical therapist/counselor in her home office about five minutes from our place.  I had my first day this week and I enjoyed it and the woman I work for.  It's a really nice, relaxed environment and super flexible- two great aspects of a job while doing grad school. 

Stephen had two interviews last week- please pray that he gets a yes to both interviews!  We will update with details when there is news.

We are missing all our friends and family- it's strange to be away from home but still in the states.  I've been realizing that I'm glad I did Fuller part-time the past several years so that we're only required to be here for 15 months.  Although we do really love it here so far- all that is missing is...YOU!

We are excited that my grandparents will be at their place in Palm Springs soon.  We look forward to Thanksgiving and a weekend away.  And we hope to get to Stephen's grandparent's in Arizona soon.  :)

This week and next I'm in an intensive course called "Poverty & Development" and it is DEFinitely intense.  Not only the pace but also the subject matter.  I'm really excited to learn all of it.  It's completely applicable to what I did in China last year and my internship at World Vision this past summer.  The professor is Bryant Myers, the "guru" of Transformational Development (with a Biblical worldview).  I read his book Walking With The Poor before I went to China and studied his teaching at SPU.  He worked for World Vision International for 30+ years and is a walking encyclopedia of first-hand development knowledge, skills and experiences/stories.  I'm really thankful that one night in Japan the thought popped into my mind to see if there were any internship opportunities at World Vision US in Federal Way- because sacrificing pay for the experience this summer is proving to be fruitful in many ways, including helping me tie all that I learned there with this class, with my previous experiences abroad and with refugees in Seattle.  I'll be taking more Development courses this year - like Conflict, Relief & Refugees, along with Research Tools & Methodology.  

The two other courses I'm in are:
-Church & Mission in a Global Context
-Current Trends in Islam

Anywho, there's an update on my academic life!  

I'll write more about what I'm learning...someday when I don't need to be writing papers. :)

-Jill