The Alliance

This whole part-time, temporary and/or short-term work has turned out to be pretty awesome and also, the jobs I have sound really cool. Or maybe I'm just a nerd? As of this morning, I not only work in a cave but I also work for The Alliance (First Alliance Church, the Christian Missionary Alliance, that is). Cool, right? A cave and The Alliance. The newest job is as the Thursday/Friday receptionist. It's a lot of the old administrative church stuff I did back in Korea but I'll have people directly overseeing me and I won't be fully responsible for things, just getting my part done...nice. It's great to be doing some mindless and semi-mindless work for a while. Since I'm still tutoring two days a week (two different people), I get to use my brain and creativity there, plus I'm sure I can find some ways to be creative in the mundane work as well. I think it's easier to be creative in the mundane since it doesn't take much to make it exciting.

From Monday-Wednesday, there's the potential of being called to the cave and then Thursdays and Fridays I have guaranteed work at the church. This means each month I'll make enough for rent and gas money and another monthly bill (something like internet or water or electricity). It's such a blessing to be assured that I have work, at least for a while...(the cave and church will likely keep me until I leave).

What's most amazing is I went into my old job a week or so ago to help with training (volunteer). I went in to answer questions and we reviewed why we do some of the things we do. In the beginning we always share prayer requests and pray. As I shared why we do it, I mentioned that one of the main reasons was for encouragement since the team will be on the phones that evening calling people to thank them for donations to our school and/or pray with them. The other main reason was that these prayers get answered!! And yes, that's encouragement in itself but it's a reminder of the fact that we aren't just talking with these people to comfort them but we're praying for them because we've witnessed so many requests fulfilled and often quickly! My prayer request was for opportunities for work and BAM within the week not only did I have leads but there were follow-ups and interviews and doors were closed and new, better ones opened and I got what was needed. How amazing! I definitely miss that team and serving with them, but I know they're in very capable hands and that they will continue to touch many lives. It's so great when God allows you to see fruit from things you've poured into and then to be reminded of God's faithfulness in it...awesome stuff.

That's been my last week and it seems this week will be way busy. It looks like Monday through Thursday will be nearly full workdays and Friday we head out for a friend's birthday weekend out of town. It'll be nice for a mini-vacation after my first full-ish week of work. I hope to do a real craft from start to finish or to cook something exciting but we'll see...I'm definitely going to have to focus in on that and it looks like this blog will truly represent the extent of my time to spend doing crafty things.. At least I have plans for Ginger Snaps for the trip (will be my second attempt...the first was amazing!).

Have a great week, my 1 or 2 readers...I hope to update on the jobs and whatnot as I begin them this week.

the Cave

Yesterday I had an interview in a cave for a short-term, part-time job. Yes, a cave! Apparently some guy saw this giant limestone cave and figured it'd be a great water company and storage facility. I'll be helping in the document storage part, getting papers ready for scanning...pretty mindless and awesome! The boss is super nice and even lived in Missouri for over a decade. I forgot to ask him when we had the interview about the dress code so I emailed him...he said he was glad I asked and that I should dress comfortably since it's a cave and we don't see clients, just each other. AWESOME!! The thing about seeking temporary work (only plans to be in KY for another 15 or so months) is that I don't want to have to go out and buy new clothes for part-time, minimum wage work and well, fancy clothes are uncomfortable. God has provided some cool opportunities to make a bit of money. This next week I should hear back from another job interview I had last week but with tutoring and the cave, we'll definitely survive.

I'm still trying to get this blogging thing into my usual routine. This past week I actually attempted chicken and dumplings (and had success twice!). I had to work quick so I didn't get to take any photos (also, I didn't really think about it because this blog thing is still new). I was shocked at how easy it was to make! I just used the carrots and celery I had in the fridge. I boiled water and dropped in some chicken bouillon cubes (one cube per 3-4 cups of water) and then some frozen chicken (boiled it all until it seemed done). I added some thyme, rosemary, basil, and a bit of pepper and salt (add the last two at the end when you can taste it). Since I didn't have most of the ingredients for the dumplings I just did Bisquick ones (recipe on the side of the box)...when the chicken was done I pulled it out to cut up and while the pot was less full, I dropped in the bits of Bisquick dough, cut the chicken up into pieces and tossed it back in...about 10 minutes later on a reduced heat, it was all done! The first time I made it, I was finished from start to finish in about 45 minutes.

That was my week...I have a wedding to go to today and lots of typing work to get done, then church tomorrow and more typing. Fun times!