The Long-Abandoned Blog!!!

It's that time of year again when the cooler weather causes me to hunker down and, consequentially, to update my long-abandoned blog!!!

Let's start with Kentucky. In many ways it is exactly what I thought it would be--there are rolling hills and horse farms just a stone's throw from my back door. People are friendly. There is at least one radio station devoted solely to bluegrass music. And it snows in the Winter!!! (Yay!!)

The beautiful country road I take to work in Wilmore

Stone bridge and fall colors in Wilmore, KY

My neighbor, the horse

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In other ways Kentucky surprised me with it's up and coming urban charm in North Lexington. There are some funky cafes that fit the Portland or San Francisco mold, and a real grassroots community feel there.

Check out North Lime Coffee & Donuts facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/northlimelex

This image is taken from http://www.lanereport.com/17011/2012/12/north-lime-coffee-and-donuts/

Mural at Third Street Stuff and Coffee. Their facebook page is at: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Third-Street-Stuff/160449913970762

I am doing my practicum in this part of the city this year at a community development program where I get to work with an amazing and diverse group of kids from Kindergarten through 12th grade. In short, my studies and practical work experiences through Asbury's MSW program have been really great and I am getting more and more anxious to graduate this Spring and to put my skills to work in the professional realm.

As I look toward graduation I am excited (and, to be honest, a bit overwhelmed/anxious) by all of the career/vocation possibilities. Ever since I attended a year of Torchbearers Bible school in 2007/2008 my heart has been inclined toward international missions work (I can't say it enough--Torchbearers is awesome; it changed my life!! Check out all their cool opportunities here: http://www.torchbearers.org/). My studies in social work have only continued to ignite my passion for diverse populations. At this juncture, it is my hope that I can gain a few years of social work experience while praying about taking some of those skills abroad as a missionary in the future. I don't fully understand this sense of missional calling in my life, but I am willing to seriously consider the reality of long-term missions over the next few months and years. I hope that those of you who are reading this blog will join me in praying about my vocational call to social work and missions.

Thanks for tuning in! I will try to update this thing more regularly in the future!