i had a great few days of visiting chrysalis (the name of the therapeutic boarding school) in eureka, montana. the owners/directors gave me a thorough tour of the school, the local town, and the surrounding area. one better not blink when driving through eureka or you’ll miss it! it’s a quaint little town, located in a valley and surrounded by mountains in basically all directions. i had lots of discussions/interviews with the directors (who are also the owners), ate meals with the girls/staff, played soccer with the students, went on a long walk with one of the owners and her dogs to see several lakes in the area and to chat about chrysalis, and the other owner took me flying in his personal plane! he loves to fly and has a small plane that he parks at the local airstrip. he flew me over the campus, the town, and then we flew along the river that boarders glacier national park. so beautiful. most of the peaks are already snow capped. i didn’t take many pictures since after all it was a job interview, but i snuck in a few   

the owner's plane that he took me up in

sporting the headset

viewing glacier national park from the plane

glacier national park (notice the black dot on the top left corner. it has been on my lens for several months and shows up in the pictures. bummer)

the result of the quick trip was that i was offered the job; after talking with family and friends, i have decided to accept the position. in others words: i am moving to montana! i am really excited to be one of the case managers at chrysalis and i couldn’t imagine saying no to this opportunity. my main role will be to serve as liason between students/parents/therapists and to do informal counseling and relationship building with the girls. i will also be spending the night in one of the student houses two nights a week, which will be nice for spending extra time with the students. and i will get to be a part of weekly “adventure days” which include hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, canoeing, etc. and…i will be the girls’ high school soccer coach! i am especially excited about this. we will play other therapeutic boarding schools – how awesome is that?! and i will get to be an assistant running coach of sorts. and…can you tell i’m excited? i know it won’t be easy, but i am thankful that not only is the job search over, but that i found a full time job that seems like a great fit. FYI: they asked for a minimum of a 2 year commitment, so let me know if you want to visit montana some time in the next few years!

i have a lot of logistics to sort out in the next 2 weeks…such as buying a new car, finding housing, packing up my life, and more. i plan to drive out after thanksgiving and start work december 2nd(ish). thanks for being interested and for your prayers during this job searching process.

did i mention that i’m moving to montana?! it’s still soaking in…

i just got home from another day of working at GAP kids & baby. i am often pleasantly surprised by the diversity of shoppers at the aurora outlet mall. working the register tonight i met people from germany, ireland, brazil, argentina, kuwait, and south africa (!). it is usually people visiting family or friends or business men who are in the chicago area for a conference. i think that diversity is a beautiful thing and it’s nice to meet people from around the world in between folding onesies. it is moments such as these that i am reminded of how much life happens in the mundane, and how i can choose to find joy in the mundane if i allow myself. i may work at a mall, but i am not a “mall person” (whatever that means). but, it can be fun to people watch. i like to wonder what a person’s story may be. why is he buying baby clothes? is she drinking starbucks coffee for pleasure or because she’s had a long day and needs a pick me up? is that a mother and daughter shopping together? call me crazy but my mind can take me a lot of places. at least it helps pass the time.

i’m flying to eureka, montana tomorrow. let me back up…a while ago i applied for a case manager position at an all girls therapeutic boarding school. i eventually had a phone interview and the school called me on tuesday night saying they would fly  me out for in-person interviews, for me to see the school and meet staff/students. while i’m not sure what to expect, i’m thankful for the opportunity to further consider this position (ok, and i’m a bit nervous about the whole idea, too). we’ll see how things go. eureka is just five miles south of the canadian border in the northwest corner of montana. i fly into the glacier national park airport where i will be picked up. i’ve never been to montana so i’m looking forward to the trip regardless of what the outcome is.  be back on tuesday…

was pleasantly surprised by the illinois football team on saturday – they pulled out an exciting win against michigan! glad i got to be there with family to witness it.

ready for the game & enjoying the beautiful ginko leaves in the backyard

the marching illini half-time show is not the same without the chief

post victory picture

s'mores with family and friends after the game. lekker.

spent the weekend in texas for my cousin kelly’s wedding. it was a beautiful wedding and fun weekend with the entire hermann side of the family. my family, grandpa, and mavis went to a drive through wildlife viewing/zoo the morning of the wedding. it was nothing like actual game drives in africa, but it provided some legit entertainment. you even got to feed the animals – it was quite comical (and we felt bad for the animals because it was anything but natural).

family picture at the wedding. it was an outdoor wedding - suhweeeet.

all of us hermann cousins

the sign says it all

the ostriches would literally stick their heads in the window; they had clearly learned that cars meant food.

grandpa had just fed this zebra

i love fall – beautiful colored leaves that crunch under your feet, warm apple cider, caramel and nut covered apples, pumpkin flavored goodies, fun mittens and scarves, and an intangible buzz in the air as big holidays draw near.  it would be a wonderful time to go camping, but the duties of life are calling (aka: getting a more full time job). i’m trying to see all my friends in the suburbs in case i end up working somewhere else, plus it gives me an excuse to embrace the many things i love about fall! i single handedly drank an entire gallon of apple cider in less than two days. oops.

i was not familiar with this worship song until we sang it at the church tara and i attend.  it is by jeremy riddle (a vineyard artist). i appreciate the lyrics and view them as an honest prayer. it is titled: “full attention.”

May Your voice be louder
May Your voice be clearer
Than all the others, than all the others

May Your face be dearer
May Your words be sweeter
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

Please keep my eyes fixed on You
Please root my heart so deep in You
Keep me abiding, keep me abiding
Keep me abiding that I
Oh, that I might bear fruit

May Your presence be truer
May Your presence be nearer
Than all the others, than all the others

May Your light burn brighter
May Your love go deeper
Than all the others
Than all the others in my life

had a great weekend in the netherlands with martijn and sytske. we spent an afternoon in amsterdam and then drove to their hometown where we spent the rest of the weekend. it was special to spend time with them after not seeing them for two years. we talked a lot about our time together in south africa and they introduced me to several lekker dutch snacks. after a two hour train ride, eight hour flight, and three hour drive today i am home in champaign.

sytske and me. and a boat.

pofferties. basically small pancakes that they put butter, powdered sugar, and syrup on. this qualifies as one of those lekker dutch snacks.

enjoying the pofferties with martijn

martijn and sytske surprised me and made arrangements for hendrik and dieuwke to join us for an evening (other dutch volunteers at YfC in south africa). felt like old times.

i’m currently in the joburg airport waiting to board my flight to amsterdam.  crazy that my visit to south africa is over. looking forward to spending the weekend with martijn and sytske – i have not seen them in two years (since i was last in south africa). 

sala kahle...