there's nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be

'...and yes I still believe, this New Years Eve, will turn out better than before...'
New Year's Eve. people always seem to reflect on New Year's Eve, on the past year, on what happened, how we changed, etc etc. this year has been crazy. So much has happened, so much change, so many wonderful beautiful things, even in the forms of not-so-beautiful things. I wouldn't want to change anything; everything's that's happened has molded me into now, and I'm not done living yet. That's why life is so exciting. so much is happening all the time, for reasons we might never know, but with God controlling it all and setting things to happen, there's no need to worry.

brothers and sisters, forgive me for my lack of writing lately. I saw many of you recently who mentioned you enjoyed reading from me and so I wanted to now update a bit as to the many beautiful things that have been going on. to attempt to sum up a bit, I received a job at the Naskapi school in Kawawachikamach working in the curriculum department. a big part of that job just involved getting reading materials in the Naskapi language into the classrooms. this was great because I got to use some artistic talents as well. while I had this job I discovered that my third attempt at getting to Korea to teach English had failed; the job I was hoping for was given to someone else. as disappointing as this was, I accepted it as God pretty obviously not wanting me to go to Korea for the year. I settled in to my new job, still living with my parents in Schefferville.

soon after this a high school teacher informed the school board that she had a doctor's note stating that she is not well enough to continue teaching. I've tried to explain before how completely remote this area is; hiring a new teacher is not as simple as placing a want ad in the local newspaper. well, since I have a university degree and I happened to be in the area, they offered me the position. they were desperate and honestly, I felt bad for them in their situation, so I took it. now, I sincerely apologize to all the real teachers out there. the ones I went to school with who studied long and hard on how to deal with students and situations and the techniques of teaching and all this stuff. I never did any of that. I studied art. I mean, c'mon. even I feel like studying art was cheating. while the rest of you took real classes, I got to paint and draw all day. I'm no teacher. so, I apologize and I have to say, I respect you hugely.
well, they immediately plopped me into class with no real instruction, orientation, nothing. just 'go teach!' so I did. and it was tough. it was crazy tough. I wanted to quit quite a few times, but I stuck it out. as for classes, I had a homeroom, then I taught 9th grade English, 7th, 9th, and 10th grade History, 9th grade first aid, 10th grade religion, two 9th grade art courses (my least favorite to teach, as a matter of fact. you just can't teach passion!), and 11th grade college prep. Nine high school classes. and I had no clue what I was doing. at the very beginning I spent practically every spare moment studying things to teach for the next day. I had to learn to change my attitude towards grading (in school I never cared about grades at all), I had to learn how to grade, how to deal with fighting in class and in the halls, how to speak and act with authority, how to grasp kids' attention and get them motivated... all these things real teachers spent 4 years of college learning to do.
I never, ever thought I'd be a high school teacher. even now, I laugh about the very idea of it. but it worked, and I grew and learned so much. it was really quite incredible. and, I began to connect with the kids. that's what matters, not if you can teach cool lessons or get all your grades in early; what matters is just hanging out with the kids, talking with them, honestly caring about what they have to say... and when you've had an exhausting week of a thousand crisis adventures per day, it's tough to make the effort to listen to someone, but you've got to learn how.

during all this I greatly incredibly missed old friends. pretty much all of you who are reading this actually. (I love you.) but, I was beginning to be accepting of the fact that I wouldn't get to see any of you for quite a long time. I planned on spending our Christmas break up there and waiting around for the next semester to start (and to see if the other teacher would come back and if I'd have a job in January or not. everything was very up in the air. still is, actually). however, God's plans are awesome. I am so incredibly glad God makes plans, because they're always leaps and bounds more awesome then anything I could ever come up with.
less than two weeks before our Christmas break started (around the first of December) the guidance counselor at JSMS (that's the school by the way, Jimmy Sandy Memorial School) Jessica, informed me that she would be driving from Sept-Iles to Montreal and that, if I wanted a break from the great white north, I was welcomed to hitch a lift with her and her Saint Bernard. I contacted wonderful Leah (who lived with me at Houghton) and she said she would love to come up to Montreal to visit her cousin's friends around that time and could give me a lift from Montreal to Western New York. The last leg of this adventure fell into place when I became one of the last people to purchase a train ticket on the much over-crowded train from Schefferville to Sept-Iles. I couldn't believe how incredibly beautifully everything turned out just so that I would be able to visit with some wonderful Houghton friends. God is amazing. seriously.

so on December 11th I took the 13ish hour train to Sept-Iles, then rode with wonderful Jessica and her very large dog through scattered blizzards to Montreal (another day-long trip) and met with with wonderful Leah at her cousin's apartment. a night of fun and awesome new friends took place in Montreal, and then the two of us headed south to Rochester, NY (another day-long trip; yeah, it took me three days just to get to the Houghton area) where we stayed with Gina Hooper's family before making our way over to Houghton. such incredible beauty. it was so amazingly wonderful to see so many beautiful brothers and sisters. we only had a few short days but those days were bliss. I love you all so incredibly much.
from there I headed slightly south with my ex/future-roomie Journey to her place in Corning. I couldn't get over how grown-up we all seem: me with my high school teacher job, her with her own apartment, other people we know who are married. I feel like we're just a bunch of kids playing house. we had a few wonderful adventures, visiting Houghton people again (and seeing wonderful sweet Mike 2) and Christmas parties. Leah came to visit and I ended up catching a ride with her back to Rochester for a bit and then down south towards her house near NYC. my brother Nick and our friend Andy picked me up there and brought me to Nick's place in CT, where I was able to see a few old friends as well as family members, have Christmas (my first Christmas away from my parents), and reconnect with my old dusty record player and some wonderful new records (Tom Waits, Elliott Smith, and some awesome Ziggy Stardust). also, I almost got trampled by cows (check out Facebook photos for that fun story. actually, there's Facebook photos of most of these recent adventures, if you feel inclined for some visuals).

now, this adventure keeps getting better and better, and here's where it's going to take quite the incredible turn: Eric Stevenson, a wonderful friend, as I've said before, was the one who first told me about possibly working in Korea, and he's over there right now teaching English. on December 28th (three days ago) he forwarded me a message from the people in charge of his program that stated that they were looking for a handful of people to come to Korea for a few weeks to teach an English Camp. now, as I said, I spent months trying to get to Korea. I applied for three different jobs and got turned down every time. I had such a rough time trying to get over there, and constantly failed. I had given up the thought of getting over to Korea and had begun to accept that it's just not for me right now. then I get this forward. a few phone calls, a few e-mails, a quick plane ticket search and within two days I had a set-in-stone (for as much as we as humans can have anything set-in-stone) trip to Korea. I leave early Tuesday morning. for the other side of the world. on a trip I didn't even know existed less than a week ago. I'm going to Korea! God, and His plans, are so incredibly wonderfully amazing.

so, right now I'm at Gina Hooper's house again, in Rochester. I caught a lift back up here with Leah two days ago so I could fly out of the Rochester airport. tonight we're going to head towards Buffalo for a beautiful New Year's Eve party with some beautiful friends at Ashley Hackett's house, and I really can't wait.
people, brothers and sisters, will ask what my plans are after this. Korea, then what? what about the teaching job up north? how will I get there? what about moving to Corning to live with Journey? haven't I said enough times that plans are just silly? God controls all things. He's showing me that here and now, always. be confident in Him and worry about nothing. 'Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?' tomorrow the birds are already singing. so worry about nothing, but bask in God's beauty. take Love beauties, you are all such wonders to me, to God. I love you all with such a fierceness.
love your sister, elizabeth
pee ess: I miss my kitten.