it's been a while

Hi Everyone,

I realize it's been a while since I've updated, but that's due to the fact that everything and yet nothing has happened. That's the thing about life. It keeps moving. And I say "that's the thing" because it's the best part and the most annoying part and the great part and the sad part. It keeps moving.

Well, last thing I said on here about Aberdeen is that I was collecting recyclables, and I still am. :-) I really need to turn in the trunk-full I have so that I can take the growing pile from out my apartment (sorry roommates...I'll take it out soon). If you happen to have any recyclables lying around, I'm still more than happy to take them.

*caveat: the following is slightly stream of consciousness, so bear with me as I explain what's been going on...

Since getting into the University of Aberdeen the focus has switched to finding the money to get there, as you've seen from the lovely donate button just to the left of this post, and the recycling program, etc. But it's also been searching endlessly for scholarships, grants, studentships, etc whose deadlines haven't already passed. Most of the ones I'd found were due back in February, or so. Wish I'd know that then. Then there's the possibility of loans. Do I take out loans? If so, how much? Do I get the loans now and then use what I'm hoping will come from elsewhere to pay them back? Do I find a lender like some information says I need to, or will Aberdeen take care of that for me? Will the lenders, with whom I've already worked, send their money to Scotland? or even cover grad school?
Of course there have been other things to focus on too, such as visa application processes, etc. What does it look like to get a visa to study in Scotland? I need a CAS? what's a CAS? (certificate of acceptance or something like that...) am I already supposed to have that? did Aberdeen send it? did I miss it? did I miss something I was supposed to send to them? Has volcanic ash slowed the mail so that they haven't gotten everything or so that I haven't gotten everything yet? What about housing? Aren't I supposed to get a package about what housing options I have? Oh, you mean no one's gotten their "Joining Pack" yet? So it's not just me? Oh good! So you're waiting too...ok, the rest of the visa application that I can't get to yet, what do I need for that? money? not just an application fee, but proof for all of the tuition? plus proof that I'll be able to sustain myself whilst abroad? are you kidding? I've been able to save how much? when do I find out about the scholarship that I could find? that gives how much time for them to process the visa? can it happen that fast? It's already half-way through May? When did that happen?

*freak out/stream of consciousness that was referenced in the caveat ends here. Below is an explanation.

To sum all of that up: there were lots of things thrown at me all of a sudden - 1st there are few to no scholarships out there that weren't due back before I applied; 2nd to apply for a student visa I need a couple of things, a school supplied CAS number and proof of money for tuition plus "maintenance" (aka: money to live on); 3rd FAFSA doesn't send the Student Aid Report (SAR) internationally - you have to ask for a paper copy, and then send it yourself; and as I read somewhere along the way I was under the impression that before I sent my SAR I'd need to find my own lender, sign an MPN (Master Promissory Note) and send it all together.

After much freaking out and finding out that a lot of what I "needed" to do couldn't be done yet, I prayed. I wish I could remember to do that first. I always seem to forget that part. Because each of the things "thrown" at me look familiar. It looks like God's saying, and this is how it is so Janelle can't boast of doing it on her own - to show His glory in all of it. After I prayed, I tried to trust. Trusting can be so hard for me because I so want to be on top of things and know what's going on and see what's happening. Trusting is letting God be in control like I say I want Him to be.

All of what was "thrown at me" happened in about the span of a couple weeks. But in the matter of about a week, after I let it go to trust, God showed me why I need to pray and trust first: He's got it! I was invited to Virtual Aberdeen Applicant Days (basically a chance, for those of us who can't make it to campus, to chat with students, profs, alumni, etc., watch videos of information, and just in general, a place where they've gathered up a bunch of information for us to look at). So, I went to the website, I followed a bunch of links, I learned a lot of information, I got excited again about the idea of going back to school! And then...I.found.it. I found the page that said that for financial aid, specifically with loans, I could just send my SAR! I didn't need to find my own lender, I didn't need to sign an MPN! I could just send it! That was amazing, and took off so much of the weight I'd tried to shoulder alone. But then with all of the information I'd found, I started wondering if I was the only one who hadn't been sent very similar sorts of information. So, fortunately I had the gumption to ask about it all. Come to find out, because of the new visa system the school hasn't been able to send out any of the "Joining Packs" to new students! So what I thought I had to do was make a lot of quick decisions and keep moving forward, but as I've been learning lately, sometimes waiting is still a part of moving forward. I'd been so busy asking God: how can I leave it to you when it feels like there's so much I still need to do. His answer: "there's not nearly as much that you need to do as you thought, give it to me". He's always reminding me of how amazing He is and how much He loves me.

So, like I said at the beginning, not much has actually happened, and yet, so much has been going on. Life keeps moving. Which is wonderful and difficult.

And finally. I know, sorry, rather long blog, I'm having 2 Nichelle Mysteries Events as fundraisers for Scotland! I'm super excited about them! One will be happening at home (as in where mom and dad are - home) and the other will be happening here! The story is really coming together and it promises to be quite amazing! :-D

Well, there you have it! An update! :D I'll try to not let it go so long in between so the next one isn't so long.

Allons-y!

just sharing a blessing...and a song...

God to enfold me,
God to surround me,
God in my speaking,
God in my thinking.

God in my sleeping,
God in my waking,
God in my watching,
God in my hoping.

God in my life,
God in my lips,
God in my soul,
God in my heart.

God in my sufficing,
God in my slumber,
God in mine ever-living soul,
God in mine eternity.
Ancient celtic oral traditions - carmina gadelica

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

be our guest...

Hello blog-readers!

I figured you're probably wondering why I haven't posted anything in a while...or why I haven't updated you about anything other than my grad school plans and trying to find the money to make them happen. Well you're right. I've been remiss.

There's a lot going on right now, from auditing an amazing class, to having a behind the scenes look at the amazing things God's doing in and through RH Fullerton, to just life. And well, if I were to actually start diving more into each of those, I think I'd go crazy with just too many thoughts happening all at once...But for you, I'm willing to go a little crazy.

The class I'm auditing is "Women Writing the Gothic" and it's been such an amazing class. I knew I'd love it if only because I so dearly loved the other Gothic course I took with this professor. But beyond that, it's been so interesting being a part of the conversations that my fellow students in the class are having. Taking part in thoughtfully reading and academically discussing books that, in most cases, have simply been brushed aside in academia as being sub-par, chick-lit, novels...which only makes me think about the course of study I'm intending to pursue at Aberdeen...sorry I said I wouldn't talk about that this time around. I'd go into more about the class right now, but I think it probably deserves a blog entry of its own. Or several...

On the church side of things...RH Fullerton (the expression of Rock Harbor in North Orange County, specifically Fullerton) has been meeting with evening services since the end of February, and although we may have reached a place where our weekly numbers aren't over-packing our facility, we are definitely growing as a community. It's been fun to see how God has been working in each of the individual lives of the people He's brought together to make up this campus. This week is the beginning of the next phase, and I'm sooooo excited about it! This week we're moving beyond just our once-a-week gatherings! This week is the first week of lifegroup launch! Lifegroups, appropriately named, are the groups where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, and we actually get to start living and caring for each other in a tighter community, as well as reaching out together...where basically, we do life - together. I've been blessed by the relationships I've formed in the lifegroup I'm in, but we've unfortunately dwindled in number. So, this week, we're going to be re-launching! To add a few more to our midst as well as to, say, again, as a group that we're fully a part of this campus! I'm excited, did I say that already? ;-) I'm praying for the people in my lifegroup already and for the people who will come to be in my lifegroup! And I can't wait to meet them!

I'll save other life stuff for another post...but there's an update for now.

allons-y!

friends, romans, countrymen!

lend me your recyclables!

yes, you read that right. I have a friend who is a genius, she suggested another way of fund raising that I hadn't thought about: recycling! So, for those of you who either do or don't recycle, would you consider saving it for me? So I can maybe take another small dent out of the cost of going to the University of Aberdeen? Thanks!

allons-y!
grace and peace

something new!

yes, that's a "donate" button over there. yes, it's new. yes, it's to help fund my trip to Scotland for grad school, and finally yes, you will get something (a token of my appreciation) for donating. To see what it is you'll get you'll have to donate (a minimum of $2.00 for the gift). Any other amount is welcome! :D

Ok, I know this is a little weird, and I feel a little silly having it (the button) on here...but I figure: it can't hurt!

after I added the donate button, I started doing some number crunching and realized that if all of my friends on facebook were able to donate $85, I'd be able to pay for all of the expenses involved with going to grad school in Scotland (aka: tuition, food, place to live, getting there, coming back...). Isn't that crazy! I can't even imagine it! It sounds so simple! Anyway, I just thought I'd share. Thanks for listening.

isn't it funny?

In doctor who this would be ascribed to the latent psychic ability within humans, but I'm not sure to what to ascribe it. However, the very day I posted the last blog was the day upon which I was accepted to study in the M.Lit programme in the Novel at the University of Aberdeen! Of course the letter saying as much didn't reach me until Saturday night, and since I was out of town, I didn't open it until Sunday night, but it just struck me as funny that the day I posted on this blog that I still hadn't heard was the day I was officially accepted and offered a place for the 2010/2011 Academic year! I'm so excited, and relieved to have heard, but feeling rather daunted by what needs to happen between now and 21 Sept. 2010 for me to be able to go. I just want to thank you all for your prayers thus far and ask that you continue to pray for me as I try to figure out how to raise funds and that I continue to trust and lean on God for His peace, wisdom, and guidance in all of this! Thanks again!

Allons-y!!!!!! (apparently to Scotland!)

oops....

Just because the application was out of my hands, I didn't mean to stop blogging for a month...I guess that happens when you're expectantly waiting. Well, in case you're wondering, I haven't heard back from Aberdeen yet. Well, that's not entirely true. I got the initial "we've received your application" automatic-reply email and about two weeks ago I received a more personal email from the International Student Liaison for North America, and today I got the "applicant Ezine" from Aberdeen. So I at least know that they have my information. What I would love is either an email or a letter just letting me know whether or not they like me. Whether or not I can move on with my life, either towards Scotland or towards something else. Ok, well that's enough anxious rambling for now. I'll come back later, but hopefully not a month later, and tell you all about something else going on in my life. :)

Allons-y!