Random thoughts

Well, here I am. Back in Iowa. Not much going on. It’s been exactly two weeks since I’ve been back. Not sure why but I haven’t been feeling up to writing lately. I have lots of thoughts and ideas but can’t seem to focus them into an actual blog. There are so many distractions and other things that “need to get done”.

I’ve been thinking a lot about El Salvador and how I’d like to return for an extended period of time. I’ve found that mission work is something I really enjoy doing. I love teaching in El Salvador. I love the kids there. I love learning from the members of the Pastoral Team. They taught me new things every day, often without realizing what they were doing. I love Kathy and her job. Sure, it’s a lot of work. It can be very stressful. It’s emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually taxing at times. But I can tell she’s absolutely in love with what she does. I’m thankful that I got to experience that while I was in Berlín.

I still struggle with what exactly I’m supposed to be doing with my life. I have this perfectly good Masters Degree sitting around and I’m not doing much with it (seriously, it’s sitting in a box in my room). As my grandpa always says, “If you have an opportunity for education, take it. No one can take it away from you.” That’s true. And as long as I keep up on my licensing requirements, I will always be a licensed master social worker (LMSW). Funny, I was really excited to get those letters behind my name, and now that I have them I’m okay not using them.

All in all, I’m glad I went on to get my Masters Degree. I loved to program, the people, the professors, and I learned a lot! Much of what I learned I am able to apply to everyday life and also to my time in El Salvador. I definitely don’t regret getting my degree. I’m just not sure what I’m going to do with it. I’ve often thought about going on to get my PhD in social work or getting another Masters Degree, maybe in anthropology. Not exactly sure what I’d do with these degrees. I just love school. I love learning.

Outside of school, I have found one thing that I absolutely love doing. Teaching in El Salvador and doing mission work there is something I have a passion for. It’s something I could see myself doing in the future for a longer period of time. I’m hesitant to say when or how long in this blog for fear of jinxing anything.

You know the question, “If you woke tomorrow and had won the lottery, would you still go to work?” or “If you had no money issues and could do anything, what would you do?” Well, if I have no money issues and no other constraints I’d catch the next plane to El Salvador. I know at least one person in the US and the youth from San Francisco asked if teaching in Berlín was a paid position. No, it’s not. It’s volunteer work. I paid for my plane ticket, for room and board at the house, and anything else I needed while I was there. And I want to do it again. Would you pay to go to your job? If that was my job, I would pay to do it.

I guess we’ll see what happens. I will remain optimistic, but realistic, about returning to El Salvador for an extended period of time in the near future. That’s an incredibly vague statement, I know.