GOOD NEWS!

Yup - you can all exhale now...I officially passed my dreaded board exam! (Maybe it's just me that needs to exhale.) The exam itself was quite painful, I have to admit - I certainly didn't want to do it again. But due to God's good grace, I can rest easy that it'll be at least 7 years before the next one.

Thanks for caring, and praying, and wondering along with me.

Now - off to work.

T minus 24 hours...

If there ever was a time to pray...it's now. For those who are inclinded to beg for mercy - my Board Exam is at 10am tomorrow and should be over in approximately 7 hours.

Any begging and pleading is much appreciated...

PS: the picture above was taken in good ole Halfway Oregon!

Home Sweet Home

We are so blessed to be living under this roof. It is only by our Lord's provision that we are here and we love it. So - for those of you in far away states and far away lands - here is our humble abode.
You are welcome anytime.

This is the self-guided tour. The laundry room is my favorite place and the roses in the kitchen window are from the front yard!









This is where you'll stay when you visit!

Buechner was right again....

Approximately 2 months ago I walked into a 3 story grey office building with paint under my fingernails, bags under my eyes and a confused excitement in my heart. I sat in the beige office of man I had never met, wearing the few pieces of professional clothing that I could find and talked with him about my journey to and away from PA school, why I was in his office and what it was he wanted from me.
About 3/4 of the way through our time, he asked whether I valued relationships and if I felt that I was a relational person in my core - because the work that went on in this grey office building and within this beige room - was highly relational.
And that's when it happend - I didn't want it to or surely didn't expect it - but I had to pause for a moment because a lump was stuck in my throat. I began to explain my passions, my love of and frustrations with medicine - and even my relationship with Christ. And tears welled up in my eyes without fully understanding why.

I lay in bed the other night, reading from Listening to your Life - and was reminded that it was in that moment - when my eyes welled up with tears, even before interview #2 or #3 - that I knew it was the work God had specifically designed for me.

'You never know what might cause them...a piece of music, a horse cantering across a meadow, the sight of a high school basketball team running across the gym before the start of a game...But of this you can be sure. Whenever you find tears in your eyes, especially unexpected tears, it is well to pay the closest attention. They are not only telling you something about the secret of who you are, but more often than not God is speaking to you through them, of the mystery of where you have come from and is summoning you to where, if your soul is to be saved, you should go to next.'
- F. Buechner

Pomp & Circumstance

I tear up every time. It doesn't matter who is walking, who gets the diploma or who shakes the hands. The symbolism of the moment tugs at me. So it was no surprise that I was choked up through the entire prelude of the cute bagpipe man in the kilt.

Welcome to the other side of me. This hopefully will be the beginning of more frequent posts about life on the flip side of school, of life under the same roof with Chris, of new homes and new jobs and new friends and a new community that I have the privelage to call mine.

Here's Chapter 1 - Graduation Day

Above - Me with Dr. P
Below are friends Rachel, Leslie & Ashley



Above are friends Cora & Natalie

The Fam

Mom & Me

The party in our backyard!
New Grads - Natalie, Jess, Matt, Me, Cora

Isn't he hot?!!

Belizean Life - Week 1

In case you care - here's some fodder from my 'required journal' that I thought was worth sharing! Hope all is well on Amercian Soil.

…Our red-eye got us into Belize around 11am and then a quick and fun puddle jumper took us to many different towns on the coast before landing us in Punta Gorda. (PG) There was a festival happening as we landed and some crazy Reggae music and funny dancers were making the day lively…. We arrived at the clinic via a land rover-ish vehicle from our pre-arranged contact and were given the lay of the land at Hillside Healthcare. It’s a nice place that clearly has a presence in the community. We had some left-over mystery food from the fridge and traveled to a bar down the street where interesting events happened. Tomorrow should be fun and relaxing as we get ourselves acclimated to the area at a local pool sipping margaritas….

… The day dawned warm and bright per the local weather report but we were sleeping so what did we know. ;-) We slept about 12 hours last night because we were simply tuckered out. We decided to catch some sun at the local pool - “Coral House INN” and sip some ETOH beverages. We called our friend Heinz the Taxi man and he picked us up and into town. We are so glad we arrived early - in time to get our feet grounded, unpack stuff and figure it all out.

…. There is something so wonderful and therapeutic about listening to large wet raindrops pelting the tin roof overhead. The steady rhythm, the obvious hand that nature has in daily life and the obvious control that nature has on our lives - It’s been raining pretty much all day - which at first thought would be quite annoying to me. But really it’s been wonderful - especially since we got our fill of sun and slight sunburn yesterday at the poolside. The rain kept our clinic nice and bearable at a comfortable 75 degrees with no mosquitoes… I think working here will be a GREAT experience and will really push me up to a next level in comfort with my independence. Lunch was provided for us - of curry fish and rice with veggies. We were given a quick road tour of Punta Gorda and a trip to a great grocery store. They even had DiGeornos frozen pizzas and Dove ice cream. No - we did not buy any!

…. I had a great run this morning with cloudy skies and bearable temperatures…refreshing for my heart and soul. Another morning highlight was the cold Mocha Frapuchino that I was able to purchase yesterday from the store - it was waiting happily for me in the fridge after my run and it’s icy caffeinated goodness made me feel comfortable in my own skin again...
We became acutely aware today that we are no longer in the US. The pace of life, the daily choices, the economic depression, the lack of sanitation, the lack of basic needs being met are all staring us in the face - yet ironically and pathetically most everyone and their family has Cable TV. Occupationally - “Home Visits” were the theme for today - providing care for the shut-ins and sick kids who need ongoing care and therapy. It was good to see the folks in their own homes and I accompanied a physical therapist - M - from Canada - we kind of saw patients team-style... Later, at dusk we came to realize that I had no ride home (we’re not in the US anymore) and would have to ride the 5 miles back to my house on a bicycle after dark with no helmet on the Belize highway. I was less than thrilled with this development. But we did have a safe return....

Stay Tuned....

Belize Bound

With great pleasure, dear reader, I announce my plans to leave the country! And it doesn't come a minute too soon. For the last 4 weeks I have endured a difficult road of Trauma - blood and brains and guts and pain. Lots of it.
So tonight I am happily leaving on a Jet plane - to land in a Central American country with 87 degree days and 75 degree nights and some of the best diving in the world. Days will include Clinic visits to quaint villages or in the small burg of Punta Gorda, and evenings include hanging out with other medical students playing cards, swimming and existing in tank tops, shorts and flip flops.
Need I say more?

I'll try to send pictures and notes while I'm there - stay posted!