New Job

In April I started a job as a travel consultant for Alegre Travel here in town. It is the dream job I never knew I always wanted! A few months before I applied for the job, my sister Audrey even suggested I start my own travel company because she knew how much I love travel and the challenge of getting deals and putting things together even for other people. I didn't think I could realistically find the time to do that on my own, so it was a perfect opportunity when the part time job listing came up just a few months later. I have enjoyed being there so much. I look forward to going in every morning. I like my coworkers, I like to learn even more about all the different parts of the world and the challenge of putting together something different everyday to give people amazing experiences and fun. I like to get out of the house for a few hours so I come back refreshed and with more energy and patience to nurture my children the way I want to. I am so grateful for Andy's support and flexibility to adjust his work schedule so I can work even in the summer when the kids are home from school. He has picked up all the extra slack and split his work day into two parts so I can go to work for a few hours everyday. Without him, I wouldn't be able to pursue this passion of mine.

Ever since I was a little girl and went to Guatemala with my mom at age 5, I've wanted to understand and see the different people/landscapes of the world. The culture, poverty, historical sites, and differences between Guatemala and the US made a lasting impression of my young mind and I've never forgotten. I thought I would join an organization that would allow me to travel, serve in orphanages, schools, or medical camps so that I could help people around the world and learn about their lives. In college, however, I made the choice to get married rather than go and study women's poverty abroad in Thailand for nine months as part of a prestigious program I'd already been accepted into. I wondered if I was ending my path to be able to pursue my passion and desire to experience more of the world. Its funny how things work out in the end. Its my marriage to Andy that brought me to La Grande that actually has a "brick and mortar" travel agency in a world where most agencies are exclusively online. It is because of my amazingly supportive, loving husband that my childhood dream is alive and well again. Its a testimony to me that Heavenly Father cares and is aware of even the small things in our lives. My childhood dream may not be significant in the eternities or essential to his plan for me on earth, but he still cared about it and led me along a path to a place where it could be filled. He cares about our smallest worries, hopes, fears and dreams. Sometimes we don't see it right at first, but he is in the details of our lives.