Friday, December 9, 2011

Part One: I know, I know...

…it’s been forever since I wrote. I promise I have a good excuse. I have a job! Praise God! Truthfully, I have not been as thankful for this job as I should be. I confess this shamefully. So let this blog be one of praise to God as I tell you a little about the job and how it came about. I realize there’s a lot to tell, so I’m going to break it into two posts. This post will be a little bit more about the history of how I got the job and the next about what the job actually entails.
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I work 25 hours at Olive Tree Bible Software, which leases its building from Partners. I was actually first connected to Olive Tree at a lunch hosted by Partners for its tenants. Ironic. From there I had two interviews for two different positions over the course of a month and a half. I received a call from the business administrator offering me a job on the morning of October 28, as I sat in the Spokane airport waiting for a flight to Mt. Hermon Christian Conference Center outside of San Jose, California, for a Partners conference.**
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I was a little taken aback by the call at first because Olive Tree had taken a couple weeks to get back to me after the second interview. Also, the company has doubled in the past couple years, so the position they wanted me to fill had just been created. I knew I had a job, but I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing. There still isn’t a job description, but I’m figuring it out. :o)

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I was traveling down to California with four older women from Partners, and their joy and delight in hearing about my job surpassed my uncertainty. To have Partners people surround me that weekend with enthusiasm about this new job was a great help! God has been so good to me to heal my heart of any hard feelings towards Partners for letting me go. In fact, as I’ve been next door to Partners this past month, I’ve been over for lunch most days to maintain these relationships that God has given to me as a gift of grace.

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The other neat thing was that we had a long layover in Portland. My mom and I had already arranged that she and I would meet at PDX for lunch. It was great to talk with her in person about the details of the job and to eat the delicious lunch she prepared. Thanks, Mom!  After a lovely weekend, I started my new job as Project Coordinator at 9 a.m. sharp on Monday.
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**Quick note about the conference. It was hosted by Partners for current and previous staff and long-time donors and it was a wonderfully celebratory weekend with many staff members from overseas (Senegal, India, Indonesia, etc), who gave presentations on Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning about God’s work in the different areas around the world where Partners works. It was a delightful time of fellowship with Partners staff, past and present. I had several wonderful conversations over meals with older men and women who remembered a particularly influential Partners’ president named Allen Finley. His wife, Ruth Finley, was at the conference.

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One particularly delightful time was on Saturday night. A number of Partners’ staff members were chosen to wear beautiful outfits that Ruth Finley has collected from all over the world in a Parade of Nations. I wore a costume from the Philippines with HUGE gold earrings. So fun! Here’s a picture:

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