The List . . .

My last post ended with a reference: "Wherever . . . I teach . . ."
Within that single word "wherever," lay worlds within worlds of opportunities and adventures, all pulsating within me, but legless and bleeding . . . waiting to be lived out.

And some was birthed, "The List . . . "

I have always been a dreamer. It drives my parents mad . . . and my closest friends all just laugh . . . because they know that it's only to be expected that if I'm talking about starting health-care clinics inside of Section 9 housing in down-town Seattle one day, it's only expected that I would be speculating about how to lobby for more specific objectives in US foreign policy for food in the Sudan the next week, and the week after that dreaming about my life in the Sudanese refugee camps, and the following week chatting about starting schools for women in Afghanistan and then teaching them the Bible over tea in my house.

It's a wonder that I ever sleep . . . because each of my ideas is fully researched and played out in my head. As I said before, it only naturally drives my parents nuts . . . and they're always reminding me, "Hannah, God has a plan for your life . . . trust Him!" And I always following with the quip, "I do trust God . . . but He never told me not to DREAM!" And I can't help it . . . it's like telling the clouds to stop raining over Seattle. How silly! They'd never be able to get over the mountains if they didn't drop they're load right in our laps.

So over Thanksgiving break, I made a list. It's exclusive . . . only covering the things I've dreamed about since September (i.e.: the last three months). Some of them are more in depth than others, but for the sake of brevity, I will not extrapalate on any of them. It's just a reminder for the days when I feel restless and stressed out. Those are the days I feel dreamless. Dreaming is, for me, a stress-release. (Unfortunately it has the opposite effect on my poor dear mother)!!

1) Finish my masters in Ed. here at NU while teaching in the area
2) Start a masters in English or TESL at UW while teaching in the area
3) Seminary at Nairobi Evangelical School of Graduate Theology in Kenya
4) Seminary at JETS (Jordan Evangelical Theological Seminary) in Jordan
5) Move to Chicago and teach down-town while living with Ric and Jody and doing Seminary at Wheaton
6) Working at New Horizons in Seattle while finishing my master's at NU. Continue building relationships with the women there . . .
7) Moving to Turkey and teaching English
8) Moving to Japan for the JET Program
9) Moving to Afghanistan with Rosa to teach at one of her schools, or again to teach English to women and then invite them to learn Bible at my own home . . .
10) Moving to LA to live close to my little sisters, and teaching in an LA high-school
11) Moving to Portland and teaching there, to be close to my brother and sister-in-law (and soon coming niece or nephew, fingers crossed!!)
12) Moving to Bethel, Alaska and teaching in the rural school district up there to pay off loans while living close to Charly and Roger, Alessandra, and Vanessa.
13) Moving in with mom and dad and teaching English either at my old high-school or at a school in Tacoma.
14) Moving to Ecuador to teach English.
15) Moving to New York for Masters in International Peace Keeping while teaching in a school there.
16) Moving to Tennessee to intern with IHOP (International House of Prayer).
17) Moving to the Sudan to help establish schools in the refugee camps outside of Darfur in association with WOMF, who I have worked with previously.
18) Waitressing at Desert Fire for long enough to pay off debt, and then back-packing around Europe for a few months before applying for a teaching job back here.

Some sound unrealistic and a bit . . . crazy . . . but what is life without a bit of unrealistic and crazy adventure? I think as far as dreaming, realism is what you make it. In other words, unrealistic is only undoable if you don't work towards it. I'm so thankful to live at a time and in a place where the world is literally my oyster . . .

And as I submit my dreams to the Lord, I am fully confident that He will lead me in the fullness of His glory, to know precisely what it is that He is calling me to and how to get there. I'll just keep moving forward as I pray . . . and trust His shepherding rod to guide me! How exciting to be able to dream with Jesus!