{i am by no means wise}

Long story short, I'm not going to Virginia. Maybe next year....
Long story long, over the past few weeks though I have been back and forth on what to do next. One day I'd think about leading the Real Life teams with AIM, the next day I'd think about costuming and where that could lead, the next day I'd think about packing up and moving to California to see what would happen there. I had finally had about a week in a row where I thought about nothing but costuming, so I started to move in that direction, making travel plans to be in Williamsburg, VA for the costume character audition at Busch Gardens. I was going to drive down, I had found a super-cheap but nice hotel to stay in, I even looked at the park from Google Earth to see if I could find the specific entrance I would need to use. (What? I AM a details person.) Everything seemed settled... but I didn't make the reservation for the hotel. I ended up having a conversation with my mom about stuff happening in the family, and it made me think about the reasons I had been excited to come home from Nicaragua in the first place. Not that I always love my family or want to be around them, but that in a sense they need me. I don't doubt that God could bring someone else, or multiple someone elses, to fill in the role that I would be leaving by moving, but I believe God wants to use me here, so why am I trying to abandon that? Why not submit and see exactly what He's going to do with me?
I stayed up for a while last night just listening to good music and hanging out with God, and He finally gave that confirmation I was searching for. I'm staying in PA. No, I don't know for how long. Yes, I realize that Chocolate World isn't exactly on the same professional scale of costuming as, say, Walt Disney World or Sesame Street LIVE, but it's what I've been given for the moment. And so here I am.
I'm not giving up on the costuming, though. After family, church, and work, I'm planning on spending my extra time this year at the gym and in dance classes, training so I'll be more prepared for next year's auditions. Or sooner than that if God happens to surprise me with some cool opportunity... who knows? I'll be keeping my eyes open. But everything's still getting covered in prayer.
So that's what's up. For the moment, my mission field is here in PA. I can spend some time with my family, hopefully have a chance to volunteer around the area, kick out more of my student loans, and maybe even start that retirement fund after all. :) And since I'm confident that I am where God wants me to be, I'm excited to see what happens around here. I don't believe it will be too boring if God's in it!
{and there's a possibility of sharing an apartment closer to work with a friend from church. maybe...}