What's Up Next?

Since December, I have been asked the question "What are you going to do after the end of the internship?" This is a question that I have actually been asking myself for a while now, since before the internship actually began. Before I moved to Tallahassee, I was offered two different options after the internship to pray over. My campus pastors at Longwood knew that God was calling them to re-locate and begin a new Chi Alpha on the campus of the University of Connecticut. They suggested two options for me to pray over: I could either take over as the campus director for XA at Longwood or I could go with them to Connecticut and help them pioneer.

I decided prior to moving to Tallahassee that I was going to focus only on the internship for the first few months and not worry about what to do after. It was a difficult decision because I wanted to know what the next step was going to be. At first, I thought going back to Longwood was the direction I was supposed to work towards. I began talking with my internship director and staff, asking for their advice and prayers, but the more I prayed and talked with them about going back to Longwood, I felt that, for many different reasons, it wasn't the direction I was supposed to move in. I felt that I wasn't prepared to take over and be the director of Longwood XA right out of my internship by myself.

I talked with Gil, Lindsay, Mario, and Rhia a lot during the weeks when I was unsure of what to do next. All of them were very supportive of whatever I decided, prayed with me, and left the decision up to me. I knew that God had given me two different options, neither of which were harmful to me, but one would be more beneficial than the other. After a lot of prayer, I decided to go with Gil and Lindsay to UConn. I called Gil to talk with him about my decision. He told me they were happy to have me on board, but wouldn't be ready for me in August. There wouldn't be enough work for me to do because they would be raising support, getting their family established, and getting connected with people on UConn's campus. I talked with Mario next and asked if it was possible for me to stay at FSU for another year. He said yes, they would be happy to have me here for another year.

So, to answer the question, I will be here at Florida State University for another year! I'm very happy and excited for the opportunity to learn more from the staff here and to continue working with the students here. As of right now, the plan is to move to Connecticut next fall (2012) and work with Gil and Lindsay to pioneer and build a Chi Alpha there. As always, I'm leaving the door open for God to change my plans :)