Yay. I have a new job. Its only 12 hours per week, but those are 12 hours that I can count on. Lately, I have been working about a 40-hour work MONTH, usually not knowing day-to-day what I will be doing for income. Most recently work has been a combination of childcare and cleaning as odd jobs have become available.

I have come to understand in a much more practical way what it means to pray for my daily bread. I have been so desperate for work that I can now feel genuinely grateful for the opportunity to clean someone else's toilets. Sometimes. And sometimes I can feel confident that God is paying attention to my efforts to be faithful in the small things, even though this all feels very confusing. (Then at other times I can feel frustrated and sad and hopeless.) Fortunately, there has been plenty of grace available to me through all of this, plus the support and love of this beautiful community. So I am hanging in there.

This new job... Last week, I showed up to work for Laura who occasionally hires me to clean. After a couple of hours, she had me stop cleaning so that I could sit down and drink a latte with her and her friend Sophora. We talked for over an hour, and before the end of the conversation, Sophora had hired me to spend time with her two year-old daughter Sophia. Sophora is Persian, her husband is Austrian, and they just moved here from Switzerland two weeks ago. So little Sophia speaks only German, but she also understands English, French, and Farsi! Sophora is able to stay home with her daughter, so each day when I arrive, we sit down and talk over coffee for a half hour. She is a beautiful person and a devoted mother, and I love spending time with her. Then I get to play with Sophia at the apartment, the playground, or the pool. She is an extremely intelligent and charming child, and I am so happy to have the opportunity to teach again after so much time. I think I really love teaching the English language. Its hard to believe that I am being paid so generously to do something this enjoyable! God provides...

I am still doing everything I can think of to pursue a teaching position for this coming school year. Right now its hard for me to imagine something coming together in the next three weeks before school starts, but it is certainly possible. Time will tell... Either way, I've decided to be content.