October 2008

Dear friends and family,
It has been a busy few weeks!

On October 13, I finished a PREP workshop at the Tulsa Technology Center. Co-leader Corine Tripplett and I taught the material over six weeks to an enthusiastic and interactive class. It has always been my perspective that if one person's life is better because of me, I have succeeded, and several couples expressed that they were using the relationship skills we had taught them and that they had benefited from the material. The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative (OMI) has not only succeeded in preventing divorce, but for many couples (including Bobby and me) we're helping couples improve their marriages! As a volunteer, my greatest gift is knowing that other couples will have happier, healthier marriages because of the investment of twelve hours of my time.

My work with Banana Splits implementation has been slow, as many of the counselors and volunteers who expressed interest in the program seem to be over-committed this fall. It has been frustrating, but I know God has a plan and I'm willing to do by best within His constraints and on His timeline. I'm working on a new project for children and families experiencing divorce (details will be announced soon!) so it's possible that my challenges with Banana Splits will lead to creativity and projects! Please continue to pray for God's blessing and guidance in my work to serve children from changing families.

Last night I gave out candy to little princesses, ghouls, witches, Hannah Montanas and several Incredible Hulks and Indiana Jones' last night at the Stillwater Halloween / Fall Fest. The children were adorable and Lauri and I had a great time! I love going to Stillwater. I hope to be back in Stillwater for another appearance soon.

I have the Bethel Foundation Catwalk for a Cause benefit on November 7 in Oklahoma City. The foundation supports single mothers, and I know that my mom could have benefited tremendously from their tangible supports and invaluable emotional support after my parents divorce. Please check out their website to donate and purchase tickets for the Friday evening event.

I'm working on my group report project with friend and peer Kim Adams, working on an often frustrating though rewarding numerical optimization project, teaching, and studying and learning new things in my numerical diff. eqns. course. As you can imagine, my school work and teaching are both demanding and rewarding. I've been taking my work to new levels and improving my ability to communicate what I know. I've learned more about Matlab and programming than I ever thought possible and I'm passing my mathematical enthusiasm on to my students. I love to learn and I'm more confident than ever that my career choice was the right one. I enjoy the work itself -- the problems occupy my mind -- and I admit to being a little distracted -- but when the lightblub finally turns on and I find one more piece of the puzzle, it is all worth it. I love seeing my students' faces light up when they experience the same thing through their studies.

Now the next step...asking for letters of recommendation! It is my hope that the professors that I have grown to admire and respect have a positive impression of me, my work ethic, and my potential academically. Wish me luck!

I better get back to my books now! I'll be sure to write again soon.