Well, the "unemployment projects" were short lived. Why, you may ask? Well, its because I got a job!
I just finished my first week working at Raven+Lily, an ethical fashion company that sells jewelry made by co-ops of women in India and Ethiopia. The jewelry from Ethiopia is made from melted down bullet casings to make pieces like the beautiful craftsmanship you can see below.
If that's not a picture of redemption, I don't know what is. And on top of that, the women in the co-op are all living outside the city in an HIV positive community. What an amazing group of women to be supporting...
I was honestly really worried that after leaving Sseko I wouldn't be able to find a job that I felt was meaningful to me. I had psyched myself up to be okay with a typical desk job or waitressing or something else I wasn't particularly passionate about. I was pretty seriously doubting whether or not that kind of working experience would come along more than once... But it has and I feel so blessed. And not only that, but I found my dream working situation in less than a month! That just doesn't happen.... It has seriously been amazing to see God's provision in my life.
A few months ago my post-Uganda life felt like one big question mark, but slowly the blanks have been filled in..... the last few very quickly. The same day I got the job with Raven+Lily, I also became a small group leader for College Young Life at UT.
I've never done Young Life before, but I heard they needed more leaders and felt like this was the perfect opportunity to be involved in the lives of some freshman girls. That was one thing I did really miss when I lived in Uganda.... I was the youngest person in my friend group and everyone was in their 20's. There wasn't any older-pouring-into-younger going on anywhere... so that was something I had resolved to make a priority when I moved back to the States.
With all these blanks filled in and no more remaining question marks, I'm really starting to feel settled into my life in Austin. Even though I miss Uganda, I really feel like this is exactly where I'm supposed to be. And I'm really loving every minute of it.
