Aaaand.....MACAS it is!

     Last week I was tossing Guayaquil and Macas back and forth. This week, I'm no longer in question, praise God! On the same day (ain't God cool?) I found out Guayaquil wasn't going to work, I got my official invitation to Macas!

     I had been leaning to Macas for a while, which is really humorous to everyone in my house. Macas was the place I was totally against from the start. "I'm NOT going to Macas, I don't teach, That's the last place I wanna go" so on and so forth. God has a sense of humor, doesn't he?
     I've been spending lots of time on Skype with Robin and Wendy, the missionaries in Macas, answering questions of theirs and asking mine. The more we talked, the more I kinda wanted to go to Macas, then the more I absolutely HAD to go to Macas! Haha So here's the plan:
     Officially, I'll be leaving mid-August so I can get there and get settled before their September school year starts. I'll be working at Emmanuel Christian School/Unidad Educativa Cristiana Emanuel teaching preschool English, along with some Art and Music/Band and tutoring.

      I will be living in a house next to the school with a couple other female volunteers, which is partially furnished and has a common living area, kitchen, and bath. Even though their school year finished in June, I'll be coming home mid-May, since Molly is a senior this year and I gotta be home by graduation.

      Some really cool things that have come about as a result of me picking Macas:
 - I'll have a 'Mississippi girl friend' with me. Totally separate from me, a girl named Laura from Tupelo has decided to go to Macas next year too. She just graduated with an elementary ed degree, and is going to teach 1st-6th grade English. She's going down in late June. I'm hoping she'll sort of scout it out for me so I know what I can buy down there and not worry about packing!
 - It's actually tons cheaper. I know with God, money isn't an object, but it's nice not to have to worry about it! At Guayaquil I would have had to pay for an apartment and furnishings, but at Macas my housing is furnished and it's free if I stay the entire year. I'm basically paying for airfare, food, and all the extra stuff like Internet and health insurance.
- The position I'll be filling is what Wendy, the missionary, has been doing for the last few years, so if I have questions or a problem, she's probably going to have a solution.
- The weather! Macas is right between the mountains and the jungle, so it's a Mississippi girl's idea of paradise. 80's and 90's all year, not too many mosquitos, and at the worst it's rainy.
- The town of Macas is not as big as Guayaquil, so it's much safer, especially for a young girl my age. Yet it's modern enough to have American food, grocery stores, taxis, and excellent medical care.

     I definitely want all my family and friends to be able to stay in touch with me while I'm in Macas. I'll have free time most afternoons after school/tutoring and most weekends, and they have internet access at the school and houses. I'll be keeping up with Facebook and my blog, and I have Skype if you want to actually talk to me.
     Skype, if you're new to the concept, is about the coolest thing ever invented. The app/program is free. I have it on my iPhone just for like phone calls, or you can hook it up to a computer and webcam for video chatting. You put like $10 of minutes on your account, and talk FOREVER. I mean it. I've talked for like two hours to Ecuador, and my balance is just $9.93. Seriously, what international phone plan can beat that?
     Anyway, I'm so excited! Can you tell? Haha If I happen to catch you in person, I'm liable to talk your ear off if I catch you unaware.
     Pretty please pray for me in the next couple of weeks. My orientation with Global is the first week of June, and now that I have my 'place' I have to start sending out support letters. So, check your mailboxes everybody!