SO...here goes!!

As some of you may know, I have been searching for my calling for several years now, and have not yet found my niche. After graduating college with a Bachelor's in Psychology I have waited tables, worked at Starbucks, taught snowboarding, recruited nurses, etc. but nothing felt like "it".

This year I have felt like God has been calling me to give up control of my life and let him lead me and use me where he wants me to be. I have been praying nonstop and have really struggled giving over this control. As some of you know, I tend to be a bit of a control "freak", and this has been a true test of faith for me. Well, God is full of surprises, and let me tell you, I was not expecting that God's plan for me would include the Army, but again, surprises!

So it is official, I have enlisted in the United States Army, and will be shipping out for BCT at Fort Leonard Wood, MO on August 5th. The MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) that I have chosen is 35W (Electronic Warfare Signal Intelligence Recruit). This is considered a "feeder" position for two more specific specialties, 35P Cryptologic Linguist and 35N Signal Intelligence Analyst. I will attend 9 weeks of Basic Training, followed by 6 months to a year of Language training, then another 12 weeks or so of AIT in whichever of the two positions I get fed into. Once my training is complete I will be using to Language skills to interpret signals, translate intercepted messages, recode data, and keep the Army informed on enemy activities and plans.

This is a great opportunity, and I am really excited about the challenges and rewards that I will encounter over the next years. There are two main things that I would really appreciate prayer for. The first is my DLAB (Defense Language Aptitude Battery) test. This test determines my ability to learn a foreign language in a short amount of time. I am scheduled to take it next week, either Wednesday or Friday. The better I do on this test, the higher level languages I will qualify to learn. The two languages that I want to learn the most are Chinese and Arabic, which consequently are both Level IV languages (hardest level to learn.) I need to make a 100 out of 176 on the test in order to qualify to learn either of these languages. The second thing is my clearance approval. In order to continue my training and work in either of these MOS I have to receive Top Secret Clearance with Special Access Privileges. This is a really difficult clearance to qualify for, and some of you may be contacted by a gruff man in a badge asking all kinds of questions about me, so no, I am not in trouble with the law, and I am not on the LAMB or anything like that! :-) My clearance can take up to 2 years to receive, so prayer for this process would be greatly appreciated!

Okay, well this has been a pretty long post, but thank you for your patience and for your support! I love you all and look forward to telling you more about this new adventure!

Next post: MEPS (Military Enlistment Processing Station), or what I like to call, The Army's Introduction to Hurry Up and Wait!