Going to Birmingham!!

This is Birmingham's Children's Hospital!

IT'S TRUE! Well, 95% True. I've been accepted to go to Birmingham by the U of C side of things, now i just need to be accepted by the Birmingham side of things. They've taken students for the past several years, so it shouldn't be an issue. I just wish the good blokes in Birmingham would realized how much i need confirmation that i am in fact going in 11 months! I'll leave January, 2008, and i need to be back in Calgary to graduate in April. I need to spend a minimum of 8 weeks full time at the Hospital.
It's a HUGE opportunity, one that i'm completely surprized by! My mom is excited, but Dad is a little choked. Daddy's little girl and all that. But England is better than Africa...for now. Birmingham's Children's hospital, here i come!
Here's the catch: I need to pay for the plane fare, room and board, AND the course itself, which is about a grand. And tuition next year. And the damn hospital cancelled 4 of my shifts...i was supposed to work 7 in a row! I needed that!
What i actually need more than that is to TRUST that the money will come in. TRUST that the scholarships i apply for will come in. TRUST that i'm going to get a job this summer as an undergraduate nurse, and that i'll get full time hours for 3 months (good thing there's a nursing shortage!) I need to Trust God in all of this.
It's 11 months away...what do i need from you? I'd love comments on the following two things:
1) Creative Fundraising techniques - Barbara's winning so far, with her idea that i put up a tip jar at my desk in ICU
2) Things to see / Places to go in Europe

See, i'm going to travel while im there. I want to go to at least one other country with Barbara, right now it's looking like Spain! $75 Canadian to go from London to Madrid, which is FRICKIN awesome! I also want to go to either Scotland or Ireland, as Dad suggested, to "find my roots". Marisa, Shandell and Shannon, have toyed with the idea of coming out to visit me too. The more the merrier!

Yes. So that's my news. The biggest news i will have this year!

Update from the Nursing World

Hey All,
So, my name is in the hat for International Nursing. Basically, 60 of us nursing students would love to take our senior practicum next winter abroad. 10 of us will get to go. The options are New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, England, Sweden, Norway, and Qatar. Kenya was supposed to be an option, but due to safety fears, it's no longer open. That would've been option 1 for me, but no dice. As much as i would love to go to New Zealand or Australia, my first choice is England, because their placement is at Birmingham's Children's hospital, and I ultimately want to work with children. My second choice is Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. Third is anywhere in New Zealand or Australia, on any Medical Unit. I know my chances are extremely slim...but i thought i'd post about it, because i still have hope and it's the one interesting thing that's happened in the past week.

I know i want to travel once i'm a nurse, so i'm all over the first opportunity to do so. Though if this doesn't happen, Barbara and i are FOR SURE going to the Philippines together after we graduate! My dream is to travel with a purpose...i had once thought that would be only a humanitarian purpose, after all, i've spent the past 3 years learning how to be a nurse, i want to roll up my sleeves and get to work! And yet, the same speaker as "Sunday, Busy Sunday" spoke extensively about travel for the purpose of education...travelling and visiting the places key in the history of Christianity. i would love to travel through Isreal and Greece and Rome. Another point: in 1900, 10% of the Christians in the world lived outside the Western World. Today, 10% of the world's Christians live IN the Western World...The world has literally been turned upsidedown. What is going on with the rest of the Church? THAT'S what i'd also like to see.

A few friends like to tease me, that i'll be living at home forever, and that you'll always be able to reach me by calling my home phone number. I picture this house being home base for my travels, and my answering machine will sound like "Hey guys, i'm in Nairobi, Kenya, fighting a malaria pandemic and setting up a treatment center for AIDS victims, but you can leave me a message, and i'll catch up with you when i get home in 7 months!" {PS, please visit my family, they likely miss seeing you around, and Skuzzie will need to be bothered}


Note: the preceeding hopes and dreams are subject to change if a boy should enter the scene.

Note to above specified boy: get ready to travel!