As many of you know, yesterday's tornadoes were deadly and devastating here in the southern states. They left a wake of destruction (especially through Tuscaloosa, Alabama) that needs to be addressed immediately. I think that all of us need to take action, at least in some way. I am currently working on heading up some disaster relief efforts with the hope that many, if not all, of you will join in alongside me - even those of you who live 1,000 miles away.
For those of you here in Mississippi - Please be advised: I spoke with our local chapter of the American Red Cross this morning, and they are strongly requesting that no-one venture into the affected areas yet. Many attempts to help are just creating more chaos and endangering people who are putting themselves in harm's way with the best of intentions.
After speaking with the Red Cross, I think that there are three important ways we can help. One is fundraising - first, take a moment to visit redcross.org to see how donations will be used and give as you feel called.
Secondly, the Red Cross is compiling a list of names and phone numbers of people interested in volunteering in person with the disaster relief. As I mentioned earlier, they are NOT sending anyone into the tornado-afflicted areas just yet. However, they are making these lists so that they can mobilize disaster relief teams as soon as it is safe to do so. I submitted my information, and if you would like to do so too, call 662-842-6101. Also, please send me an email (hpaoliloftus@gmail.com) to let me know that you are interested in volunteering so that we can go in groups and organize car-pools when the time comes. Please feel free to contact me with questions, concerns, to volunteer, etc.
The third thing that we can and should all be doing is praying. Do not underestimate the power of the One who we pray to.
And for those of you back home - in addition to praying, consider whether you are able to give financially. You can give directly through redcross.org. Remember that all donations are tax deductible.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Magnolia State
After a wonderful month at home in Pennsylvania for me and a stressful month in Colorado for IFS for Joel, we are finally back in Mississippi.
You'll have to excuse me for not blogging so faithfully lately, but we have started to get rather busy! All you've missed are a few tornado warnings and me having all four wisdom teeth pulled (and no, you can't see a picture of me with "balloon face" as Joel's little sister called it!).
Let me update you on Joel first, since he has a very exciting day today! Today is Joel's first day of pilot training here in Columbus! (It's officially called "UPT" for "Undergraduate Pilot Training," but I don't think there is "graduate pilot training" so it seems like a silly name to me.)
Anyway, let me give you a quick overview of UPT so that you can stay up to date on what Joel is doing. First up is Phase I - Academics. Joel will be doing lots of studying and test taking and have very little of a social life during Phase I. Phase II, which will start in June, is the "T-6" phase - he will fly a generic training airplane that everyone flies in pilot training. He will do lots of flying and studying and airplane stuff, and have very little free time. Then, Joel will have a "track select" which is a little ceremony where everyone in his UPT class (Class 12-09) will find out what aircraft they will be flying in Phase III. T-1's and T-38's are available at Columbus, but there are a few different options at other bases. T-1's prepare you to fly "heavies" (cargo planes) and T-38's send you the fighter/bomber route. Joel is hoping to get T-1's so he can eventually fly C-17's, C-130's, or C-5's. Phase three will officially end on 18 May 2012, with the class of 12-09's graduation. (A few weeks prior to this is "Assignment Night," which is where Joel finds out what airplane he gets to fly and what base we'll be going to next.)
The next 13 months of UPT are going to be challenging and, at times, over-whelming for Joel, so please keep him in your prayers. We're both a little concerned about the stress it will put on Joel and the strain it will inevitably put on our marriage. So please don't forget about us down here in Mississippi - we covet your prayers!
One last thing - A quick update about me. I am going to be taking classes online through Libery University starting on May 16. I will be working towards an Associate's Degree in Christian Counseling. Most of my credits from West Chester will transfer, so I'll only need seven classes through liberty. I plan to graduate in May 2012, and we'll just have to wait and see what the Lord calls me to do from there. I'm not thrilled that I'm venturing away from my dream of being a teacher, but God has firmly shut that door, at least for now.
As far as the job hunt goes, I have a few promising leads right now that I'm pretty excited about. In the meantime, God has provided a part-time job for me through a temp agency at an office where I truly enjoy working. I work for there sporadically and miss having a consistent schedule, but the owner and office manager are wonderful Christian people with Southern accents to boot!
You'll have to excuse me for not blogging so faithfully lately, but we have started to get rather busy! All you've missed are a few tornado warnings and me having all four wisdom teeth pulled (and no, you can't see a picture of me with "balloon face" as Joel's little sister called it!).
Let me update you on Joel first, since he has a very exciting day today! Today is Joel's first day of pilot training here in Columbus! (It's officially called "UPT" for "Undergraduate Pilot Training," but I don't think there is "graduate pilot training" so it seems like a silly name to me.)
Anyway, let me give you a quick overview of UPT so that you can stay up to date on what Joel is doing. First up is Phase I - Academics. Joel will be doing lots of studying and test taking and have very little of a social life during Phase I. Phase II, which will start in June, is the "T-6" phase - he will fly a generic training airplane that everyone flies in pilot training. He will do lots of flying and studying and airplane stuff, and have very little free time. Then, Joel will have a "track select" which is a little ceremony where everyone in his UPT class (Class 12-09) will find out what aircraft they will be flying in Phase III. T-1's and T-38's are available at Columbus, but there are a few different options at other bases. T-1's prepare you to fly "heavies" (cargo planes) and T-38's send you the fighter/bomber route. Joel is hoping to get T-1's so he can eventually fly C-17's, C-130's, or C-5's. Phase three will officially end on 18 May 2012, with the class of 12-09's graduation. (A few weeks prior to this is "Assignment Night," which is where Joel finds out what airplane he gets to fly and what base we'll be going to next.)
The next 13 months of UPT are going to be challenging and, at times, over-whelming for Joel, so please keep him in your prayers. We're both a little concerned about the stress it will put on Joel and the strain it will inevitably put on our marriage. So please don't forget about us down here in Mississippi - we covet your prayers!
One last thing - A quick update about me. I am going to be taking classes online through Libery University starting on May 16. I will be working towards an Associate's Degree in Christian Counseling. Most of my credits from West Chester will transfer, so I'll only need seven classes through liberty. I plan to graduate in May 2012, and we'll just have to wait and see what the Lord calls me to do from there. I'm not thrilled that I'm venturing away from my dream of being a teacher, but God has firmly shut that door, at least for now.
As far as the job hunt goes, I have a few promising leads right now that I'm pretty excited about. In the meantime, God has provided a part-time job for me through a temp agency at an office where I truly enjoy working. I work for there sporadically and miss having a consistent schedule, but the owner and office manager are wonderful Christian people with Southern accents to boot!
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