Jessica Update

Hi everyone (my cousin thinks I should start these letters with "Dear Christians of the Western Hemisphere..." but since you're not all IN the western hemisphere, that won't work)

Just wanted to send out a quick update. I finished psychiatry on Friday, and although I must admit that it was not nearly as bad as I'd been afraid it might be (thanks in part, I'm sure, to all the people who were praying), I'm certainly glad to be done with it. And now I have 2 weeks off from school, and am going to make it as much of a "summer holiday" as you can in 2 weeks. Gone are the days of galavanting around the world for 4 months at a time during my time off, but such is life (and soon enough I'll be doing plenty of galavanting again!).

I just have one more little "hurdle" before I'm officially free and on holiday, and that happens tomorrow when I write my US licensing exam. I can't believe this time tomorrow it'll be over, but I'm sure looking forward to having it behind me (one down, and several more to go - I'm not even going to try to count right now). I feel reasonably well prepared, and am just trusting that since I felt it was God who initiated the whole thing, He'll help me get through it, too. It's a long exam that will take the full day, so if you get this in time, please pray for endurance.

Then over the next couple weeks, I'll be doing several little things - camping, spending some time in Muskoka (that's cottage country for all you non-Ontarians) in a resort that was covered by some air miles that I have from my previous galavanting life, catching up with friends, going to the dentist and optometrist, all sorts of things. And I certainly won't be opening any medical books for the next couple weeks. I'm praying that it will be a refreshing break, and that the Lord will give me renewed vision and grace for the next several months.

I start my family medicine rotation on August 15, which will begin with 1 week in the emergency room, and the other 5 weeks with a community physician. Should be another rotation that moves at a slightly slower pace than some of the others. And not too long after I get back into the swing of things, it'll be time to start working on my applications to residency programs, but that's a subject for another e-mail.

Thanks for all your continued prayers, support, and encouragement.

Jessica