I have to admit that I was caught off guard by Advent this year and the opening strains of O Come, O Come Emmanuel a couple Sundays ago. This in spite of sitting in and listening to the Duke Chapel Choir rehearse for The Messiah which they were preparing to perform. Ironically Advent is the time of preparation for Christ's birth – a more than surprising event in and of itself and yet here I was surprised by the very thing that is supposed to prepare us for December 25. Odd, but so timely. As I have experienced the past four months since moving here, I have become even more thankful for the experience of the past year and a half. Thankful and aware of the ways the God has held me well and continues to hold on to me. Yet as I have walked through discouragement, ambivalence and loneliness (all byproducts of moving to a new place and searching for where I fit…building new relationships, looking for work etc.), I have found myself wondering what is going on? When are you going to break through with the answer, God? (Whatever the question is!) I am desperate for Christ's incarnation this year, desperate to have something moved within me, desperate enough to have even pulled out an old daily Meditations of Advent devotional from years ago off the shelf so I can prepare and glean all I can from this season that so often becomes a season of madness here in this country and around the world.
It has been an interesting three months since we last posted. For Andrea, it has meant plunging back into the world of academics – papers, reading, research, group projects…intense…busy…long hours and not too much else. She has enjoyed getting to know her classmates and the wealth of wisdom they bring from their experiences around the world.
While Andrea has wished she had more time on her hands, I have found myself on the other end of the spectrum. It has been a time of hurry up and wait as I have applied for various positions in the mental health field and outside of it. The primary challenge and hurdle has been attempting to get licensed as a professional counselor here in North Carolina. Though I am licensed in Washington and have taken the National Counseling Exam, North Carolina does not have reciprocity with any other state so I have had to apply for licensure here which has been somewhat frustrating to say the least. Long story short, I began the application process as soon as we moved here in August. It took some time to gather my references but eventually I sent off the completed application in mid-October. Three weeks later the licensing board sent my whole application back with the note that all the forms had changed on October 1st (even though there had never been any mention on their website of this coming change!) 'Please start again' – including gathering all new references! Well this was somewhat disheartening but I rallied and my references graciously rallied and resubmitted what they had to do very quickly. Two weeks later the board sends me a letter saying my application is incomplete and missing a particular form EVEN though I had made a copy of everything before I sent it off (again) and there was a copy of this form in the copy I had kept. Now I was a little more distraught as I knew time was ticking. The board only meets quarterly and their December meeting was the following week – so I emailed, faxed and mailed another copy and waited. This past Monday knowing that the board had met last week but not knowing if they had reviewed my application, I called to inquire. The person I talked to said that no the board had not reviewed my application as one of my reference letters had not arrived in on time – ironically it was a reference from two hours away and there is no reason that it shouldn’t have been there with plenty of time except…who knows why. The bigger issue is that the board is saying that the hours of my first two years of counseling experience can’t be counted as they say my supervisor at the time had not been licensend long enough. Well they are partially right, prior to 2001, counselors weren't licensed in Washington state - they were certified (todays equivalent of licensure!) and my supervisor had been certified for many years prior to her supervising me.
It has been an interesting three months since we last posted. For Andrea, it has meant plunging back into the world of academics – papers, reading, research, group projects…intense…busy…long hours and not too much else. She has enjoyed getting to know her classmates and the wealth of wisdom they bring from their experiences around the world.While Andrea has wished she had more time on her hands, I have found myself on the other end of the spectrum. It has been a time of hurry up and wait as I have applied for various positions in the mental health field and outside of it. The primary challenge and hurdle has been attempting to get licensed as a professional counselor here in North Carolina. Though I am licensed in Washington and have taken the National Counseling Exam, North Carolina does not have reciprocity with any other state so I have had to apply for licensure here which has been somewhat frustrating to say the least. Long story short, I began the application process as soon as we moved here in August. It took some time to gather my references but eventually I sent off the completed application in mid-October. Three weeks later the licensing board sent my whole application back with the note that all the forms had changed on October 1st (even though there had never been any mention on their website of this coming change!) 'Please start again' – including gathering all new references! Well this was somewhat disheartening but I rallied and my references graciously rallied and resubmitted what they had to do very quickly. Two weeks later the board sends me a letter saying my application is incomplete and missing a particular form EVEN though I had made a copy of everything before I sent it off (again) and there was a copy of this form in the copy I had kept. Now I was a little more distraught as I knew time was ticking. The board only meets quarterly and their December meeting was the following week – so I emailed, faxed and mailed another copy and waited. This past Monday knowing that the board had met last week but not knowing if they had reviewed my application, I called to inquire. The person I talked to said that no the board had not reviewed my application as one of my reference letters had not arrived in on time – ironically it was a reference from two hours away and there is no reason that it shouldn’t have been there with plenty of time except…who knows why. The bigger issue is that the board is saying that the hours of my first two years of counseling experience can’t be counted as they say my supervisor at the time had not been licensend long enough. Well they are partially right, prior to 2001, counselors weren't licensed in Washington state - they were certified (todays equivalent of licensure!) and my supervisor had been certified for many years prior to her supervising me.
So now I am waiting for the next hearing in March! Hopefully by then I will have been able to appeal and explain the situation so that the hours from my first two years count. Without these hours counting (even though I have been licensed and working as a counselor for almost a decade) I won’t be able to counsel here in this state unless I complete those hours again. I have a job offer from one counseling agency but I can't work until I am licensed. Ironically this has all been happening at the same time as I have been hearing about the demise of Sound Youth Counseling where I worked for seven years back in Tacoma. Needless to say it has been discouraging and frustrating and the reason behind my comments above. I/we would appreciate any wisdom, insight and prayers any readers may have regarding this whole situation.
Moving on to more pleasant topics…It hasn’t all been school work and frustration. Together we have been able to experience a few fun activities including exploring a state park (photo to the left and also at the top of this post) literally five minutes away from where we live with my parents when they came to visit in October, going to the State Fair with one of Andrea’s classmates where Andrea indulged in a deep-fried cheeseburger – one of many deep fried delicacies available! A couple weeks ago we visited the Duke Lemur Center which has the largest gathering of Lemurs in the world outside of Madagascar. There are over 200, maybe 300, prosimian primates at the center including the 
Lemurs from Madagascar, Lorises from Asia and Bushbabies from Africa. This is also where the TV show Zoboomafoo was filmed and is definitely worth a visit if not in person then at http://www.lemur.duke.edu/ (If you do visit, don't forget you have friends close by!) We have also taken advantage of Duke’s music, theater and dance performances which allow students to buy tickets to shows for only $5 each. This is an incredible deal and has allowed us to see some amazing performers from around the world. Highlights included Diane Reeves with Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo, Pianist Murray Perahia and a concert recording of The Hallelujah Train featuring Daniel Lanois, Brian Blade, Brady Blade Jr, Buddy Miller and several others. If you check my Facebook page you’ll see that literally every Friday and Saturday in October was a concert. Amazing and a little too much all at once!
As Andrea has been meeting many people through school, I have had to take some initiative to meet people so I have become more involved with Duke Chapel, teaching a junior high Sunday school class (figured it was my time to give back after all the people who volunteered for me over the years!) and joining a book group where we have read Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution. I have also been spending some time with International Students Inc. and their group on Duke’s campus.
And that brings you up to date in a general sort of way. We actually haven’t been able to venture too far away from Durham yet due to Andrea’s school schedule but soon we will be driving to Nashville for a couple days to meet up with a former coworker and to track down all the superstars there! Trying to get a little ‘tender Tennessee’ Christmas spirit. We’ll be back here for Christmas and have a few more posts in mind including one about three famous pigs! Stay tuned. Stay warm (unless you are in the southern hemisphere)! (Photo to the left - the cute but a little creepy Aye-aye at the Lemur Center complete with long bony middle finger that rotates 360 degrees!)
Moving on to more pleasant topics…It hasn’t all been school work and frustration. Together we have been able to experience a few fun activities including exploring a state park (photo to the left and also at the top of this post) literally five minutes away from where we live with my parents when they came to visit in October, going to the State Fair with one of Andrea’s classmates where Andrea indulged in a deep-fried cheeseburger – one of many deep fried delicacies available! A couple weeks ago we visited the Duke Lemur Center which has the largest gathering of Lemurs in the world outside of Madagascar. There are over 200, maybe 300, prosimian primates at the center including the 
Lemurs from Madagascar, Lorises from Asia and Bushbabies from Africa. This is also where the TV show Zoboomafoo was filmed and is definitely worth a visit if not in person then at http://www.lemur.duke.edu/ (If you do visit, don't forget you have friends close by!) We have also taken advantage of Duke’s music, theater and dance performances which allow students to buy tickets to shows for only $5 each. This is an incredible deal and has allowed us to see some amazing performers from around the world. Highlights included Diane Reeves with Russell Malone and Romero Lubambo, Pianist Murray Perahia and a concert recording of The Hallelujah Train featuring Daniel Lanois, Brian Blade, Brady Blade Jr, Buddy Miller and several others. If you check my Facebook page you’ll see that literally every Friday and Saturday in October was a concert. Amazing and a little too much all at once!As Andrea has been meeting many people through school, I have had to take some initiative to meet people so I have become more involved with Duke Chapel, teaching a junior high Sunday school class (figured it was my time to give back after all the people who volunteered for me over the years!) and joining a book group where we have read Shane Claiborne’s The Irresistible Revolution. I have also been spending some time with International Students Inc. and their group on Duke’s campus.
And that brings you up to date in a general sort of way. We actually haven’t been able to venture too far away from Durham yet due to Andrea’s school schedule but soon we will be driving to Nashville for a couple days to meet up with a former coworker and to track down all the superstars there! Trying to get a little ‘tender Tennessee’ Christmas spirit. We’ll be back here for Christmas and have a few more posts in mind including one about three famous pigs! Stay tuned. Stay warm (unless you are in the southern hemisphere)! (Photo to the left - the cute but a little creepy Aye-aye at the Lemur Center complete with long bony middle finger that rotates 360 degrees!)Duncan
Posts
2 comments:
Hey, Duncan. Andrea Oleson Ide's husband Andy, here. It's been awhile since we crossed paths at your wedding and then at a Mars Hill internship fair way back. I was just reading your bit about trying to get licensed in NC--what a nightmare! That scares the crap out of me when thinking of ever moving anywhere. I'm inching toward licensure here in WA, hopefully next summer. I have briefly looked into trying to get licensed either in Indiana or in Missouri and the answer that I get is basically that a Mars Hill degree is not recognized by either state, and WA licensure is no substitute. So, a PhD would have to be the route to go. I'll be eagerly tuning into your saga and seeing how it pans out. I definitely think that the Mars Hill Alumni Office should be tracking with people's travails and seeing if there is any help that could be offered or changes to the program made that will make future licensing easier. I know that MHGS has some deep connections in NC, don't know if there's any string-pullers in that lot or not. Take Care.
Hi. Just read this one too. I will pray for you. I'm good at that..when I think of you, I'll just pray for both of ya'll, but also for your paperwork. March is less than 7 weeks away.
Post a Comment