Foreign Service

What an incredible Spring Break! I spent the week in DC, visiting friends, seeing the sights, etc. But the central event of the trip was my Foreign Service Officer Oral Assessment. If you don't know how the selection process works for this position in the State Department, I'll try to make this quick and clear. It's a multi-step process. The first step is a written exam, given every spring. If you pass that, you get to move on to the Oral Assessment round. If you pass that, there's a security clearance/background check, a medical exam, and an optional language exam. Then, after all that, you get put on an eligible candidate list where you can wait up to 18 months for a position. If 18 months pass and you have not received an assignment, you have to reevaluate your career decision and either start the process all over again or find something else to do.

Last week, I completed and passed the Oral Assessment. Now, I'm waiting for my security clearance to go through. I don't forsee any trouble there, and the medical exam won't be a problem. My next hurdle will be passing the Spanish phone interview. I'll have to practice over the next couple months to get up to speed. That will bump me up on the eligibility list and increase my likelihood of getting an assignment. Otherwise, it's just a waiting game.

I'm really trusting God with the whole process though. I can't imagine that he would bring me this far, with so little effort on my part, for it not to work out. When I first discovered the Foreign Service last January, I had a hunch it was the right job for me. So far, it seems my intuition has been accurate. I can't take any credit for it though; all I can claim is trusting the Lord and following his direction.

More than anything, I want God to be glorified in this. I want his will to be done in my life. If it means not getting an assignment, then I just know there's something better for me. I am always amazed at how easily and smoothly things work out when I stop trying to do everything myself and just surrender all to God. He answers my prayers and gives me peace. What more could I need?