Si ya sabes lo que Dios tiene para ti, ¡hazlo! - Beto Mayta
It's time! If not, why not? If not now, when? - Jeff Adams
A million things have happened since my post three weeks ago about finally taking the steps to making the "invisble visible" regarding my original calling from God to be an interpreter. I mentioned finally taking the steps to be a part of MICATA (www.ata-micata.org) and had signed up for their annual symposium. That was a week ago now and am STILL buzzing from it! It was an incredible experience from beginning to end.
When I first walked in I was instantly welcomed and ushered to begin meeting people. After some paperwork and coffee, my friend and I went to the first session wide-eyed with excitement. The first speaker walked us through the ATA (www.atanet.org) and opened up the floor for questions. Great questions, great feedback. After it was over, we met the VP for MICATA and she guided us to the best break out sessions to be a part of since we were new to the organization and new on our T&I journey.
So on we went from session to session...learning, asking, meeting, dreaming and figuring OURselves out! You MUST know yourself and what you enjoy doing, it's for a reason and what you should invest in. In my little experience, I knew that conference interpreting was my greatest thrill, either simultaneous or consecutive, and as each session went on, it was fun to see it becoming more real and more defined. Since I had signed up for it, I had just two simple requests - for God to give me clarity and for Him to provide a mentor/coach if indeed this was the direction He was leading me in. Without a doubt He provided both!
By lunch time I was still on a high and thoroughly enjoyed our speaker as he shared how he became an interpreter. Met more people (remember my hidden agenda of desiring a personal mentor), asked more questions, and went off to the afternoon sessions. One of these was a panel of local T&I agencies. When they each presented, they opened up the floor for questions and up shot my hand. The moderator liked my questions and came up to me afterward to introduce me to some others that could help. In that conversation, God provided clarity in my next step. Since conference interpreting is what I want, and the US doesn't currently have a certification for this specifically, she told me to get certified as a court interpreter and through that I would get on all the "right" lists. All along I had been asking questions about the ATA certification thinking that was the path for me. But, this lady shot that idea down instantly. She has been in the business for over 40 years and has worked in every aspect there is, so she knew what she was talking about. She was one of those personalities that are rough, direct and almost rude, but it was exactly what I needed to snap me out of my love affair with the ATA certificate! :) :) With that, I took off to our final session, hoping I could still get help in directing me in THAT direction now, but most of the attendees had left by then. Since my friend was interested in the court interpreting certification from the beginning though, she had all the information for the next step to take and we decided to go ahead and sign up for the next orientation being held in St. Louis THREE weeks later.
As I was walking to my car, thankful and in awe of my God, and still asking for a mentor/coach, a lady walked by me. By then, I was talked out so I did not take the initiative to engage her in conversation...but she did. Guess who she was? A delightful mentor just for me! :) Our personalities clicked right away! She is from Peru, been in the business for over 20 years, is a court interpreter but also does conference interpreting! She was so encouraging and motivating. She urged me to go for the certification and to even look into a graduate degree in the field that was offered at MIIS (www.miis.edu) located in Monterey, CA. Eres joven, ¡¡¡tú puedes!!! She said this over and over, which I NEED to hear, because even though I'm only 32, I am already struggling with fears that I CAN'T do this! In my last post I mentioned feeling like I could conquor the world when I first knew I wanted to be an interpreter at 19, but now, not so much. :) So, her words were encouraging to me to say the least! She talked with me for over 30 minutes and gave me her cell number so I could call her anytime and even go with her to different things where guests were allowed. So, by the time I got to my car, I was even MORE thankful and in awe of my God for providing the answers to the requests in my heart. :) After all, this is HIS story for me, so why wouldn't He pave my way right!
That evening, I looked up the orientation workshop information and emailed the contact right away about letting my friend and I in even though the registration was closed. And, I looked up the school. They both are coming to pass! They would let us in IF we got everything to them (fingerprints included) ASAP, which we did and are now set to go. Then, for fun, looked into airfares for CA for maaaaaybe one day visiting the school. I found a fare for $165 RT which is unheard of from KC to CA so, without an ounce of doubt in my heart, but praying all along to make sure I'm not CRAZY, I booked a ticked and am off to visit the school THIS weekend! My dad lives in CA so will be spending Easter with him then we'll drive to Monterey to spend a couple days there. The school already emailed me back with my scheduled appointments in every department and with an invitation to sit in on any class I want. Whooooaaaa.
Now, I still don't know what this all means big picturewise. As I take a step, I have clarity on the next step to take, but that's it so far. I have no doubt God is leading me and is giving me what I can handle as I can handle it. :) I'm doing my part in obeying and going with this, no matter what I may understand about it, or what I may fear about it. I AM overwhelmed with excitement though...even the boss said I have a little skip in my step these days. :)
I'm NOT an impulsive girl by any means, but when it's time, it's time! All this may seem like it's happening too fast, but it's not. It's been in my heart from the beginning...it's just time for it to come out of hiding! There is a time to pray and wait patiently and then there is a time to take action! I'm ready!! :)
Psalms 40:1-3, "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD."
Til the next step becomes clear...EK
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| My friend journeying with me, Nadia Sandy, when I spent a summer with her in her native Monterrey, México more than a handful of years ago. :) |
