7/30/2019 Powell Family Christmas Letter
1/1
2012what an amazing ride! From Rays 6-month Afghanistan vacation
to
Brads topsy-turvy voyage into college, theres been plenty of
excitement.Rich moved into a new position as the lead ESOL teacher
at Salem
Elementary, while Gaille continued the tradition of the
Powell
kids being more computer-nerdy than their parents.
Brad was accepted into Carnegie Mellons Electrical
Engineering program on a full AFROTC scholarship after being
rejected, wait-listed, denied a waiver, and enduring a
half-dozen other
disappointments too complex to recount here. In short, the grace
of God and the kindness of strangers
availed much, so that he now has a great appreciation for the
opportunity he has before him. Now the
hard partCMUs a tough school!
Well, of course 2013 will be another one, with the big move to
Hanoi still on the
docket for July. It appears Ray isnt yet ready to retire, and
hes now two months into his
language training, which serves daily to remind him of how
little he understands of it.
There are all the moving stressors: what will the house look
like, how will Gaille do in her
new school, and how will Salo survive in a place where he is
considered a delicacy? Still, wed
be lying if we said we werent excited about this next
adventure!
Okay lets just open with the factthat I have no idea what to
type for this lett
Other than the rocky-hillside tumble into m
sophomore year of high school, this year wapretty calm. With Dad
gone at Afghanistan for half of t
year, I cant say thats not surprising. Not that I didenjoy my
lazy summer, no, that was pretty
good. However, I didattend a very muchenjoyable summercomputer
camp thatconsisted of a 21:3boy-girl ratio. So tosay that an entire
camp of web designinanimation, computer games, video games, an
much more is my perfect camp is understatement. Sophomore year
isnt too bathough it did get a little harder. I am enjoying mAP
class more than last year and can say thatam doing better in that.
This Christmas wfilled with jokes and surprises as well! I
canexpress how great it is to be blessed w i tsuch an amazing
family. Heres to a
2013 filled with growthand love!
elpha is back in the
Philippines for another
visit with her husband and
two sons. She hopes to be able
to bring them here early in
2014. Please pray for her as
she and Corky complete their job
training (nursing), and as she seeks
a good living situation after we
leave for Vietnam.
GailleMail
Relphamilia
Aside from about a dozen
occasions when I thought
the world was going to end
(that one a couple days ago doesnt
count), this year was great. Obviously, first and foremost
came my high school graduation and entry into college. Those
took up the
beginning and end of this year, in between which stands this
thing called Summer,
which I wont discuss since nothing really happened during
that time in reality (if you want to hear what happened in
my
video games, I can type you up an exhaustive report later).
The
latter of the two is more important. Ive just finished my
first
semester at Carnegie Mellon University's Carnegie Institute
of
Technology as an Electrical and Computer Engineering major.
Its evidently one of the hardest majors at one of the most
rigorous engineering schools in the world, and after a
semester of what can only be described as Hell in plaid, I
cansee why. Despite that, I made it through and am looking forward
to a great four
years of college. Ive also officially joined the Air Force as a
ROTC cadet at
Detachment 730, and so far, Im really loving it. Sure, it adds
to your workload
and you have to get up at 4:30 in the morning, but Ive met great
friends and
Ive really been learning a lot. My life isnt all work though. Im
part of CMUs
robotics club, and I still write fan-fiction in my spare time. I
was introduced to a
great church and Intervarsity Christian Fellowship. Plus, yes
there is
occasionally time for video games as well. It helps that
Ive made a lot of friends who share the same
interests. Looking forward to 2013!
Braduation & Beyond
12906 MacNeil Ct
Fredericksburg VA 22407
(540) 786-1884
[email protected] (Ray)
[email protected] (Rich)
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.philippianjailer.com
Editorsnote:
Agreed!
(Yes,shedid!)
