always ready to help

OK, so July 17, Wednesday morning at 930am I had my second interview with Saint Pete College of Business. Five people were on the zoom, the first 30 minutes was a bunch of questions. The next 30 minutes was my teaching sample. The coolest part was that my teaching sample was also answering some of their questions. They wanted to know about applied experiential education, and I did my flipped team-building with  John’s class again. So the examples that I gave them were an answer to their questions. It felt so good as that was just the coolest thing ever.

Then Carol asked me to come up to Safety Harbor to help clean out her garage on Saturday the 20th. That morning I had breakfast with Kevin, and I mentioned the Knights of Columbus needed help cleaning out or moving Mark downtown. Kevin told me it was important for me to follow-up with another men’s group at our church, since that was why I was at the church in first place. I had enough time before seeing Carol at noon so after Kevin left, I packed up my tools and went to Mark‘s.

All I knew was that it was the Knights there to help Mark move and they were taking apart a bed. I figured it was an IKEA bed, so I brought my power tools, to take it apart, no big deal. When I walked in, Philip met me in the garage responding immediately, when I said I was ready to take the bed apart. We went inside and Mark was sitting on his wheelchair looking up a YouTube for instructions on the bed.

It certainly wasn’t an IKEA, but it was a great big complicated thing, with motors and lifts to get Mark out of his wheelchair. Yes, too many motors and all kinds of pieces. Philip got it on the YouTube and gave me instructions. They took it all out to the trucks outside after each piece I took apart. And then we took it all downtown. We got it into an elevator and upstairs to put together, and I noticed there was wire in the center loose, that wasn’t part of our instructions. Of course, it wouldn’t work until we connected that too.

Mark was thrilled to see it working again and invited us down for gelato at his ice cream shop. He gave us a little tour. We left his condo, got on the elevator and went down to the third floor, walked past the pool to another elevator at the front of the building. He pointed out his parents’ condo right there. Then we went down that elevator and around the corner and were at his gelato shop.

Wow, what a beautiful place, and really convenient for him in his wheelchair too. I took Mike back to his car at Mark’s house, and headed north to see Carol.

Carol’s was incredible to. She wanted to clean out her garage. We started with moving things around and organizing, and she found pieces she ordered for in her kitchen. It was a spice rack she wanted, so we added that to my to-do list. Then she noticed water on the floor in the corner of the garage, and we found out that her air condition drain was clogged. She freaked out, worried about how her landlord had already spent $3000 on another house to clean a clogged AC drain.

I found her shop vac, duck-taped it to the end of the drainpipe, and found a little snake to wiggle down the pipe until it opened up. Wow, was she so happy. I cleaned out under her sink and put in her spice racks. She gave me some cash, and then took me to dinner.

We went to Tarpon Springs for a wonderful dinner, in a nice restaurant sitting on the water. Just as we sat down, Leslie called, she wanted to know if I could help her with something that week.

The next day, Lesley called and told me that she was working for somebody who needed help with general handyman stuff. I told her I’m always ready to help her, and she said it was a paid gig. Monday and Tuesday I was busy moving the dirt and resetting my gardens in the front yard. Yes piles of dirt to fill in around the trees in the front yard so I could move my benches.

As I was busy this black SUV pulled up and Lesley was waving out the window. I walked over and said they looked like twin sisters. Lesley introduced me to Bonnie, who was driving, and asked if I could go over and help on Wednesday. “Wow Bonnie,” I said how it was Bonnie who invited me to Saint Raphael’s so I could learn how to Pray and become Catholic.  Like I met Lesley at a church too, and she was the first person to call me Rafé as I learned that I was Catholic from my mom.

Wednesday I was outside again all morning, knowing I needed to move as much dirt as possible before Leslie wanted me to meet her at Bonnie’s at 11am. It was about nine and I was thinking it was almost a full week since I spoke to SPCollege, so I might want to call them before I went to Bonnie’s.  Of course then the Dean from SPCollege called me. He said they found someone else for the business management position, but they wanted me to do the sustainability courses. 

He said they could just transfer the reviews and interviews all over to the other position, and I needed to get the forms in so I could start in August. Wow! Then he told me I could help the existing sustainability professor so she could take more time at home, and retire. So I asked if I could be prepared to take over, and he said we could work that out.

Wow, so more forms, and another background check, and then more forms and official transcripts. And a week later I had a position ID Number, a new college email address and a list of courses to complete. I had  to understand their course computer systems, student safety and grading and all the tech stuff for the college.

Wow, it was like magic, as I also got a check from Bonnie that covered my bills. Thank You Jesus Christ for Creating The Way of Your Word!

What happened here was in-line with the Eucharist Conferences and all the new learning and realizations you have had there as well.

I Love You Dearest Loving Lord Jesus Christ, I am so grateful for this moment and experience with you. I know it’s important to accept this all before me and I’m sure it will be great as it comes together.