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God bless us, every one!
By Kate | December 23, 2007
Hello all friends, family and internet wanderers. Feliz Navidad to all.
2007 has been filled with happiness & wonderful adventures for the Kelly/Ransom family. We started off 2007 being married, which was a first for both of us. So far, so good. We worked and lived in Provo, Utah until April. We then headed off to Guatemala & Southern Mexico for a belated honeymoon tour. We lived on an archeology compound, which looks pretty much exactly what you imagine in your mind when you hear the two words “archeology” and “compound” together. It was AMAZINGLY, INDESCRIBABLY, INCREDIBLY FUN. The foundation was located in San Cristobal de Las Casas in the Central highlands of Chiapas, Mexico. Neil got to organize artifacts, help digitize them and practice his Spanish. Kate got to work very intensively with the young Mormon girls in the area as a youth leader & volunteer with different agencies, including Habitat for Humanity. We made it to several surrounding indigenous villages, and up to Mexico City. We tasted delicious food, met wonderful people & bought a lot of tacky Mexican handicrafts.
Upon returning to the U.S. we crossed the border in Tijuana by foot & met up with Kate’s family in San Diego. It was a fun trip that involved Sea World.
Since September we have been living in Salt Lake City, smack-dab in the middle of downtown. We are a few blocks from the Temple & from the City library. Neil is working for the International Rescue Committee as a refugee caseworker. Last year 950 refugees were relocated to Salt Lake from nations like Burma, Somalia, Iraq, Burundi, Eritrea etc. He helps them transition to life in America from the airport to getting a new job to enrolling their children in school. While it has been interesting & rewarding, case work has made him realize that he wants to continue his schooling. He plans on going to grad school in the Fall, possibly in sustainable development & conservation biology.
Kate works with refugees & also immigrants at the English Skills Learning Center, a non-profit that trains volunteer tutors to help people learn English. She is in a 10 month Americorps position developing a program where elementary schools provide English classes to the parents at the schools. So far she has got 5 Salt Lake schools up and running and the program is very popular with the parents, who so desperately need English skills. She is applying to law schools to enter in September of 2008 (please cross your fingers).
We love living in Salt Lake & are learning all of the interesting & unique places to shop, eat and visit in the valley. We find that most of them are on the west side where all of the refugees live.
We are so grateful to all who have supported us in our endeavors. We have learned much & have much yet to learn. We hope 2008 brings challenges, blessings & new adventures.
May the best times you’ve ever had be the worst you’ll every see!
Love,
Kate and Neil
Tagged with: Adventure • Holidays • Marriage
December 23rd, 2007 at 11:08 pm
Thanks for including me on your Christmas letter list;) It’s great to hear what you are both up to…Keep up the great work you’re both doing in SL…and I will keep my fingers crossed for both of you getting into grad school!
Have a very Merry Christmas my dear! Can you believe we’ve been married for almost a year…in just a few days!
Sarah;)
December 24th, 2007 at 2:36 pm
Happy Holidays! May there be, like, warmth in your…home, or something. You know?
December 26th, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Thanks, Kate and Neil, for contributing to a wonderful Christmas Season!
You can always count on Kate to wear awesome ultra-tacky Christmas sweatshirts and Neil to bring exotic cheeses to the festivities!