Starting Over

Dave sits for the Foreign Service Written Exam this afternoon. Please pray keep him in your prayers.

This test begins his candidacy in the Economic register.

Dave currently has a 5.6 on the Political register. Calls recently completed for the August class, and they reached 5.7 (15 steps ahead of Dave) on the Political register. They reached 5.5 on the Economic register.

Today's test is pass-fail. Upon passing this test, he will be asked to submit essays - also pass-fail. Upon acceptance of the essays, he will be asked to return to DC for another Oral Exam. This is where he will receive another score, and hopefully be placed immediately upon the Economic register.

He also tried to schedule his Mandarin language test for next week. We just learned that the earliest he can test in Mandarin is August 1. Should he pass, he would be eligible for the October class - the last class of the year. Should he fail, he could not take the test again until February. I think he will choose to postpone the test until November, just before we come home for Christmas.

The political register is literally adding more people than it is draining - possibly twice as many. Many more people are increasing their scores by taking language tests. Dave will sit on the Political register for 18 months, or until September of 2011. Still, as candidates continue to test and to receive their clearances, candidates will continue to be placed on the register. With expected budget cuts next year, the political register looks more and more like a dead end.

Continue to pray for God's guidance as this route looks more and more difficult. We will certainly be in Shanghai for the rest of this calendar year, leaving Dave in his job for at least 6 more months. We are happy here, but Dave's job is not the right place for him anymore.