I'm Unemployed Today

I resigned from my job today. It was kind of unexpected, and last minute, yet something that I had been thinking about for awhile. I spoke with my principal and we cried and hugged, it was very emotional. In the words of Julie Andrews: Let's start at the very beginning:

A few months back, Jason and I started talking about the pull towards ministry. We didn't know what would be appropriate, or what we would do, but we both felt the need to help somewhere. After talking with Jason's grandfather, he mentioned his ministry in Barbourville, Kentucky. Out of his small church of 40 or so members, he serves over 3,000 hot meals a week. He drives all over Kentucky to pick up donated food, and brings it back to the church's small pantry. After talking about it, and finding more details, we found out the need there is tremendous. Many of the areas that the food pantry serves doesn't have running water, or electricity. The pantry is thriving, but could be so much better, with more resources. For instance, one day, the church has to call people in to eat ice cream, because they didn't have enough freezer space to store it! Simple needs, yet with the resources, they are not accessible. We felt what they needed, we have the experience necessary to help and serve.

We felt the call to go. (Ok, so I argued with it a bit...but it soon became very clear we needed to go!)

There are many reason ultimately why this is a better "fit" for us. After our divorce, we both struggled financially, and the results of a divorce are devasting on one's credit. We have made goals to have our loans paid off in five years. A goal we can only accomplish by moving to a place where we aren't "working to survive" and we will actually have that extra money to pay off debts. It's a good feeling to have a plan.

As far as teaching goes, there aren't very many job opportunities ever available in this area. We struggled with knowing what I would do...we prayed about starting a daycare, doing in home daycare, doing at home data entry...all things that would work, but maybe logistics of it all would take some time. Within two days of us deciding we would definitely be going, the job openings in the school district there went from "zero" to about seven available positions! It turns out that a lot of teachers retired this year after 30-35 years of service! It seems as though doors are being open for us. I have applied, and sent my resume...just praying for some results. Would you mind praying for me?

In the next few weeks, our lives will be changing drastically. We are moving to Barbourville, Kentucky on July 16th. I am both scared and excited. I'm sad about leaving my mom and brother here in Phoenix, but know it's what I'm supposed to do. Well, I should say, we know it's what we are supposed to be doing. For the first time, we have goals, and we see a way of accomplishing them. We see a way to serve others in their time of need, which is something we both have always had the desire to do.

It's all happening so fast, and there is so much to share about it all, there are so many opportunities for all aspects of our lives, and we are excited to step out in faith and see what is in store for us.

Thank you all in advance for your prayers and encouragement! Stay tuned for more updates regarding the "big move."

Love you all~