Now what?

Thanks to everyone who's responded to my posts on this blog and on facebook.

Many of you have expressed curiousity about what we'll be doing next.

Our plan (as of right now) is for Gary to focus on finishing his seminary education. He's almost halfway through the M. Div. program with Western Seminary. Though he started the coursework several years ago, he's been able to take only one class at a time while working full-time and doing ministry on top of that (not to mention taking a year off to travel the world).

Once he goes back to school full-time, he should be able to finish in about a year and a half. Gary enjoys school quite a bit, and it will be a huge blessing for him to have that done before he gets into ministry again (which we both hope will be in our future, at the right time).

As for me, I'm going back to work to support the family while Gary focuses on school. It's good timing, as I had already been considering the notion of getting a job, for several reasons. And I can definitely see God's hand in this, for He provided me with an amazing job within a couple of weeks of starting to look!

I'll be working as a case manager for the regional center, overseeing the provision of services for individuals with developmental disabilities. The job has great benefits, a beautiful location (Todos Santos Plaza), and I feel that I really hit it off with the supervisor! I start March 2, which means I have the rest of this month to prepare for the transition - get my appointments out of the way, set a new budget, etc.

We are allowed to stay in our home (the parsonage) until September, which means that we've got all summer to figure out our housing before Molly heads off to Africa and Gary starts school in the fall. I'm very thankful for this aspect of stability in our lives right now.

We still have several choices ahead of us, and I don't know yet how all that will come together, but I know that we can take it one step at a time and that's ok.