Before our wedding, we were planning on moving to Costa Rica to teach at an elementary school immediately after our honeymoon. About 3 weeks before we got married, we received an email from the school saying they had decided to combine classes instead of hiring us as new teachers. We were a little upset, but the whole process of communication back and forth had been difficult the entire time, and the school did not seem to be very stable. It was good to hear a clear answer!
Jesse kept his job at the Big Green Bus teaching gymnastics to pre-schoolers, while I trained the new librarian in Loachapoka, Alabama. We lived in Jesse's parents' barn in a trailer for almost two months, and we enjoyed every second of it. Having so much land to enjoy along with a beautiful lake, fun dogs, and even baby chickens made for the perfect way to start our marriage. We still look back on those couple of months and smile, knowing that He wanted us to just rest in His presence and revel in His majestic creation.
Now we live and work in Montgomery, AL as Americorps Vistas for EAT South. Definitely not something we did on our own because the Father placed us here for many reasons that we are still discovering!
1. We're thankful for our own little home-- even if it doesn't come with all of the land we enjoyed for the first two months of our marriage.
2. It is a blessing to be able to spend time with my dad and his family, and I know this year will be good for growing those relationships.
3. Working for a nonprofit organization is teaching us a lot about what it means to truly live out your faith and reach out to people in our community who are desperate for life's basic needs. Jesse is gardening at one of our urban gardens and teaching gardening lessons to Montessori students, while I am implementing Pre-K curriculum in gardens at Head Start schools.
Sadly, our year of service will end next July. So we need guidance for our next steps, whether that means staying here, moving somewhere else in America, or going to work overseas.
We still feel the pull toward teaching and living overseas, but we want to make sure that is the Father's plan and that we are aligning our own desires with His. We are called to further the Kingdom by growing in our own relationship with Him and bringing others into a relationship with Him. What an honor that He wants to use us for His glory!
"Certainly, He calls us at times to act or move in specific ways. But first and foremost, His call is a beckon to all people to enter into a saving relationship with Him. To answer this call... means that every breath, every thought and every action now flows out of the truth that you have reoriented your life to the one true Father.
'I therefore, a prisoner for Him, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling you have received [E. 4:1].'
Of course, there will be times that He leads you on the specifics of your career, ministry or relationships. But by understanding the difference between divine calling (klésis) and the occasional specific direction He gives us concerning life decisions, we free ourselves to live in a manner that is not in constant state of anxiety over what to do." (Rel. Mag.)
So we will continue our pursuit of His heart and ask that He shows us an answer. We will keep the Kingdom as our goal and honoring Him as our first priority. Everything else will fall into place because He is in control [thank goodness]!
~Sara & Jesse
~Sara & Jesse