I Know Where I'm Going...

...Moldova! Many of you may have already read about this on my husbands blog (here and here), and if you haven't you'll want to check out what he has to say about it. He tells all about the job he's taking and the specifics of our journey, so I'll just give my own perspective and more about what I'll be doing! We are SO EXCITED to finally have a plan and a goal to work toward, at least some direction for this next step in our lives. My sweet husband has accepted an internship in Moldova that uses his degree and is pretty much EXACTLY what he's always wanted to do. So we're really excited to be able to get a taste of what it's like to work in Justin's field and to maybe get a vision for where he would like to head on a more permanent basis.

So what the heck is Moldova? many of you may be asking. It's a former Soviet country in Eastern Europe, sandwiched between Romania and the Ukraine.

We'll be living in the capital city of Chisinau (pronounced ki-shi-nev). On this map it's that little red dot under the second O in Moldova. Read more about the country on its Wikipedia page.

When are you going? I just this very day submitted my notice at work. My last day will be Friday, July 6th. We'll take the weekend to pack up and then on Monday, July 9th, we'll drive all our stuff to Kentucky, where Justin's parents have graciously agreed to store it for us. We actually plan on selling most of our hodge-podge of hand-me-down and Goodwill furniture, and then we'll just start over when we settle someplace after this stint in Moldova. We'll spend about 3 weeks in Kentucky and Ohio visiting family and raising funds. (Make sure to read Justin's blog about our fundraising! We need your prayers and your financial support if you're able!) Then our departure date for Moldova will be around August 1st. We plan to stay 5 months so we can be home in time for Christmas with our families.

So what will you be doing while Justin is interning? That's an excellent question! I'm so glad you asked! If you have any suggestions, I'm open! No, really. I hope to be able to get a job to earn some money and get me out of the house. I have some experience teaching English as a Second Language, so I may try to do something like that, but I'm totally open. I haven't really even started research on that. But now that we have specific plans and dates, I can start the search. Please pray that I listen to God's leading on what He would have me do and that He brings the right opportunity quickly.

How are you feeling about all this? Many of you know that I had an incredibly difficult 2-year mission experience in West Africa in 2002-2004. That has been a huge growth point in my life, and God has worked wonders in me over that experience. I haven't been overseas since then, so I am a little nervous about how I'll do in this new place. I am, however, supernaturally calm and confident about this, which I recognize as the Holy Spirit telling me that this is what He has for us. I am just excited about the opportunity and really thrilled at my husband being able to seize this chance to get a feel for how his passions for Christ, economics, business, and development could all fit together. So we are thrilled at this chance, and as you read in my blog just a couple weeks ago, I feel like this is the perfect time in our lives for such an adventure.

So are you just going to fall off the face of the planet for 5 months? Not at all! Moldova has really good communications infrastructure, so our internet access will be great. I'll be able to email, and I plan on doing a monthly email newsletter. (Let me know if you want to be on the list!) I also plan on using a blog (I haven't decided yet if I'll use this one or start another just for that venture) to keep everyone updated even more often with pictures and stories of what our life is like there. So by the end of our stint there, you'll know way more than you ever wanted to about Moldova and about me... :) Pray for us!