That being said, Ryan and I made a decision several months ago that is leading to another change for our family. Because of the type of job that Ryan does with our mission, he was given the option to change his contract a little bit. There were pros and cons with adjusting to the new system or choosing to be grandfathered into the old system. We spent many months praying and analyzing and in the end, we chose to go with the newer option, though few of our cohorts went that route. I won't bore you with all of the details, but one of the biggest differences between the two options is how time away from the field is calculated. With our original contract, we had a shorter annual vacation, but were always accruing time away for a longer stay in the States. With our newer benefits, we no longer accrue time for a long term stay in the States, but we do get 8 weeks of vacation annually.
It wasn't that we really loved everything about the new package, but honestly, it works better for the nature of Ryan's work and we were feeling such a strong tug in our hearts that we needed to find a way to get to the States more often. With kids headed off to college and parents growing older, we really needed a different rhythm than we had. And so, with much fear and trembling we changed our "pathway" in an effort to make a continued life in Africa more doable for our family.
One of the other things that changed with that contract shift was my role. While I am still partnered with our mission, I now have the option of working a job myself. This freed me up to consider some other options and quite frankly we knew that for us to be able to use those 8 weeks of annual vacation, we were going to have to come up with some plane ticket money. We began to pray about what the Lord would have us to do and He dropped an opportunity in my lap.
It's a long and winding story, that I won't try to recount here, but I will say that we are very certain that it is where the Lord is leading us for now. So, in a few weeks, I will start a new job teaching K-12 art at an International School here in our city. Our oldest three children will remain where they are for school, and Abe and I will make the move to the new school. My contract is for a little more than half time, which means I have a full day off and some afternoons too. I am hopeful this will leave me some margin to keep my home/family running smoothly. We are excited to shine our light in this new environment. It is not a faith based school, like the one I have served at the last two years, so there will be many different opportunities ahead.
It is amazing to me how God really paved the way for all of this. I really was resistant when I first saw the doors opening. I absolutely loved being a volunteer art teacher at my children's school and hated the thought of leaving my students there. But, for so many reasons, I cannot deny that this is the right move and I am choosing to welcome that change that is ahead. I am anxious to see how God will use me during my time there and I am looking forward to meeting all of the students and staff.
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