The Interview!

I don't know how many of you remember, but last year at this time we thought we were going to be moving to Louisiana for a multihousing ministry job for the Southern Baptist Convention.  Well about a million things went wrong and that job never came through.  We were bummed because it was Doug's dream job, but we kept pressing on here in AZ. 

Throughout this whole year Doug has been applying to churches all over the nation and even some out of the country! At one point we even thought we might be moving to Clayton, New Jersey.  But one after one, God closed all of those doors.  In a way Doug was not too disappointed because he really felt like God was calling him to do church differently outside of the traditional norms.

Then it happened.  In February we got a phone call totally out of the blue about a multihousing mintistry position! A man named Homer, who we had given our church trailor to when we closed the doors of Living Waters 3 years ago just happened to run into Doug's dad and asked how Doug was doing.  Wayne told Homer about how Doug almost had his dream job doing mulithousing ministry in Louisiana, but that it fell through.  Homer was excited to hear this because he is on a board for a multihousing ministry and they wanted to hire a full time pastor! Homer called Doug and told him about this possibility and we were excited, but at the time it was still all very much an idea and the board had to decide how they wanted to persue it.

Fast forward to two months later and Doug had a phone interview with the board of the multihousing ministry.  They liked Doug and asked him to create a vision of reaching the 13 apartment complexes they are in charge of.  Doug had no problem at all writing this vision because he had been dreaming for almost 2 years about doing multihousing ministry and how he would do it.  He sent them his vision right away and they loved it.  They said they were going to call to fly us out. 

About a month later we finally got the call to organize our flight to Texas.  We flew down and stayed with Doug's brother.  For 3 days we had interviews.  The first day we met the founder of the ministry and his wife.  They took us all around the apartment complexes and introduced us to all the property managers there. 

The next day we rode with them again and another board member.  We saw all the rest of the properties and also had a formal interview with the board.  (SIDENOTE: I almost fainted this day from not drinking enough which was pretty embarassing but I had such bad morning sickness and we were driving for so many hours that I did not want to drink too much because I was afraid I would throw it up or have to go to the bathroom ever 10 minutes.  LOL.  They got me some water just in time though and I downed three bottles in not time.  From that point on I had to use the restroom at every stop we made, sometimes twice ; ) )

During the formal interview they went over the salary and benefits package with us and we got a little nervous because they said they would pay $450 for Doug's health insurance but we would have to pay $1000 to cover our family.  This seemed like a lot to us but before we could even say anything a board member asked us if we could leave the room so the board could discuss something.  It turns out he felt the same way and fought for us not to have to pay the $1000! What a blessing!!!

We also discussed where we would be living.  Doug and I absolutely loved the very first propert we saw.  They were like little town houses and they had really big backyards! Not at all the run down apartment complex with no backyard and lots of stairs like I was imagining.  The only problem was that when we saw it they only had a 2 bedroom available and the property manager said that people rarely move out of that complex because they love it so much.  Well the day of our formal interview they found out that someone living in a 3 bedroom gave in their notice so they were going to hold it for us! So yay God!  He knew what our needs were and He provided above and beyond what we needed!!!

The last day we went out to lunch with the founder of the ministry and his wife again.  Doug and I were still not sure if we had the job because there was no formal offer.  Doug's mom even tried figuring it out by asking them what the next step was and so forth.  We were allowed to ask any final questions at this lunch so Doug and I asked about moving costs.  They said they would discuss it with the board and get back to us.  Doug was certain he had the job, but I was still skeptical after this lunch.  We still did not have a formal offer and we did not have a moving date.  Doug even turned down another church job that night because he was so certain he was hired.   I was a little mad at him for that.  What are the odds anyway that we have been waiting for a ministry position for 3 years and all of a sudden there are 2 being offered??? LOL

The next day we got the big news! Yes Doug had the job.  The nice couple said that even if the board would not cover the move that they would reimburse us! What a blessing! They told us to call the community we wanted to live in and see if there would be a place available June 1st.  Doug did and they said they now had 2 three bedroom units available and they would be ready to be moved into June 1st! Wow!!!

So now we have 25 days until we move.  It is going to be so hard saying goodbye to out friends and family and beautiful Arizona (which is the real Promised Land no matter what you Texans say : ) ).  But at the same time we know that God is behind this.  From the offer out of the blue, to the position being Doug's dream job, the perfect place for our family to live, the board fighting for us to get health benefits and pay for our move.  So we are excited to see all that God has in store and everything that He is going to do here.

  I will keep you posted as things progress.  Feel free to bring us some moving boxes or newspapers : ) And I need all the packing/ moving tips I can get because I am not an experienced mover.  We will have a going away bash before we leave so be checking your email for an invite to that.