The End of a Matter

We have officially completed our two year contracts in Korea. Wow. It feels like we had just decided to go and were thinking “Two years, huh? Ok…….” and now it’s over! Every time a major life event ends and a new one begins, I am reminded of Ecclesiastes 7:8

Better is the end of a thing than its beginning.

We are stronger in our faith, in our marriage, and have made life-long friendships as well as memories with family, friends, co-workers, and students. We are now ready to move on to our next thing while incorporating the ways we have grown into this new beginning, which will in turn make us stronger for whatever God directs our paths to.

With that being said, we are THRILLED to share with you what this new beginning holds. First, let’s back up a few months. You may remember that In December we turned down offers to remain at BFS for another year. While that was not an easy decision, we were confident that we made a good decision for us, and we began the long and tedious process of applying to jobs.

We also began praying big, specific prayers. We wanted Justin to get a job in Indianapolis, preferably on the north or west side. We wanted him to have a job offer before we got home from Korea. We prayed and prayed. Justin must have applied to nearly 75 school districts in Indiana (thank goodness for consortiums!). We were turning over every rock, whether it was in Indy or not.

In March Justin had his first interview. We were thrilled, but soon became accustomed to hearing from a school, interviewing, and then not hearing back from them when they said we would. As soon as we would start to get frustrated, a new school would contact Justin. This cycle continued for 3 months. The beginning of June came, and it felt like we were in a bit of a lull, and were, admittedly, losing hope to either of our prayers to be answered how we wanted them to be answered. But we knew that wherever Justin got a job, we’d be closer than Korea. We knew that God’s plan is better than ours, and that His timing is perfect, even if it’s not what we wanted. We knew that if God could turn Korea into a real home for us, surely He could do that in a small town in Indiana. 

Then the last weeks of school arrived. We were incredibly busy – finishing up school, packing our apartment, packing our classrooms, and saying some very difficult goodbyes. All of a sudden, Justin had three interviews in two days, and all three of them went well. One of them was in our ideal location, two were not.

We were very hopeful again that we would hear before leaving Korea, but then our last few days came and we even had to shut off our apartment internet, all without hearing anything. We flew to Rome to begin our European vacation. While we were slightly disappointed to not have heard anything yet, we were still hopeful in two of the schools. 

Then June 23rd happened. While in Rome, Justin received TWO job offers that day. Not one, but TWO. After a LOT of phone calls to our parents and a LOT of prayer, the following day Justin officially accepted a teaching position at Vision Academy @ Riverside in Indianapolis! To say we are excited is an understatement.

We hit the ground running when we landed in Chicago on July 6th. Justin has three weeks of orientation and Professional Development starting July 14th, and we have been busy getting a lot sorted the past several days. We are thrilled about all of it though! We have found an apartment and plan to move on July 19th. Please keep us in your prayers, not only as we begin this new adventure and work out all of the logistics, but as we are simultaneously going through reverse culture shock and adjusting to life back in the US.

God is so good. We are blessed among men.

Check out the amazing photography skills of my cousin, Katie. While still in Chicago we had her take our pictures for our 3rd anniversary. Click here to see them. Thanks, Katie!!!!

From now on, you may follow us on our new blog: www.trustwoborders.wordpress.com

Isaiah 12:4

In that day you will say: “Give thanks to the Lord call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done, and proclaim that his name is exalted.

Food in Europe

We enjoyed SO MUCH good food in Italy and on our cruise. Here's a glimpse of some of our favorite meals!

We had many lunches like this in Italy

Justin's first cheese-less pizza

calzones!

Roasted Chicken

Best lasagna I have EVER had

spaghetti for me and lamb shank for Justin

Spaghetti and pizza

assorted meats

pork

salmon on the cruise

delicious cruise desserts

steak! mmmmm

fruit

apple puff pastry - best dessert I have EVER had.

New York Strip steak

mahi mahi

one of my all-time favorites - molten lava cake

roasted chicken

pecan pie

tortilla soup

coconut shrimp and steak

no sugar, huh? this is from the chocolate buffet on the cruise

Last Day in Venice

We got off the ship around 9:30 in the morning and took a vaparetto (basically a public water taxi) to the nearest stop by our hotel. We were graciously gifted a night in the Westin on the Grand Canal and were amazed by the room and the view for our last day!

The view from our hotel room

We spent the afternoon wandering the streets of Venice again. Our goal today was to find a bookstore that Justin had found online. We only had a picture of small map of where this place was, and through our best navigating we got ourselves to the right area, but from there we had no idea where to go. We picked a street and started walking, and thankfully, we just happened upon the store! This place was unlike any other bookstore, or any other kind of store period, that we’ve ever been to. Books are everywhere. Not just lots of shelves, but in every nook you can find. There are bathtubs full of books. Steps made out of books. Old maps (!!!!) and art are there as well. The back of the store leads to a canal that sometimes leaks water in when the water level is too high. It was awesome! Of course, we didn’t make it out without a purchase (or two). We found a really cool old picture of Venice, as well as a….wait for it….2000 piece puzzle of old Venice. That one should only take me a few days, right?

 

The bookstore!

 

 We finished our last evening in Venice by treating ourselves to some dessert – I had Nutella gelato and Justin had merengue!

 

Our vacation is wrapping up very nicely. We have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of our trip, but are also anxious to get back and see everyone, as well as get adjusted to life back in the States.  Stay tuned for what's coming up next for us!

The Meditteranean Flower

Our last stop on the cruise before returning to Venice was Split, Croatia. Split had a very similar feel as Dubrovnik, but thankfully our ship was much closer to the town this time so we were able to walk there rather than take a bus. We found our way into the old, walled city and dared to climb up the cathedral’s bell tower. Neither of us are afraid of heights, but in this tower we were both a little bit afraid of falling. The views from the top were beautiful, but we didn’t stay long as it was small and crowded.

View of the city from the pier

The terrifying steps we climbed.

View from the bell tower

The warning about climbing the tower

From inside the bell tower

beautiful flowers!

We got lost on some side streets before finding the coast where we sat down to enjoy giving our feet a break while enjoying the view. We were happy to then find a café with wifi where we could check our email quick and let our families know we’re still alive and happy!

We finish up our trip with one more day back in Venice before we fly out on Sunday morning.

City of Sunshine

Upon arriving in Kusadasi, Turkey, we read that Ephesus has an average of 300 days of sunshine each year. Needless to say, we had clear blue skies for our excursion and temperatures reaching at least 90 degrees. Also, in order to visit the House of Virgin Mary, you have to cover your knees and shoulders, so I was stifling hot in my capris all day, but that’s ok – it was worth it!

Our tour began with a 30 minute drive along the beautiful Turkish coast and inland a bit past Ephesus. We had our first glimpse of the ancient city as we drove up a mountain to the so-called House of Virgin Mary. Apparently one of the Popes deemed this the actual place that Mary lived for a few years and therefore it is supported by the Vatican. It is a small little place, but a nice start to the day. Most of our guide’s references to the Bible and religion were from a Catholic perspective, so that made some things interesting.

House of Virgin Mary

 

From there we went on to the main city of Ephesus. It was SO COOL. We saw The temple of Diana, the Celsius Library, and the silk road. We also saw two theaters, one where poetry and such things happened, and one where Paul was apparently preached. From a distance we could see one of the prisons where Paul was. We also saw the main market and gathering place as some ancient baths.

Ephesus

These pipes are original from Ephesus!

Walking where Paul and John walked!

The Silk Road in Ephesus

Library of Celsus

Paul was in prison here

Paul preached here!

Last remaining pillar of the original Temple of Diana

This pillar is believed to have been part of the Temple of Diana and then was used to build the Church of the Cross. The Christians carved crosses on them before they used them.

As part of our tour, we enjoyed a nice Turkish buffet for lunch and had some time to relax in air-conditioning before going to St. John’s Church, also known as the Church of the Cross. This church was built in the 6^th century AD and at one time was the burial place of the Apostle John. Apparently the rest of his remains are now in Rome. I guess we missed that one. An earthquake many years ago caused most of the structures to come to the ground, but we were told that if it were still standing, this church would be among the 7 largest Cathedrals in the world.

John's grave

We enjoyed the ride back to the port city of Kusadasi and were planning to skip the carpet sales portion of the tour, but thought we’d see how it was made. We’re glad we did – it was so interesting! They showed us how they get the silk threads, and then we got to watch an experienced worker create part of a silk carpet. It was really impressive. They went on to show us all of the different kinds of rugs they make – wool, cotton, and silk. Very cool, and very expensive. The smallest silk rug was $3500, but don’t worry, shipping and tax is included. HA! They were beautiful rugs, don’t get me wrong, but we passed on that offer.

Showing us how they get the silk thread from the cocoons

 

Carpet weaving

A silk carpet of the theater at Ephesus

The Norwegian Jade

We got back on the ship and took a nice, refreshing swim in the pool before heading to another delicious cruise dinner.

Next stop: Split, Croatia!