I know it has been way too long when I return to the blog platform and can't figure out how to start a new post. Goodness!
The Lord has certainly blessed Paul and me the last few months. I apologize for the drop off but the rest has been necessary, beneficial and a breakthrough as I get to work on future endeavors. To catch you up, Paul and I landed in New Jersey, U.S.A. He in May accepted a position as a pilot on two aircraft for a business headquartered in New York City.
Through God's goodness and perfect timing, we were able to check out of the slew of Marriott hotels between California and Massachusetts (for those not familiar with U.S. geography, that's the West Coast to the East Coast) in mid-August. That's right, we spent 3.5 months living out of suitcases, packing up and unpacking, bouncing from hotel to hotel. We did it.
During that time the items we had shipped from Papua New Guinea, including the items we had stored in Singapore, arrived shortly after Paul began his employment. We were able to find a storage facility and had our 40-something boxes delivered until we officially landed.
After a stint in Southern California over the summer, we flew back to New Jersey, albeit unexpectedly early. As the life of a pilot who is constantly on call goes, I dropped Paul at the airport one morning, expecting to pick him up the next day, and by 6:30 a.m. the plans had changed - we were done with California. So I packed up everything and worked on scheduling my flight home.
I arrived in Newark on a Wednesday evening. On Thursday we saw two more apartments (I cannot even begin to figure out how many we had seen since the search began in early May). The first was a dud - actually, it was a repeat; we had seen a unit in the exact community before we left for California. The second apartment proved to be almost everything we were seeking. It was the first apartment that we walked into and said to ourselves, "Yes." So we made an offer that day and, two weeks later, arranged for those boxes to finally arrive home.
We have been in New Jersey for about three months now, our second time living in the state. I used to work for a company that at the time had a corporate office here and Paul was forced to move in with me once we married. When my company moved to Ohio, so did we and, well, you know the rest of the story.
We love our little town in Western Jersey - a beautiful location near many farms with rolling hills and tons of fall foliage that makes us almost think that we are in New England. Paul is extremely happy with his position and yesterday stated that he still can't believe that he works for such a great company. Though I once stated that I would immediately go back into the corporate world upon entering U.S. borders, God is leading me down a different path.
Paul and I have found a home in the Hillsong Church, which offers two New York City locations in addition to a venue here in Jersey. Hillsong was such a great part of our lives while Paul and I were living in PNG; we visited the campuses in Brisbane and Sydney on many occasions.
I am also closing a chapter here as, for now, our expat adventures have ceased. We absolutely intend to move abroad again, so pray that we have some more opportunities! In the meantime, stay tuned for one more post that will introduce a new website that I am developing along with my sister-in-law. The site will be dedicated to supporting, encouraging and enlightening women on God's purpose for them, but men, don't worry, the content will be for everyone. So women, be sure to tune in and men, be sure to tell the women in your life. We are coming soon! Be blessed.
The Lord has certainly blessed Paul and me the last few months. I apologize for the drop off but the rest has been necessary, beneficial and a breakthrough as I get to work on future endeavors. To catch you up, Paul and I landed in New Jersey, U.S.A. He in May accepted a position as a pilot on two aircraft for a business headquartered in New York City.
Through God's goodness and perfect timing, we were able to check out of the slew of Marriott hotels between California and Massachusetts (for those not familiar with U.S. geography, that's the West Coast to the East Coast) in mid-August. That's right, we spent 3.5 months living out of suitcases, packing up and unpacking, bouncing from hotel to hotel. We did it.
During that time the items we had shipped from Papua New Guinea, including the items we had stored in Singapore, arrived shortly after Paul began his employment. We were able to find a storage facility and had our 40-something boxes delivered until we officially landed.
After a stint in Southern California over the summer, we flew back to New Jersey, albeit unexpectedly early. As the life of a pilot who is constantly on call goes, I dropped Paul at the airport one morning, expecting to pick him up the next day, and by 6:30 a.m. the plans had changed - we were done with California. So I packed up everything and worked on scheduling my flight home.
I arrived in Newark on a Wednesday evening. On Thursday we saw two more apartments (I cannot even begin to figure out how many we had seen since the search began in early May). The first was a dud - actually, it was a repeat; we had seen a unit in the exact community before we left for California. The second apartment proved to be almost everything we were seeking. It was the first apartment that we walked into and said to ourselves, "Yes." So we made an offer that day and, two weeks later, arranged for those boxes to finally arrive home.
We have been in New Jersey for about three months now, our second time living in the state. I used to work for a company that at the time had a corporate office here and Paul was forced to move in with me once we married. When my company moved to Ohio, so did we and, well, you know the rest of the story.
We love our little town in Western Jersey - a beautiful location near many farms with rolling hills and tons of fall foliage that makes us almost think that we are in New England. Paul is extremely happy with his position and yesterday stated that he still can't believe that he works for such a great company. Though I once stated that I would immediately go back into the corporate world upon entering U.S. borders, God is leading me down a different path.
Paul and I have found a home in the Hillsong Church, which offers two New York City locations in addition to a venue here in Jersey. Hillsong was such a great part of our lives while Paul and I were living in PNG; we visited the campuses in Brisbane and Sydney on many occasions.
I am also closing a chapter here as, for now, our expat adventures have ceased. We absolutely intend to move abroad again, so pray that we have some more opportunities! In the meantime, stay tuned for one more post that will introduce a new website that I am developing along with my sister-in-law. The site will be dedicated to supporting, encouraging and enlightening women on God's purpose for them, but men, don't worry, the content will be for everyone. So women, be sure to tune in and men, be sure to tell the women in your life. We are coming soon! Be blessed.
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