God is leading in Sam's search for a job at one of the local area schools in California. He has contacted no less than 10 more schools in the area, and 5 of them have already replied asking for more information (resume, cover letter, etc.). Please continue to pray as most of them have said that they don't have any positions that they know will be open for sure. Most of them will be asking their teachers for letters of intent in either February and March, just like the other two schools already mentioned. One of the schools that replied, El Sobrante Christian School, said that they think they will be needing a computer teacher for the 2009-2010 school year. So, continue to pray for God's guidance.
Pastor Rushing said that he thought he may have a house set-up for us upon our arrival. Details are still a bit sketchy, though, as our arrival is still quite a bit in the future. Continue to pray that God will provide the best housing available for our family.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
2nd Transition Update...
This is the second transition update email I sent out on January 22, 2009:
"It's a huge blessing to see how God is already working out the details for our transition to California! We recieved an email this morning from Pastor Rushing in Martinez, saying that someone has offered to give our family a 2001 Cadillac, which would free up the money we had allocated for purchasing a car upon our arrival...How great is our God! I know that this isn't the end of the journey by far, but it's incredible to witness how easily things come together when God is in control, as opposed to our trying to handle everything single-handedly.
In regards to my finding a job in a local Christian school, the principals from both Walnut Creek Christian Academy and Berean Christian High School have replied to my most recent emails, and both stated that they still don't have any specific positions open for next year, but that they would keep me in mind. We already knew that this was the case in both schools, so it isn't new information for us, but it gives us a better target area for our prayers. BCHS sends out contract renewals to its teachers in March, and WCCA sends them in February. So, they will have a better idea in those respective months. Please pray that God will provide a teaching job in a Christian school, so that we will be able to afford providing our kids with a Christian education. I am going to be contacting a few Christian schools in the area this weekend, too.
Something that I didn't include in our last email is the area of insurance. Our insurance with NICS terminates on June 30th, which means we need to have insurance and be covered by July 1st. We are going to be looking into both medical and life insurance. We have a few leads from Pastor Rushing that we are going to be running down, but any information any of you could afford would most certainly be appreciated. Please pray that God will provide and guide us to the best, most affordable insurance available.
Pastor Rushing also said that rent/housing payments would run in the $1500-$1800/mo. neighborhood, and that they already had a few possibilities in mind. He also said that it would be difficult to really solidify anything until it got closer to the time of our arrival. Please continue to pray that God will provide the best, most affordable house for our family. Because we have three children, we need at the very least a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath facility. As I have told Pastor Rushing, square-footage is not our primary concern as we have been living in smaller places for the past 7 years here in Korea (some of our apartments have been smaller than most hotel rooms in the US), but the number of rooms and bathrooms is important. I hope that information helps you in your prayers for us. We already knew about the amount of rent/housing payments from research I had done before even agreeing to visit the area. So, we are aware of the cost of living, but we are also confident that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (and, apparently, a Cadillac, too!). So, $1500-$1800/mo. is peanuts to Him! Just continue to pray!
That's about all the new-ish information that I have for y'all right now. I'll continue to update you all as new developments occur. I have one of the ladies in our school office calling Korean shipping companies for information on that front, and one of our teachers said that they have some information about a US-based company that helps missionaries relocate inexpensively. So, PLEASE PRAY! God is working, but there are still many things that must come together. He is able...more than able!"
"It's a huge blessing to see how God is already working out the details for our transition to California! We recieved an email this morning from Pastor Rushing in Martinez, saying that someone has offered to give our family a 2001 Cadillac, which would free up the money we had allocated for purchasing a car upon our arrival...How great is our God! I know that this isn't the end of the journey by far, but it's incredible to witness how easily things come together when God is in control, as opposed to our trying to handle everything single-handedly.
In regards to my finding a job in a local Christian school, the principals from both Walnut Creek Christian Academy and Berean Christian High School have replied to my most recent emails, and both stated that they still don't have any specific positions open for next year, but that they would keep me in mind. We already knew that this was the case in both schools, so it isn't new information for us, but it gives us a better target area for our prayers. BCHS sends out contract renewals to its teachers in March, and WCCA sends them in February. So, they will have a better idea in those respective months. Please pray that God will provide a teaching job in a Christian school, so that we will be able to afford providing our kids with a Christian education. I am going to be contacting a few Christian schools in the area this weekend, too.
Something that I didn't include in our last email is the area of insurance. Our insurance with NICS terminates on June 30th, which means we need to have insurance and be covered by July 1st. We are going to be looking into both medical and life insurance. We have a few leads from Pastor Rushing that we are going to be running down, but any information any of you could afford would most certainly be appreciated. Please pray that God will provide and guide us to the best, most affordable insurance available.
Pastor Rushing also said that rent/housing payments would run in the $1500-$1800/mo. neighborhood, and that they already had a few possibilities in mind. He also said that it would be difficult to really solidify anything until it got closer to the time of our arrival. Please continue to pray that God will provide the best, most affordable house for our family. Because we have three children, we need at the very least a 3-bedroom, 1.5-bath facility. As I have told Pastor Rushing, square-footage is not our primary concern as we have been living in smaller places for the past 7 years here in Korea (some of our apartments have been smaller than most hotel rooms in the US), but the number of rooms and bathrooms is important. I hope that information helps you in your prayers for us. We already knew about the amount of rent/housing payments from research I had done before even agreeing to visit the area. So, we are aware of the cost of living, but we are also confident that our God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (and, apparently, a Cadillac, too!). So, $1500-$1800/mo. is peanuts to Him! Just continue to pray!
That's about all the new-ish information that I have for y'all right now. I'll continue to update you all as new developments occur. I have one of the ladies in our school office calling Korean shipping companies for information on that front, and one of our teachers said that they have some information about a US-based company that helps missionaries relocate inexpensively. So, PLEASE PRAY! God is working, but there are still many things that must come together. He is able...more than able!"
1st Transition Update...
This is the first transition update email that I sent out to a list of our familyand friends back on January 20, 2009:
"As some of you may not already know, Sam has been called to be the Associate Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Martinez, California, a suburban town about 30 minutes east of San Francisco. We have accepted the call, and will begin transitioning from our ministry here in South Korea to the new ministry God has for us in California immediately. We must first finish our contract with International Christian School-Uijongbu, which ends on June 30, 2009. We have already purchased our plane tickets for June 30th, as God provided an unbelieveable price of $2400 for our entire family! Our school administration allowed us to get a pay advance from Sam's summer month's pay in order to take advantage of the low airfare. So, the first hurdle in our transition to California has been cleared, praise the Lord!
As I'm sure you know, there are many other preparations that must fall into place before we actually leave South Korea and set foot in California, and these other preparations are the reasons for which I am writing to you all today. Bethany Baptist Church has generously seen fit to provide us with $4000 for moving expenses. What we are looking at doing with that money is to have the church find us a home into which we can move as soon as we arrive in California. Any money that is left after paying any security deposits and/or first- and last-month payments will be sent to us here in Korea to begin to help off-set any shipping charges that we will have accrued. We anticipate that these initial payments will take most, if not all, of the $4000, but we figure that having a home to move into when we arrive is of paramount importance. Please pray that God will provide the absolute best housing arrangements possible, and that all the details, both financial and logistical, will be able to be worked out easily.
As a result of living in South Korea for the past 7 years, we have accumulated a decent amount of possessions, some of which we would like to take with us across the Pacific. The idea behind doing so is quite simply to cut down on initial replacement costs upon arrival in California. We realize that shipping costs sooner rather than replacement costs later doesn't really seem that different. But really, the things we wish to take with us are things that can be quite expensive. So, the cost of shipping things back sooner would quite possibly be cheaper than paying to replace them in California later. One method many missionaries have opted for in the past is renting a shipping container. This can be a rather expensive endeavor, as a smaller container can cost as much as $5000. We are looking into the possibility of renting half a container, or something comparable, in order to cut the cost a bit. We don't have a tremendous amount of belongings that we want to ship back, but it also isn't a meager amount. So, as we begin to research this facet of our transition, please pray that we will have wisdom in determining what size container we will need, and that God will provide the finances necessary to ship our things to our new home.
Another preparation that needs to be completed is that Sam finds a teaching job at one of the area's Christian schools. The schools with which Sam is currently speaking are Walnut Creek Christian Academy (WCCA) and Berean Christian High School (BCHS). While Sam was in California over the holidays, he was able to have an interview with the principal of WCCA, which went well. And he has since been able to establish contact with the principal of BCHS. He is also looking at contacting a few other Christian schools in the area. Please pray that God will provide a job for Sam at one of the Christian schools in the area. It is important for us to have our children brought up in a strong Christian environment, and the school they attend is part of that environment. Unfortunately, private Christian schools aren't cheap. With Sam being hired at one of these schools, tuition for the kids would be very close to, if not absolutely, free.
This letter's main purpose is to simply provide you all with a summary of where we are in preparing for this monumental transition. We most certainly covet your prayers, and truly hope that you will see fit to join us in petitioning God's divine providence in these matters. Should God lay it upon your heart to help financially, we would also appreciate that. As we research and begin to get a better grasp on how much this transition is going to cost, we will relay that information to you all in as timely a manner as possible. We know that this is God's will for our family, and as such, He will provide the means necessary to complete it.
"As some of you may not already know, Sam has been called to be the Associate Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Martinez, California, a suburban town about 30 minutes east of San Francisco. We have accepted the call, and will begin transitioning from our ministry here in South Korea to the new ministry God has for us in California immediately. We must first finish our contract with International Christian School-Uijongbu, which ends on June 30, 2009. We have already purchased our plane tickets for June 30th, as God provided an unbelieveable price of $2400 for our entire family! Our school administration allowed us to get a pay advance from Sam's summer month's pay in order to take advantage of the low airfare. So, the first hurdle in our transition to California has been cleared, praise the Lord!
As I'm sure you know, there are many other preparations that must fall into place before we actually leave South Korea and set foot in California, and these other preparations are the reasons for which I am writing to you all today. Bethany Baptist Church has generously seen fit to provide us with $4000 for moving expenses. What we are looking at doing with that money is to have the church find us a home into which we can move as soon as we arrive in California. Any money that is left after paying any security deposits and/or first- and last-month payments will be sent to us here in Korea to begin to help off-set any shipping charges that we will have accrued. We anticipate that these initial payments will take most, if not all, of the $4000, but we figure that having a home to move into when we arrive is of paramount importance. Please pray that God will provide the absolute best housing arrangements possible, and that all the details, both financial and logistical, will be able to be worked out easily.
As a result of living in South Korea for the past 7 years, we have accumulated a decent amount of possessions, some of which we would like to take with us across the Pacific. The idea behind doing so is quite simply to cut down on initial replacement costs upon arrival in California. We realize that shipping costs sooner rather than replacement costs later doesn't really seem that different. But really, the things we wish to take with us are things that can be quite expensive. So, the cost of shipping things back sooner would quite possibly be cheaper than paying to replace them in California later. One method many missionaries have opted for in the past is renting a shipping container. This can be a rather expensive endeavor, as a smaller container can cost as much as $5000. We are looking into the possibility of renting half a container, or something comparable, in order to cut the cost a bit. We don't have a tremendous amount of belongings that we want to ship back, but it also isn't a meager amount. So, as we begin to research this facet of our transition, please pray that we will have wisdom in determining what size container we will need, and that God will provide the finances necessary to ship our things to our new home.
Another preparation that needs to be completed is that Sam finds a teaching job at one of the area's Christian schools. The schools with which Sam is currently speaking are Walnut Creek Christian Academy (WCCA) and Berean Christian High School (BCHS). While Sam was in California over the holidays, he was able to have an interview with the principal of WCCA, which went well. And he has since been able to establish contact with the principal of BCHS. He is also looking at contacting a few other Christian schools in the area. Please pray that God will provide a job for Sam at one of the Christian schools in the area. It is important for us to have our children brought up in a strong Christian environment, and the school they attend is part of that environment. Unfortunately, private Christian schools aren't cheap. With Sam being hired at one of these schools, tuition for the kids would be very close to, if not absolutely, free.
This letter's main purpose is to simply provide you all with a summary of where we are in preparing for this monumental transition. We most certainly covet your prayers, and truly hope that you will see fit to join us in petitioning God's divine providence in these matters. Should God lay it upon your heart to help financially, we would also appreciate that. As we research and begin to get a better grasp on how much this transition is going to cost, we will relay that information to you all in as timely a manner as possible. We know that this is God's will for our family, and as such, He will provide the means necessary to complete it.
So, here goes, once again...
Because of all the transitioning and newslettering going around these days, I figured I'd give the good 'ole blog another whirl. I will still be emailing the newsletters out on a regular basis, but this will be here from day to day, and I may update this more often than the newsletters are sent out.
At any rate, welcome, and if there are others you think would be interested in reading about our lives here in Korea as we transition to California, by all means, feel free to have them stop by here and check everything out.
Here's to keeping in touch...Sam.
At any rate, welcome, and if there are others you think would be interested in reading about our lives here in Korea as we transition to California, by all means, feel free to have them stop by here and check everything out.
Here's to keeping in touch...Sam.
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