The Armpit of California

There's a lot I could write about. We've been in Fresno for almost two weeks now. A few things about Fresno that I'm excited about:

-Today I made $1.81 taking my boxes and other recyclable materials to one of the local recycling plants. I'm happy to have discovered that Fresno is a very recycle-friendly town. There are places everywhere that recycle everything from the usual bottles and newspaper to metal, wood, and just about anything you can think of.

-Farmer's Markets and fresh fruits and vegetables. Today I learned that if we tried a bit, we could basically buy all of our food (except coffee) from within 200 miles or so, meaning it's very easy to buy locally. We are right in the middle of a beautiful fruit region, especially oranges and peaches, as well as a variety of other items such as raisins, nuts, and rice.

-It's warm here. It's been about 100 degrees every day since we've been here. Granted, that's very hot, but it also means the sun is out a lot, which makes me happy. Plus, we have a pool right outside our apartment unit.

-This town is bike friendly. Michael has been riding his bike to work, and there seem to be decent bike lanes and bike trails.

-Almost every gas station in town offers cheaper gas if you pay cash. This is one more incentive for us to continue our Dave Ramsey-style budget and finances by living on our budgeted cash each month.

-Fresno has been called the "armpit of California," and partly this is because of how close we are to so many things (but also because an armpit usually stinks, and a lot of people could write a list of reasons they don't like Fresno.) We are within an hour or two of the mountains and Yosemite National Park. We are only a couple hours to the beach. We are less than four hours to Disneyland.

-We are in a very multi-cultural area. There are a lot of Africans, Mexicans and other Hispanics, as well as people from a lot of other countries. This means on a daily basis we get to interact with people from all over the world. It also means there is a variety of ethnic restaurants to choose from. We've already eaten at an Ethiopian restaurant and a Lebanese restaurant. We can see how the Lord has used our time in Africa to prepare us for being here. Now that we've been to Africa we can better understand African culture and thus African ways of thinking and working, which helps us empathize and have patience that we might not otherwise have or understand.

-We are happy to have found a decent apartment and a place to call home. We've met some great people already, and have a lot of peace about being here. We are still getting used to the heat, and to the layout of the city, but Fresno is already beginning to feel like home.

Fresno Here We Come

We're packed up. Michael is getting the U-haul as I write this. We have mixed feelings about going. We are so very excited about starting this next phase in our lives. I can't begin to explain what a relief it is to go from not only being unemployed, but working random jobs over the past few years, to having a job with benefits and a salary and a sense of permanence. We are excited to begin looking for an apartment or house to rent. We feel lucky that the cost of living in Fresno is not terrible (especially after living near Philadelphia). Michael is excited to start his new job, officially two weeks from today. We are ready to settle down somewhere and be able to find a church home, and to just know we are staying in one place for a little while.

We are feeling sad about leaving Colorado, especially because we've had a great time living with Tim and Amy, and our niece Isabelle. Isabelle knows us and we just have so much fun with her, as she is daily learning new words and fun mannerisms. At least we have Skype, but we will miss her/them.

So, we will be heading out early tomorrow morning. We're planning on stopping somewhere in Utah the first night, and then finishing the trip on Thursday. Google maps says its about 17 1/2 hours, but since we're pulling a U-haul trailer it will take quite a bit longer. We had to replace our tires on our car today, so hopefully that will be the only glitch in our travels.

Moving! Again!

Well, it's been a while since we've written on our blog.

To be honest, there hasn't been a lot to write about. We've been living in Colorado Springs and looking for employment. We have had a lot of fun living with Michael's sister and husband, and our niece Isabelle. But, from the job hunt end of things, it's been mostly discouraging and frustrating.

I applied to almost thirty jobs in town. I interviewed for a few. I was offered a job as a building substitute in an elementary school, but felt I should turn that down. Last week I was called back for a second interview for a middle school social studies job in town, and was offered the job. I was very excited, but I got the call from the principal at the same time Michael was on the phone doing an interview with MCC (Mennonite Central Committee).

Sometime at the end of June Michael got a call from MCC about a possible job opening at their west coast branch in Fresno. Michael had applied for a job with MCC in Washington D.C. last spring, but we decided it wasn't going to work for us financially and otherwise. Somehow this branch got Michael's resume and information and wanted him to apply for an opening with them. We hesitated at first, partly because we had just moved to Colorado and partly because we had a lot of other job applications out, and partly because we weren't sure if this would be too similar to the situation in D.C. Well, it turned out it wasn't, and Michael applied.

So, a week ago when Michael was on his phone interview, I wrote "I got the job!" on a sticky note and put it in front of him while he was answering a question. I was excited, but also knew that this job in Fresno was a good possibility. We basically had to get some kind of assurance from MCC that Michael was a top candidate and/or going to get the job before I felt alright with turning down a job offer, but I knew I needed to let the principal know quickly. We talked it through and felt at peace about me turning down a job offer here.

Today, Michael got the official word that he got the job!

So, we'll be moving rather quickly; he will be starting on September 1st. I have a phone interview tomorrow morning for an office job in the Admissions office at Fresno Pacific University. Michael's offices will be on that same campus, so we are really hoping and praying I get this job, because it would mean only needing one car and being able to commute to work together. I've decided not to try to pursue a teaching job in California. I already have three teaching licenses (PA, CO, and OR), and don't really feel like trying to get #4 quite yet.

We feel so blessed that the Lord has so clearly guided us up to this point, with Michael getting a job that he didn't even initially apply for, and all the doors here closing. We're really looking forward to settling down somewhere for a little while. This is the first time since we've been married that there is no end date in sight.

Free T-Shirts in 45 kilometers

Tonight we decided to go for our second Coloradan Adventure.

We drove downtown, hopped out of the car, and started running (we were a little late so we missed the official starting point).

The event is put on by Jack Quinn's Running Club, which is an Irish pub and restaurant that hosts a 5K every week of the year. I don't know how many people ran tonight, but last week there were 933 runners. The starting and ending point of the loop is the restaurant. After the run, everyone goes upstairs for free appetizers (spaghetti, salad, garlic bread) and a lot of people drink a cheap pint of beer. (Personally, I don't like beer, but if I did, I can't imagine downing a pint right after a 5K run.) We waited too long to grab food and it was mostly gone, so we went next door to Chipotle, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.

Our new goal is to run the loop nine more times so we get a free Jack Quinn's t-shirt. So, we may try to run this on Tuesday nights and the Manitou Incline on Thursday mornings. I was pretty happy with my time, but I definitely felt the altitude more than I did last Thursday hiking the Incline.

We're doing our best to adapt to the Coloradan lifestyle. :)

Our First Coloradan Adventure

View from the Parking Lot.

This morning Michael and I hiked the Manitou Incline with Tim, our brother-in-law.

We didn't really know what we were getting into, except that a hiker died on Sunday from a heart attack as he climbed.

It was tough, but rewarding at the top. What a view! And we were both really pleased with our times. Michael did the climb in less than 39 minutes, and I finished in less than 48. The incline is one mile with a very steep grade (just look at the pictures), and the trail itself was an old cog railway, so there were some steep steps. The trail back down is another four (just a regular path). We're thinking we may join Tim and his co-workers every Thursday morning.


Fired up and ready to go at the bottom.


It's a loooooooong way up there. Plus, the "top" you see here is a false summit. You get to that point and still have another quarter of the trail to hike. Fortunately, Tim warned us or we would have been pretty surprised.


Only a few more steps...


The Summit! We did it!


And now for the decline.


Hiking back down.


If you don't feel like this at the end, you're crazy. Sort of like the people who reached the summit, ran to the bottom, and hiked the Incline a second time. Or, the guy who got to the top and lit up a cigarette.

So, if anyone comes to visit us we know where to take you! We felt initiated into the intense outdoor life of Coloradans.

We're in Colorado

I can't say an exact number, but there have been plenty of times over the past two months when I've thought of a blog post, or thought of an update that I've wanted to write on our blog. It just never happened.

I could try to catch up over the past two months, but I think it would be almost impossible.

Highlights?

Returned from Africa.
Lived with our pastor's family for two weeks.
Moved into our own apartment.
I worked as a substitute.
Michael volunteered at an organization in downtown Portland.
Michael found a lot of odd jobs and applied for jobs all over the country.
None of the said jobs worked out, and we reevaluated our current living situation.
We decided to move to Colorado Springs and live with Michael's sister.
We went to Costa Rica for a week.
After Costa Rica, we decided to push up moving a couple weeks to get here for potential job interviews. We packed up and headed out a week later.

After two days of driving, we made it on Monday night.
We're mostly unpacked and settled in, and praying for jobs.

I guess it wasn't impossible to summarize the last two months. More to come.

Home Sweet Home

We're home!

We had a great time relaxing and transitioning back to western culture with our friends in Germany over the weekend.

We arrived at PDX Monday with all of our luggage, a definite praise, and are settling back into life here in Newberg.

Our plan for the next couple of months is to find an apartment, which we think we've found (also a huge praise because it is month-to-month and we don't have to sign a lease), while I work and Michael continues to work on job applications.

Fortunately, I am still in the substitute systems here and already worked my first sub job yesterday (despite some jet lag still lagging...) We are hoping I will be able to work a lot throughout the rest of the school year, so hopefully a lot of teachers will be using their sick days and personal days.

Michael has applied to development-type jobs all over the country, and we are waiting to see where the Lord will lead us next. The first thing we heard on the radio when we got into our car on Monday was about how Oregon's unemployment rate is up to 12%, the highest in years, and one of the highest in the entire country. It was a great "welcome back to Oregon" moment for us. Our prayer for now is that something will open up that will be a good use of Michael's skills, knowledge, and degrees.

In the meantime, we are thankful to be back to our home church, where we've already felt so welcomed and taken care of (including a place to stay while we find an apartment). We are continuing to process our time in Rwanda and all the ways the Lord has spoke to us, stretched us, and challenged us, and will continue to share some of those thoughts as they come.