Derik and I have always been about adventure. It could be a grand trip to the beach, not to swim or tan of course, (NW beaches are known to be cold) but to search for japanese glass ‘floats’ just waiting to be found. Or a road-trip from the quiet town of Hollister, MO to the bustling city of Portland, OR, stopping every interesting place possible (Yellowstone National Park)to make the day that much more fun. Or maybe it’s packing up 200 lbs of luggage and dragging it halfway across the world to a country most people know not the slightest about. In any case, call us crazy, but we’re all about jumping into the abyss most people call unknown. Its not easy at times, but is life ever? We can’t wait to grow old together, and want to be thankful for all the blessings God has given us, and all the memories that were made.
As most of you know, we will be headed out for Geoje Island, South Korea in a matter of days. We cant believe how fast the time has flown since we first found out about the positions at ECC. I should probably give you some background as to how this job opportunity came to be. Believe it or not, it’s been about 2 1/2 years since we first heard of it. Derik found out about a position through college friends a semester before graduation. He decided to apply and see if he’d be accepted to the school, and upon a job offer, he’d move out immediately after graduation. Myself on the other hand, was accepted to study music at Hillsong International Leadership College in Baulkham Hills, Australia. Derik did receive the job offer, but ironically at the same time, he and I fell in love and got engaged. I know, love comes at the strangest of times. Little did we know, there was a different plan in store for us. Through the quick chain of events, Derik’s contract was strangely given away, and he was left without a job. I felt my heart changing when it came to Australia, and knew I would be following my soon-to-be husband on some fantastic new adventure!
Right after graduating college, we moved to Portland, Oregon, where we got married, and then spent a good year and a half working and visiting family. Derik still had it on his heart to go teach abroad, and after much prayer and thought, posted on an ESL Facebook group he had joined from the first time he was interested in the position in Korea. Long story short, we ‘friended’ the right people at the right place in time (from that FB group), and we are now headed over to the EXACT school he was going to teach at 2 years ago.
So that brings us to the present. We’ve been wanting to get this blog up for a while, but just so you know, we’ll be posting in it as much as possible so we can share our adventure with you.
We leave for Korea February 16th, and after a flight from Portland-San Francisco-Bejiing, China-Busan, South Korea…we will have arrived at a place we will consider ‘home’ for the next year or so.
Bon Voyage for now, we’ll see you on the other side.