What we are learning...

Some of the organizations we have connected with in Salem.

Many of you have asked about Drew’s job status. Everyone has heard of a "gap year": the time that a high school graduate takes a year to explore unconventional opportunities before starting college. Before we left Pennsylvania as we thought about the month of May, we jokingly said he was taking a "gap month". Friends, that month is now over and we are in mid-June and his status is still unemployed. Though he is employed (definition: to make use of time) in other ways. Each day for him is a combination of job searching, reaching out to existing contacts, forming new contacts, informational interviews and formal interviews, and attending meetings with me in the Salem community to assess what neighborhood God might be leading us if indeed it is within the city of Salem. We listened to a couple share one Sunday about their current sabbatical from their placement in South Africa. Sabbatical is typically taken after a 7 - 10 year stretch for a three month period. Drew looked at me with raised eyebrows and said 3 months? We have not been anticipating three months. Perhaps this will not be 3 months. But a sabbatical is a determined intentional break with a set amount of time and typically one knows what one will do after the sabbatical. Sabbaticals are a rejuvenation time, restful time, time to explore something new to stimulate the senses or dive deeply into a study that routine life doesn’t allow for. We do not know the amount of time this season will last. But it is much harder to take a rest or find rejuvenation during unemployment than during a planned gap month or sabbatical.

One notable thing is that we have been welcomed by the Salem community, by other churches and ministries. We have connected with Salem for Refugees, Salem Leadership Foundation, and individuals interconnected with contacts we have. We are finding that many of these organizational leaders know friends of ours. God's interweaving is amazing for the unity of the church. One quick amazing story: our family worshipped with others at an international prayer gathering. Individuals and families were there from various African, Latin American, and Asian countries. As we broke off into small groups based on language, we met a Christian woman from Pakistan who knew of friends of ours there. Because of this commonality of faith and friends, she was able to share with us and feel known. Again, I state that God's awesome interweaving is amazing! Truly, if Drew had paid employment these past few weeks, we wouldn't have attended all these meetings together during the day to know and be known. So in the sabbatical sense, he has taken time to explore something new to stimulate the senses and dive deeply into studying Salem.

We continue to pray that God would give us discernment over the city and then the specific neighborhood in which we are to abide. We'll continue to drive through neighborhoods, pray, and sponge up how God and His people are at work or how we could be used to continue building community! If you feel so led, pray with us for discernment and that as a family we will treasure this time together and view it as a blessing.