The Gosnells Move to Boston: God Gave Me a Teaching Position!

You've probably heard the saying, "God can make a way when there seems to be no way." I've always believed that was true, but now I've lived it! When we decided to move to MA in April, I immediately began applying for teaching positions and researching what I should do to transfer my teaching license. I was told that I would need to take two tests. Only after passing the first test could my license be considered "ready for review" by the MA Department of Education. This review process could take up to 33 weeks! Q: Can I be hired as a teacher during this time? A: "If the school is desperate enough..." I was so discouraged. I remember getting off the phone and breaking down in tears. I went ahead and began the process, but as I did I prepared myself for not being able to teach in the Fall. I started thinking about any other strengths I had and what else I might be good at.

I applied for several teaching jobs in the South Hamilton area, but they all required a MA teaching license and some even required a Master's degree. I applied for other positions as well - daycare provider, receptionist, administrative assistant, etc. A couple of places called me in for interviews after we arrived, but for one reason or another, nothing fit our needs.

Fast forward to last week: Adam's admissions counselor suggested that I contact his friend who is an Upper School principal at a private school nearby. The school had a Middle School math opening and they asked me to come in for an interview right away. I interviewed on Friday, July 27. By Wednesday, they had offered me the position. We had a short business meeting on Thursday and I mailed my Saturday morning! God is SOOO good!

A few specific praises:

• My position includes three sections of 7th and 8th grade PreAlgebra and two sections of Geometry.
• The principal and administrator who interviewed me are Gordon-Conwell graduates.
• The school is only 20 minutes away from our home.
• The principal reminds me of my principal in Arkansas, whom I highly respect and love dearly!

The Gosnells Move to Boston: We Made It!

1600 miles, 3 travelers, and 2 days: we made it! After a long and anxious wait, we are officially living in South Hamilton, MA. We were blessed with wonderful driving weather, only 15 minutes of stopped traffic, and only one "travel incident" to speak of when I was separated from the boys. Overall, the drive wasn't nearly as bad as we feared. Between having Ryan to help us and running on adrenaline, everything went beautifully! Don't get me wrong, we were (and maybe still are) completely exhausted! But we are safe and our things suffered very little damage. We are so thankful!

Since arriving, people here have been so thoughtful and kind. Our resident life coordinator (basically the apartment manager) and his wife brought us groceries the day we arrived. Several people helped us unload the truck and someone brought us dinner that night! We were overwhelmed by their kindness and service.

We've spent most of our time unpacking and rearranging furniture. Our apartment is 1.5 times the size of our previous apartment and in addition to that we have space to store things in the attic. We love it! I have counter space and a shower that stays clean for longer than 24 hours - it's the little things in life ;)

Other happenings:

--We found a grocery store. There are two less than 5 minutes from our apartment, but Market Basket is supposed to be the cheapest, so we drove a little further to go there.

--We attended a cookout on July 4th with other seminary couples. Lots of new faces, but everyone was very friendly.

--Adam has already started his reading. He will be taking a Summer class during G-C's Summer 3 session.

--It's hot!!! The temperatures have been in the high 80s and low 90s, which we've heard is very unusual for this area in July. The sun is extremely intense though, so it feels like home - without the intense humidity :) We have had one overcast day and the temperature dropped 20-25 degrees and it's cool in the evenings, so I think most of their heat comes from direct sunlight. Someone mentioned that it has something to do with the angle of the sunlight here.

--I have job leads!!!! 1) I had a phone interview with financial services here on campus. I should hear back from them next week. 2) I've been asked to come in for an interview at Sylvan Learning - a tutoring program about 15-20 minutes away. 3) I have a meeting with Staffing Now, an administrative staffing agency, on Tuesday. Keep praying!!!

The Gosnells Move to Boston: Part 3

I wish I had a nickel for every time someone has asked, "So are you ready?!" We could probably pay for our move! Or at least a candy bar ;) My response is always the same, "Well, ready or not..." For almost a month now, we feel like we've been waiting on something to happen. We've enjoyed the time spent with our families, but we are anxious for what's to come as moving day nears.

Here's the plan... We'll load up the U-haul and secure one of our vehicles to tow at the back on Thursday evening, June 27. On Friday we'll head out for the first part of our journey. Adam's brother, Ryan, will be traveling with us to help drive and also unload when we arrive (that gives us 3 drivers for 2 vehicles). We plan to stay in East TN with a family member on Friday night. We hope to finish our journey on Saturday and unload/move-in on Sunday! It sounds so simple when you see it in black and white :)

How can you pray for us? We're so glad you asked!

--God's peace and assurance, both for us and our families.

--Safety and strength as we load, drive, and then unload. Also, Ryan will be flying back to AR on Monday.

--Confidence and extroversion as we meet new people and get to know our new surroundings.

--Jobs! (I had a phone interview last week and hope to hear a response by July 8.)

--Classes for Adam. (He will take a Summer Patristics class 7/22 - 8/16 and then the Fall semester will begin 9/9.)

The Gosnells Move to Boston: Part 2

   

The first stage of #gosnellsepicmove2013 is officially complete! After Adam's graduation, I had two weeks left of work at Ouachita High School. Those two weeks were bitter-sweet for me. I absolutely love Ouachita High School, my students there, and the wonderful support system that surrounded me. They were so sweet and encouraging as we said our goodbyes. Saying goodbye is always difficult, but we know that God has big plans - both for me and my students. While I was finishing, Adam slept in, read things not assigned to him (two of his most favorite things!), and packed most of our apartment. When I came home in the afternoons, he would say "Alright, X is packed, Y is ready to be packed, and I need to know what you want me to do with Z." I pretty much only answered questions; it was great! I'm so thankful for a serving husband.

We needed to be out of our apartment on June 1, so last Friday Ryan (Adam's brother) came to help us load up. We worked hard to fit as much of our things as we could into three vehicles and two trailers. It was exhausting, but productive! Adam's parents helped us make one last trip on Saturday and we turned in our keys Saturday night. Literally everything we own is now stored in half of the Gosnells' garage!

For the month of June, Adam and I are spending time with our families. We're planning to begin "the trek" up to MA on June 28. I can't believe that's less than a month away!

Please continue to pray for my job search. Because obtaining a MA teaching license is a much longer process than I anticipated, I have expanded my job search to school secretarial positions as well as substitute positions. However, I also believe that God is bigger than a teaching license or state department, so I'm still hoping and praying that I'll be able to teach in the Fall!

(Thanks to Brittany Green for taking the pictures you see of Adam and me in our very first apartment together!)

The Gosnells Move to Boston: My Fears

June 1 is five weeks from today. This is our "leave Arkadelphia date." The plan is to spend time with each of our families throughout the month of June and then #theGosnellsepicmove2013 (thanks, Brittany!) will take place at the end of June or the first week in July. As we get closer, it's becoming more real, more exciting,  and definitely more scary!

I have so many ideas for my Math classroom. The end of the year brings a lot of reflection and many "Oh, I should have..." moments. It makes me excited for next year because I want an opportunity to implement my ideas and to start afresh having a full year behind me! My passion for teaching is stronger than ever, but my fear? What if I don't get a teaching job?

Our families have been incredibly supportive and we are so thankful. I am beginning to realize all that we may miss out on by living away from them. Jody, our only nephew, called me "Aunt Becca" last weekend... If you think I could have kept my heart from melting, you're crazy. This kid is precious. But he's going to grow up while we're away and I'm sorry that we'll miss it. In addition, each of our siblings are currently single. Are we going to miss out on "the dating stage" when they find someone they want to be with?

My best friends from college live in the Dallas area. Less than an hour away from each other. Even now I don't get to see them nearly as often as we feel necessary, but I know that those moments will be even farther between after I move. My best friends from high school live in the Memphis area. I expect that one will be engaged while we are away and how am I supposed to plan a bridal shower from Massachusetts?

**Sigh** Despite these fears, I have confidence that we are following God's leading through this. He has been faithful every step of the way. I trust that His faithfulness will continue and that the joy of obedience to Him will far outweigh the struggle.

The Gosnells Move to Boston: Part 1

It seems like I have waited forever to make this announcement... Adam and I are moving to Boston!

Not too long ago, I wrote When God Closes a Door.... At that time, we had begun to look pretty seriously at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL. Adam had ceased work on the applications for other schools and I had even looked into a couple of job openings there. I also resigned from my present job during this time. Then we received a letter informing us that Adam had not been accepted to Beeson. So we were back to the application process and my job applications were put off once more.

Shortly after, Adam was accepted into Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in  South Hamilton, MA (roughly 35 minutes North of Boston). As we began to learn more about the school, God began putting the pieces together. Adam received a Trustees scholarship before we had even begun to apply for scholarships. We were able to get on the priority housing list, which meant a reasonable rent for on campus housing, as opposed to Boston's high prices. G-C (Gordon-Conwell) offered to put us up and provide meals if we could get ourselves there for a visit.

We began looking into flights and then found out that Adam's dad could help us out with frequent flyer miles, so last Thursday we took off! We drove to Dallas as soon as I got off of work on Thursday and then flew to Boston on Friday morning. We spent Friday afternoon touring campus and meeting with Admissions as well as Financial aid. I was very anxious when we went to bed Friday night. I prayed that God would bring peace and that His direction would be clear. On Saturday morning, I truly felt like a burden had been lifted. God provided peace, confidence, and assurance.

Since making this decision official, I am looking into two job openings. One of the teachers that I was under during my student teaching reminded me that she is from the Northeast and mentioned that we could possibly meet when she visits there during the Summers. One of my co-workers shared with me that she lived near Boston and spoke of how wonderful the Summer weather is. Etc, etc. Isn't God good?!

Recently.

Apparently I've been away from my blog for almost 2 weeks... When did those 2 weeks happen?! No seriously. I've debated for a couple of days now about what to blog about. I felt like I should have something wonderful and witty, but alas. It's just me :)

We're pretty settled into our apartment now. There are still a couple of "Where do I put this?!" stacks, but other than that it looks good! It definitely feels like home and that is what's most important! My favorite things are probably our new couch (Thank you, Wright grandparents!), our Mona Lisa puzzle (glued together and framed), and beautiful sconces that we hung today (Thank you, Nikolaishens!).

As Adam gets ready for apartment residents to move in (he's the apartment manager here) and for his classes to begin, I am getting ready to teach! This past week I was at a workshop for a couple of days as well as in my classroom. It's recently painted and it's slowly beginning to feel like my classroom. My list of questions for my principal that I started yesterday has grown longer and longer! I feel like all of a sudden there were a million things that just hit me. Shouldn't I know this already?! Oh well. I'm sure there will be a million more questions by the time school starts! I also had my first phone call from a parent/guardian. Let me just say, they left out the part about "This is what to say/how to respond to parents/guardians" during my time in college.

In other news, Adam has volunteered to make dinner tonight! He makes a pretty mean spaghetti, so I'm looking forward to it :) So blessed to be married to this sweet man!

Quick Update: Pine Square 9

Adam and I are in the process of moving into our first apartment together! (Don't worry, only his stuff is here; he's still living at his buddy's place until after the wedding ;)) We are so thrilled with the apartment and things are becoming much more real as we approach the wedding day! I can't believe I'll have the privilege and joy of being his wife in only 8 days!!!

On the 4th, Adam's parents brought many of our wedding gifts that they've been graciously storing and helped us unpack. My parents will be here tomorrow with our furniture! We've been putting tape on the floor and trying to picture how it should be laid out, so we're anxious to see it in person.

Here's a sneak peak of our kichen!