Truck Count

We used a U-Haul Trailer to carry our things to Florida. The rules of a U-Haul included : don't exceed the speed limit of 55 mph.

My mama said that this would help us enjoy the country.

I decided to make a game out of it. Seeing that we would have to drive in the right lane, I thought it would be fun to count how many semi trucks would pass us on the trip. Just past The Dalles, Oregon, I asked Austin if he thought I could count 200 on the trip? We pulled out a notebook and started to keep track.

Day Three : 167 I stopped counting.

That day I decided mama was right, 55 mph was helping me enjoy the country.

In Birmingham, we went to the Institute for Civil Rights. We watched videos and looked at artifacts. We read about a time in our not so distant history. We saw the site of the 16th street church bombing. On our way back our car, we met Jessie Strong.

He walked us around the block, telling us about what it was like to grow up in Birmingham during the sixties. He pointed out the "black district" where a once booming urban block now sits decaying. He pointed out the corner where his friends house use to be, where they use to gather on the porch before the protests.

He told us the history of the richest black man in Birmingham, and mapped out the buildings that man owned. He showed us the record store where he bought his first temptation album. He told us that times where hard.

We spent two hours at the museum, reading and trying to learn. But our two minutes with Jessie made it all real. It is not just history, it is real people, now.

Oh to Move and Work

Emilie is a beautiful woman in her early sixties, with silver hair. She stands tall, and gives the air of someone who might have been important. She had bangles on her wrist, and a state school pin on her lapel. She was friendly, reminding me of an aunt, a category which I refer to as "The Jewels." And she was one.

We met her at gift shop at the Arkansas State Capitol. We were buying post cards for our family, and she asked where we were from. We shared a little of our story about driving across the country to a new home, how we were planning on it being only two years. We shared about our love of Arkansas and how we were pleasantly surprised at the beauty we found in the "Natural State", and how her state was our favorite stop on the trip. She proceeded to share with us her story, and we were glad she did :)

She moved to Little Rock with her husband, six years ago. She had been a school teacher in Louisiana for the sixteen years prior and had no intention of leaving her home. Her husband said it would only be for two years. She said she would go - but not without throwing a fit.

When they arrived in Arkansas, it was a rare,  cold January winter day ... that day locked into months. Emilie, a fresh retiree with her husband at work , was at home, fuming with anger at the current situation.

"It was the coldest winter in the history of Arkansas. I had spent my life in Louisiana, no snow, no cold, and especially no ice. One day as my patience grew thin, I went on the back deck, I decided I wanted, no I NEEDED, to get to my BBQ. I found it covered in layers of ice. I didn't have any snow shoes, I was from Louisiana for goodness sake! So I went to the kitchen, and I boiled all my pans of water, then I slowly skated across my ice pond deck and I poured the water over the BBQ. It was to my great surprise that instead of melting the ice, the water turned into more ice. Pot after pot ... more ice."

"My breaking point was that afternoon when my husband came home to find me with a hammer, trying to break through the layers of ice. That was when he told me it was time for me to get a job. Through my tears, I agreed, and I came to work here."

"You see, I agreed to move, but I didn't want to leave my home. I thought, 'what's in Arkansas anyway?' But I had no idea the beauty. Arkansas is my home now, it is a hidden gem."

Hidden Golden Gem

We had planned on spending ten hours tops in Arkansas. Drive, sleep, and leave.  The only thing we knew about this place was that it was called "The Natural State." We assumed that everyone 1: had accents, and 2: drank sweet tea. We were right on both accounts, but we were missing so much in between. We expected very little of Little Rock, but thankfully the city pushed past our expectations and proved herself to be a lovely, welcoming, and glimmering gem.

We booked ourselves at a B & B in the historic neighborhood of town, hoping to find some culture. What we found was the cities oldest standing house and one of only two buildings in the city of the Queen Victorian style architecture. We just so lucked out on being the only guests for the evening, and after a brief introduction from our host Susan, we locked ourselves into the three story mansion for an evening of royal proportions. We played hide and seek on creaky stairs, we drank decaf coffee in cups with gold rims, I took a bath in a claw foot tub. And when we went to sleep, we stayed in the turret room ... something I could have only dreamed about.

We ventured out for dinner and found a bustling downtown. We found a lit up walking bridge, blues music, crawfish, accents and sweet tea. Our personal trolly driver informed us that the best coffee shop in all of Arkansas was situated next to our B & B.

In the morning, instead of exiting the city quickly, we found ourselves at a coffee shop equaling or perhaps even surpassing our "Portlandy" expectations. This coffee shop called Mugs Cafe is also a church, and as we drank our 7:00 am espresso, we deliberated about staying in this quaint city of trollys, coffee and Victorian Mansions.  We walked the 26 steps back to our B & B where Susan had created a breakfast just for us. As we ate on antique china, she sat at the end of our long table and talked to us all about why she moved to Arkansas and why she thinks it is a hidden gem.

Susan told us about the amazing hiking trails, the night life, blues music, and the campground where people still strike it rich each year when they find gold laying on the ground. She gave us advise for our trip south and gave us the address of where to eat when we stopped in Memphis.

After such a morning, we simply could not just pull our trailer out of the city, we decided to delay our trip, and take our trim in this gem. Having driving through at least two other capitol cities and not stopping, we took ourselves to the center of the political world of Arkansas - The State Capitol.

The What

Ok, so what is this that we are talking about? It is a position called "House Parent." For those of you from the south, this might be a familiar term, but for those of us in the North West, it is very foreign. It refers to two people who live in a home for children and play a parental role. These homes are often part of a greater community; communities found both in the private and public sector.

We will be joining a pre-existing organization, one that has been around for 100 years in fact. For the safety of the kids we will be working with, and for purposes of this blog, we will be leaving our organization unnamed. In references in this blog, we will refer to where we live as "Live Oak."

Live Oak is a community that serves children from 7-21. They come from personal references, professional references, and state references. Each child stays for an amount of time that best suits their needs. Our role will be to live in a house that will be provided, and take care of the daily needs of 8-10 children. We will cook meals, do laundry, drive children to school and dr. appointments, watch movies, cry, laugh and simply live life.

We will work one week on, one week on, sharing our responsibilities with another couple (whom we have not yet met.) On our off weeks, we will live in an apartment separate from the children. When we are "On" we will be very busy, caring for the needs of the 8-10 children, filing paperwork, cleaning and trying to show love.

We are BEYOND excited for this opportunity. We have been praying since we met for the chance to work together. Everything about this next step was very guided by the Lord. Not only do we get to do ministry, but we will get paid for what we do and not need to spend time fundraising. We anticipate this to be a difficult transition, with many days of stress and tears. But, we feel called and able to do this.

This blog will follow our journey. I hope to use it as a place to process my thoughts. To share and update those of you who want to know what we are doing. While our physical address will soon change, our love for friends and family will stay the same. We will need your relationship just as deeply when we leave as when we are near. Please stay in contact with us. Read my blog, call us on the phone, or if you wish, come visit!

The Why

      When were first met, Austin and I were linked on one thing: We wanted to do youth ministry together. We both cared deeply about kids and youth who were under privileged, marginalized, unloved or tossed away. I have always dreamed of opening my own community center, Austin has goals of bringing mental health awareness to the church.

      We have both had Social Work as a degree in our line of focus at some point and are both passionate about social justice. I have spent the last five years working at a community center and with children who have behavioral and developmental needs. Austin got his youth ministry degree and has spent the last year and a half working for a non-profit with youth who have behavioral needs. We know that this population can be challenging. We have been cursed out, spit at, bit, had objects thrown at us, publicly humiliated and felt extremely defeated; yet when we come home from our daily jobs, we still find stories to tell each other that make us laugh until our ribs hurt. We know that we have been gifted and strengthened to do this sort of work well.

     During our initial interview, we were asked "Why Florida? Why do you want to move all the way here?" Our response? "Why not?"

     We have nothing holding us back, we have no mortgage, no pets, no plans in cement. As we have begun to share with people what is next, the most common thing we hear is "This is the perfect time in your life to do this!" And we agree.