I cannot even begin to tell you how long I have waited to write this blog post. The last 8 months have been a true test of our trust in our marriage, in our family, and in our God. This is quite an in-depth story but I promise to keep it as short as possible. But here it is, the BLUF...the Morgans are moving to London! Yes, you read that correctly, we are heading across the pond for a few years!
It all began last summer when we knew something was changing. Our contentment with where we were was wavering and we prayed frivolously for what that meant or looked like. Justin spent time in Uganda in August (2014) and when he came home, we started to feel a call elsewhere, Uganda being one possibility. Soon after, I caught wind of a job opportunity for me in London. All the while, Justin had been feeling a tug on his heart to go get his PhD. All these things, all these different directions, where in the world were we going to go? So we did the only thing we could do...we started praying and pushing on doors. We knew that some doors would ultimately close and others would be opened and we decided we would just walk through whatever opened for us.
In September, we began talking to some friends in Uganda about a possible move there, Justin began applying for PhD programs, and I waited patiently (not really) for the London job to open up for me to apply. In the meantime, we both continued in our jobs. At that time, I was certain that Uganda was the right place for our family. I traveled as usual for work, found out we were going to have a baby, and the boys continued in school. Come January, I had the opportunity to go back to Uganda for a visit and to see more of what it would look like for us to be there. It was such an amazing trip and yet there was something in me that wasn't certain our family was ready for that at this point in time. We had had some set backs with our little man and I was very fearful of what taking him back to Uganda indefinitely would do to his little self. A short time after I came home, we still didn't feel clear on Uganda, the job req still wasn't open, and Justin had heard from zero schools, one way or the other. And I was pretty done (not to mention 20 weeks pregnant). So we decided to fast.
It was a crazy, difficult, amazing week but by the end of it, we definitely had some clarity. In that time we heard back from schools Justin had applied to, I got an interview for the job, and we felt a peace about Uganda. By Friday we knew that London was our first choice and UW Madison was our second choice (Justin had received his acceptance letter earlier in the week). They were both amazing choices and we were happy with both options but the rest was up to me getting the job in London.
There are so many more details in the weeds of this story and if you want to have coffee or a Skype date sometime, I'd love to share them!! Suffice to say, I have received a job offer for the job in London and our family will be moving in August to live in the UK for the next 3-5 years!!
It is scary and exciting and the timing seems nutso! This summer we will have a baby, sell our house, move to the UK, start a new job, so.many.new.things!! We are not naive that we have a tough transition ahead of us but we're so excited for the adventure and the opportunity for our family! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move into this new phase and stay tuned for the craziness that is moving your family of five across the world!
It all began last summer when we knew something was changing. Our contentment with where we were was wavering and we prayed frivolously for what that meant or looked like. Justin spent time in Uganda in August (2014) and when he came home, we started to feel a call elsewhere, Uganda being one possibility. Soon after, I caught wind of a job opportunity for me in London. All the while, Justin had been feeling a tug on his heart to go get his PhD. All these things, all these different directions, where in the world were we going to go? So we did the only thing we could do...we started praying and pushing on doors. We knew that some doors would ultimately close and others would be opened and we decided we would just walk through whatever opened for us.
In September, we began talking to some friends in Uganda about a possible move there, Justin began applying for PhD programs, and I waited patiently (not really) for the London job to open up for me to apply. In the meantime, we both continued in our jobs. At that time, I was certain that Uganda was the right place for our family. I traveled as usual for work, found out we were going to have a baby, and the boys continued in school. Come January, I had the opportunity to go back to Uganda for a visit and to see more of what it would look like for us to be there. It was such an amazing trip and yet there was something in me that wasn't certain our family was ready for that at this point in time. We had had some set backs with our little man and I was very fearful of what taking him back to Uganda indefinitely would do to his little self. A short time after I came home, we still didn't feel clear on Uganda, the job req still wasn't open, and Justin had heard from zero schools, one way or the other. And I was pretty done (not to mention 20 weeks pregnant). So we decided to fast.
It was a crazy, difficult, amazing week but by the end of it, we definitely had some clarity. In that time we heard back from schools Justin had applied to, I got an interview for the job, and we felt a peace about Uganda. By Friday we knew that London was our first choice and UW Madison was our second choice (Justin had received his acceptance letter earlier in the week). They were both amazing choices and we were happy with both options but the rest was up to me getting the job in London.
There are so many more details in the weeds of this story and if you want to have coffee or a Skype date sometime, I'd love to share them!! Suffice to say, I have received a job offer for the job in London and our family will be moving in August to live in the UK for the next 3-5 years!!
It is scary and exciting and the timing seems nutso! This summer we will have a baby, sell our house, move to the UK, start a new job, so.many.new.things!! We are not naive that we have a tough transition ahead of us but we're so excited for the adventure and the opportunity for our family! Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we move into this new phase and stay tuned for the craziness that is moving your family of five across the world!
