Written by Jackie, Posted here by Kevin
Kevin graduated from Purdue in May and along with that came many changes. He started interviewing early in the year with different companies and by March had wrapped that up. In February, Kevin was contacted by IBM in Charlotte, NC. He flew down for an interview and was successful as you notice our return address. It wasn't an easy decision, believe me. Kevin had other offers closer to home which we were also considering.
Well, like I said earlier, it wasn't an easy decision; but after much discussion and prayer we ended up in Charlotte. We truly felt the Lord was leading us to Charlotte. I still get homesick once in a while; but knowing God wants us here really helps. It has been confirmed to us many times that we made the right decision and we are happy here in Charlotte.
The move was an experience all in itself. We had a moving company move us and I hope we don't have to do that again in the near future! A few things were broken and time schedules were mixed up, but everything eventually was taken care of - PTL! We now live in an apartment and hope to start looking at houses within the next year. For now we are thankful for the extra space we have compared to our last apartment in West Lafayette. The traffic here is awful and sometimes we would rather follow an Amish buggy. (We were not born to be city folk)
Kevin loves his job, he is a Computer and Electrical Engineer, but is working now as a Software Engineer. He is working on Proprinters, which this was printed on! He wanted me to throw that in. I am working in a Medical Clinic right now in the Lab and enjoy the regular hours with no weekends or holidays. It is much different from the hospital in Lafayette. I am changing jobs in a week, though, basically because of salary and benefits. My new job will be with Charlotte Allergy Clinic. I will be working in the lab there and am looking forward to it. I'd appreciate your thoughts and prayers throughout this transition. Thanks!
We have joined a Southern Baptist Church and have met some super friends. Kevin's officemate is a Christian and he invited us to their church. Wow, how God works is so wonderful. We still visited many other churches and different denominations, but with much prayer we felt led to University Hills Baptist Church. We are really happy there and are getting involved with many different areas. We both sing in the choir and are involved in a Friday evening Bible study and a Sunday prayer and devotional group. I'm also involved in the Women's Ministries group and we help with the college ministry also. Our church is located across the street from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. It has a great college group and we help plan activities for them and whatever else they need. We really enjoy ministering that group. As you can see we are keeping busy and loving every minute of it. We were able to drive back to Indiana in August for my High School Class reunion. It was a rushed and packed weekend, but a lot of fun. It was good to see everyone again and spend a little time with family too. Our families are all doing great. We have had a few visits already from family and friends since our move in May. It's always nice to have visitors, but hard to see them go again!
We had a blessed Thanksgiving which we spent with friends from church; since we were unable to go home. It makes it a little easier being away at special times and holidays when you have a church family right where you are. We have worked it out though to go home for a week at Christmas. We are really excited about that and anticipating many visits with family and friends. We leave on December 23rd and will be home until January 3rd. We are praying that the weather cooperates with us and with other travelers on the road as well. It takes between 12 and 13 hours to make the trip, so we're hoping the snow and the ice stay away until we get there.
Looking back, we can see once again the many changes we've gone through and the busy year we have had; but also looking back we can see God's hand at work in it all. What a fantastic and blessed year we have had. We hope that you have had the same. Isn't it just wonderful to know that God unconditionally loves us and we all have family and friends that love us too! Wishing everyone a joyful Holiday Season.
Love in Christ,
Kevin & Jackie
