Family Announcement 2016

I came home with so much excitement and anxiety that day.  Should I tell Jenn…or should I just keep it to myself and let things pass?  We had just prayed and felt good about staying in College Station, it was the reason I had applied for a position with the Conflict and Development Center at Texas A&M.  I was sick and restless at the idea of working in an office anywhere, let alone, here in Texas for another couple years.  Simply put, I’m a boots-on-the-ground-wanna-be-physically-drained-by-the-end-of-the-day sorta guy. All that being said, there was no way she would go to Africa with me right now, it would be absurd and irresponsible to even tell her I got an offer over there.  I argued with myself for an hour or so, but Jenn could see the excitement in my eyes and we have the darndest time keeping anything from each other (it ruins most surprises, but somehow Jenn has pulled some good ones off).

“Jenn, what do you think about Rwanda?” I gulped…

I dress like this to help prep Jenn

She knows that I randomly dream about doing things like that, so it didn’t throw her off too much. She saw that I was holding back something though, so she started probing and I caved without a fight.  I had recently applied for a position here in College Station at the Conflict and Development Center at Texas A&M, but had just been offered a position that I hadn’t applied for.  It was like God saw me and everything I held dear in my life and put a special package together for graduation.  My love of Africa, languages, wild game reserves, agriculture, and politics all wrapped into one!  I was getting more and more excited about it as I spoke, but I noticed Jenn was getting more reserved and nervous. 

If you look back on some of the posts in this blog, you will see that I had talked so much about going back to Africa, so it was nothing new to her.  This was different.  This job would mean a year or more in Rwanda with a possibility of extending.  It would mean a lot of change.  Sure, Jenn had tried the refugee ward (not always the most uplifting experience), but this would be total and complete immersion. I was about to see how all of my African persuasion tactics and dream inception would play out in Jenn’s outlook on Africa. In fact I foresaw us all (dogs included) in Africa within two years if you read the linked post.

African friends near the ward

That being said, neither of us took the offer too serious initially.  We had a lot of demands if we were to go out there, especially with our little Jack Clayton.  I went back to my friend who made the offer to me and told him our situation.  He said he would have to get back with us about some of our concerns and demands.  I thought they would simply look somewhere else for someone who wasn’t so needy and wouldn’t be a logistical nightmare.  Maybe it would have been easier that way.

He got back with me the next day and said he could sort everything out.  We would have a nice place to stay, a vehicle, and a salary that would help us take care of some of loans I had been building up.  Double gulp...

I went back to Jenn with my Bambi eyes like I do with most things I want in life.  I always told Jenn I was a simple man, but what I was asking her to do was not going to mean a simple change in our lives.  It would mean selling our car, putting our U.S. life completely in storage for a year or so, it would mean a life of malaria medication and vegetable bleach washing.  It would be going into the unknown for both of us, because, while I had served two years in Kenya, Rwanda was going to be a different beast entirely.

There were arguments, discussions, maybe a few tears (mostly me when I thought about the possibility of being stuck in an office for the next couple years). All of this aside, we have always made revelation the deciding factor on important decisions like this. So, we prayed together…and prayed together…and prayed together. NOTHING.  We changed our prayers a little to ask if we should at least go through the interview process, which would require me to talk with the CEO of the foundation and meet with Howard Buffet to discuss about the position.  We got a real positive feeling to that, but didn’t know what that meant.

Here I am now, coming back from Decatur, Illinois where Howard Buffet lives and works most of the time.  I didn’t think I was even going to make it with all the plane delays from tornado warnings in Dallas, but after rescheduling my flights and TRYING to sleep at the airport, I made it.  I was really excited and anxious to meet Howard and those feelings only grew as I read his book 40 Chances. It was about his experiences with farming and development work.  The more I read, the more I wanted to meet and work with him.  I knew he was going to be a real down-to-earth individual, but when he came in with a Nebraska t-shirt and utility pants and boots, I felt a little overdressed.  He asked me why I dressed in a suit and I was a little taken back.  

As we sat, I got a good feeling for how unpredictable and creative Howard is.  He talked about going out to Congo next week to work with the president and rebel leaders on a peace agreement deal.  He got distracted by a phone call from the local sheriff as well and I found out that he is a volunteer depute.  He really has this next door neighbor approachability to him and it was fun hearing some of his stories.  I probably could have been there all night, but I got the feeling and answer I needed.  

2 hrs of sleep will have to do

I went to my rental car and called Jenn. We both prayed again and got a good feeling about it, so that is that.  Our world is about to turn upside down in the next couple of months.  It is overwhelming to say the least. I defended my professional paper in front of my committee and passed, but I still have a little over a month till I finish up school.   It will be a short turn around to get international drivers licenses, vaccines, medication, and gear we need to go.  Yes, we are taking the dogs this time.  Jack can’t handle being without those guys again.  It almost broke my heart when his little lips would quiver as he watched dogs that weren’t his pass by in Germany that he couldn’t pet, ride, and wrestle with.  The dogs have become his brothers and Russel really loves him too.  Red is like one of those brothers that takes a little time to warm up to (most of us have one of those).

So there y’all have it! It is funny how things work out, but one thing I know is that that they do when we have faith.  Sometimes it isn’t what we expect at all.  We got the feeling we would be in College Station for a long time, but maybe that was for us to unpack our bags and settle down for a bit.  Maybe it was so I would apply for this job in College Station that led to this completely different offer.  Maybe it is for a million other reasons I am overlooking, but one thing I know is its hard to predict what will happen next.

When Howard asked me if my wife was going to be on board with this job in Rwanda I simply told him that she loves and craves adventure as much as I do.  She would have never jumped into marriage with a leaf in a hurricane if that weren’t the case.  She really took a risk on me and I love her with all my heart because of it.  There is nothing more fulfilling and encouraging than a wife who supports you through thick and thin.   

So, here is to the next chapter in life! Adventure is out there and we are about to find it in the Land of a Thousand Hills!

From Donna Simpson's blog