A New Adventure
In 2013, my husband came to me and said that we should move to Scotland. Wait? What?
I wrote this back then in the moment. I am sharing it now as a way to share how we put our lives in the hands of God. We took a leap of faith. We were willing to be vulnerable and courageous. By sharing this, I hope that some of you might be inspired to try being courageous too!
September 2013 –
“He said that he really feels like we should be there. He felt like there was a reason why we should be there. So, I told him that we should pray about it. So we have been. We have both always been drawn to the UK. I have also been doing a lot of research about housing, jobs, passports, visas, etc. So, we have both received answers to our prayers that we should be in Scotland. I have really felt God’s love, his awareness of me specifically and who I am and what my family needs.
SCARY!!!! Even the thought about not being near family (both our parents live here in Utah – his live 2 blocks away and mine 30 min. away) makes me cry right now. Thinking about my kids not being near their aunts and uncles and cousins also makes me cry. Pretty much everything makes me cry right now. Change is hard. Especially after thinking we were going to live and die in the house we are currently living in. And have been living in for the past 10 years.
This is still in the very infancy of coming to fruition. We are taking the steps necessary (applying for passports for our kids/renewing ours) to making this a reality. We are having faith and trusting that if it is supposed to be, things will work out. I think it will take at least 6 months to a year before it is really happening. We have to secure a job for my husband.
Needless to say my past few weeks have been full of filling out a lot of forms and doing a lot of time on the internet reading.
November 2103 –
Due to the US Government shutdown plans were put on hold for a bit. We are currently waiting for my husband’s FBI background check. Hoping for it to come sometime next week. Once we have that, we will send off a form to be registered with the education system in Scotland. Once my husband is registered with them, we can start looking for a job.
This is an extremely long process for those who are not independently wealthy. However, we are both being optimistic and just staying vigilant and enduring.
Well, I sent off my husband’s application for registration with The General Teaching Council for Scotland on Monday, November 4th, 2013. It is now the 19th and it has not been delivered yet. Sheesh it takes a long time for Registered Mail to be delivered in another country!
Meanwhile, we are realizing that this is quite the expensive journey. With my husband being a teacher our funds are very limited. We literally live paycheck to paycheck. I know though that as I have a mindset of abundance we are well taken care of. I continue to have faith that the path will present itself.
We have discussed the need for us to sell our home. I knew this was coming but now we are playing the waiting game as to whether or not his application will be accepted. If it is, we will move forward with our options. Last week my in-laws came over to tell us that their apartment was available if we wanted it. This would be a really great thing for us because it is right through the block from our house. We would still be able to attend our church and still be close to our family. It would be quite a downsizing but would be good for us.
After this new development, my husband and I decided to begin the long process of getting our house “ready” if the opportunity arose for us to move. So what does this mean? It means that my basement currently looks like my storage room vomited all over the place. I am trying to become a pro at listing items online to sale rather than just junking them. I would like to make a little extra cash to provide a little cushion.
Not only did all of this transpire within the last week, but add to that – my husband opening/closing one of the biggest musicals he has produced (and thusly working 15-hour days), he is holding auditions for the next show, me starting plans for the 5th annual fundraising event to go along with the before mentioned production, our car needing a $500 repair (and us thinking we were going to need to get a new one), our washer and dryer wigging out/not working properly, our boys catching colds, and also needing to maintain being a mom/wife/Stake YW Secretary and him being dad/husband/Ward Executive Secretary. We have been busy.
Now my husband is starting to get discouraged and not sure that we are ever going to make it to Scotland. He has started looking at jobs elsewhere…in the states. He is qualified to be a principal…so…keep your eyes out. UGH!
This morning I am having a hard time with all the above mentioned. As you may recall, I was also doing preschool with my 3-year-old and have decided to stop doing that because it is something I actually have control over and can say no to. However, I am having a hard time with that because I feel like I am quitting.
So, we are trying to remain faithful and hopeful that things will work out and we will be where we are supposed to be. Keep us in your prayers!
January 2014 –
Last month, on Christmas Eve morning, we left for a trip to San Diego. It was our Christmas. It was super fun. We went to Sea World, San Diego Zoo Safari Park, Legoland (the boys’ favorite), whale watching, and to the Midway Aircraft Carrier. It was a really great trip. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderful time.
While in San Diego, we had arranged to go to a branch of a bank to set up an account for the UK. The San Diego branch was the nearest to us. There aren’t any banks here in Utah that are also in the UK. Big shocker, right? Haha. Anywho, we arranged to have our kids go with our other family members who were also in San Diego with us, so we could go to the bank. We had been told during our hour and a half application over the phone process that we had an appointment at the bank on a particular day and time.
We arrived in plenty of time to be early. We had set our appointment for 9am – right when the bank opened. We went in and went to a teller and told her that we had an appointment at 9am regarding an international bank account. She looked at us like we were crazy. She then continued to tell us that she would be able to assist us. We were a bit baffled by why we were supposed to set up an appointment if any teller would be able to help us. Oh well, we proceeded. With the application for an international account with the UK there is a $200 processing fee that we thought we would be able to pay for via cash, or credit. It turns out that it has to be a check. Rewind back to when we were packing to go on our trip. I had packed everything that I thought would be necessary for this process – including utility bills – and hauled them all with us on this trip. Everything, that is, except for our check book! UGH! So, we then had to go to the post office (which, thankfully, just happened to be around the corner and opened at 9:30am) to get a money order. We then returned to the bank, money order in hand, and continued the process. She made copies of our passports, our driver’s license, and then had us sign the applications. Then we were on our merry way to meet up with our family in the Safari Park.
This was on December 30th, 2013. As of the 3rd of January, we had received an e-mail explaining that we hadn’t signed our passports and that we would need to return to the branch and have them photocopy the signed passports. We would also need to provide them with the most recent 3 months of bank statements. AHHHHHH!!!!! Who doesn’t sign their passports? Us – apparently. AND I had bank statements with me – why didn’t they ask for them then? AND why didn’t “little-miss-helpful-teller” say anything about our passports not being signed? SERIOUSLY!!!!!
So, we requested that we be able to send a notarized copy of our passports and the 3 months of bank statements via mail. They denied the request. So, we requested a refund of the $200 and politely told them we would be trying a different avenue. No worries though. It may just be easier to open a bank account when we get to Scotland.
Other than that, we received word on the 9th that GTCS (General Teaching Council of Scotland) had received all of our necessary documentation and would be contacting us shortly to discuss registration. Registration with GTCS is necessary for my husband to get a job in the education system in Scotland. So, that is good news.
He also just submitted an application for a Head Teacher (principal) position in Foula. You could read more information about Foula here:http://www.foulaheritage.org.uk/ or here: http://www.foula.shetland.sch.uk/
We still feel really good about Scotland and remain very positive that the Lord will help us get where he needs us to be.
February 2014 –
We have recently received news about Scotland. My husband has been trying to register with the General Teaching Council for Scotland. We received word at the beginning of the week that they will allow a “probationary registration.” Which means that he must complete 135 days of teaching drama in a Scottish school before he would be allowed to be fully registered and thus be able to get a full-time job. This is really hard because he does not want to teach drama anymore. He is tired. He also feels that it would not be right to only teach kids for 1 year and then move on. It would be unfair to use them as a stepping stone….so to speak.
So, we submitted an application to the International School of Aberdeen for him to be a Principal/Head Teacher. The school is specifically for those who are not Scottish citizens but from elsewhere. And as far as we can see, he does not need to be fully registered to be considered. I think it would be an excellent fit for him. He is feeling very discouraged and therefore, so am I. He has said that he is continuing to try to be positive but that he wants to start looking for other jobs here in the US.
Anyway, I am remembering today that God knows who I am and I am a co-creator with Him. All things are in His hands.
April 2014 –
– Scotland is a bust! Short story – my husband can’t get a job teaching/being an administrator there. Therefore, we have no job there – therefore we can’t move there. TOTAL BUMMER!
– Husband applied for other jobs all over the country and nothing.
– So, we are where we are for now and feeling a little lost and not sure why we went through that whole process. Again – trying to see the positive in it all.
Going to go have a good cry and hopefully be able to feel these things and then move past them.
October 2014 –
I have been called to be the Relief Society President in my ward. My husband is being released from his calling as the Executive Secretary. As we have talked about this, we have come to learn that this is why the Lord was preparing us. He needed to know that we would be willing to support one another in something hard and something big. We still feel very strongly that we will end up in Scotland someday. For now we are content. We are raising our children close to family and in an area where we feel comfortable. That is not to say that we are not open to other possibilities but we will continue to rely on God and trust.
February 2016 –
So, here we are almost 3 years later. We have experienced many different things and continue to have faith. Read on for how we have discovered ways to incorporate a little bit of our Scotland adventure into our home now.
Comments
good afternoon,
i have a question…. so you’re now living in St Croix, do you still believe that you’ll end up in Scotland someday? Do you think you’ll live in St Croix forever? Maybe move back to Utah or some other place in the States?
Thanks in advance
Thanks for your patience as I responded!
We are very happy here in St. Croix. We are not sure where we will go next or when. As we have said before, when we feel froggy, we’ll jump!