Puzzles

Puzzle Piece #1

By now everyone should know that Karisa and I are in Yucca Valley, California. But not everyone has heard how we ended up here, this is that story.

In October of 2013, Karisa and I started to look for jobs. We applied first to SPH a school in Indonesia, interviewed with them, were high up on their list, but were then told they had accepted another couple to come and teach for them that has experience. We then applied to many other overseas schools that had positions for the both of us. These schools were in Thailand, Japan, Germany, and many more places.

When we realized that God was telling us that we necessarily shouldn’t go overseas, we started to look in the United States for jobs as well. We applied to many schools that had positions for the both of us, and yet all of them were either already filled, or they cut us out of the application process. We started to get discouraged and thought of our options in Canada. However, Karisa and I decided that it would be easier for me to find and get a job in the states than it would be for her to get everything cleared in Canada.

I proceeded to send out resumes all over the country. I sent resumes and applications to every school on ACSI (Association of Christian Schools International) and CSI (Christian Schools International) that had a music position opening. Out of all of the 20 or so applications I sent out, I received maybe 3 replies, one of which asked when I could do a preliminary interview with them. Two days later, I was on the phone with the principal of Joshua Springs Christian School talking about myself and what I knew - I let her know that I was married. The principal asked me what my wife did and I said Karisa had a Physical Education major, the principal said “no way!? We have a PE opening!” I then mentioned that she also had Special Education minor, the principal then said, “the last PE teacher also did resource! Tell your wife to fill out an application and we’ll see what happens.”

The Tuesday of the next week Karisa did a phone interview with the principal and everything went just as well as my interview. When Karisa finished talking with the school, she said to me, it would be really nice if we could get a job by the end of this week.

At this time we were kind of in stress mode because Karisa’s parents were taking us and her family and Opa and Oma to the Netherlands and we were leaving the coming Friday.

That Friday at 1:59 PM, we received an email letting us know that we had been approved and that we were accepted to teach in Yucca Valley, California for the 2014-15 school year!

Puzzle Piece #2

This past summer we decided to rent a house in Yucca. While looking, we found a place located on Sioux Ave. This is significant to us since we both went to college in Sioux Center, Sioux County Iowa. We looked at it and liked it, though kept looking for other places in case this one didn’t pan out. But we just couldn’t find anything else that we liked as much as we did the little Sioux Ave place. So we decided to rent it!

Puzzle Piece #3

Yes, that is me, the only guy in a class of women.

As a requirement from the school for me, I was to take a music class named after the creator of it entitled Orff: Music for Children. While looking for it I had to make sure it fit into my schedule for the summer. My parents had planned a summer vacation starting on the 13^th of July right after my best friend was getting married on the 12^th, and there was a wedding on the 2^nd of August of Karisa’s college roommate. Low and behold an Orff class, two weeks long, on Prince Edward Island, starting on the 21^st of July and going until the 1^st of August. I jumped on it and took it, it was more practical than the elementary music class I took at Dordt, and it cost nothing to me as the school was paying for it!

God was and still is holding us to Joshua Springs Christian School and he is letting us know day after day that this is the place for us. Each puzzle piece just strengthened our justification for coming here.

Emil Out-