So I have officially moved back to Houston, my original home, and am finally settling in, if that can even happen in the short amount of time I'm going to be here. These last few months have been a roller coaster of a ride with most ups and very few downs, or maybe I'm learning to be more of an optomist and I don't remember the bad times as much as I do the good times. I am finally and officially done with school!!! Woo hoo!!! For good! I will never, ever have to go back to college as long as I am alive and I can't tell you what kind of a weight has been lifted off my shoulders to know that I have accomplished this major goal I set out to do five years ago and now I can move on and start my life...well, start a new chapter! And my new chapter is pretty incredible if I do say so myself!
So lets go back to the beginning and how it all began...
The Lord has blessed my life so incredibly since the day I was born but I won't go that far back! I will just say that I have an amazing family who are so increidbly supportive and I believe I am who I am and I am where I am because of the unconditional love and support of those around me.
For spring break of my 4th year of college (last march) I had the opportunity to go to Paris on vacation with my Aunt Kelly and cousin Jackie! The minute I stepped foot on French ground I knew this was the place for me! I just HAD to move there! I find it crazy how God can instantly give you a dream and a passion, and that he sure did. So fast forward to this year, I have spent the last year and some researching, reading up on, learning about, practicing, etc, everything that has to do with French people, the language, moving there. Everything. I had heard about Au Pair jobs which is a live-in nanny position and I thought that would be a perfect position for me because I was a nanny back in Texas and I enjoyed it and knew I would do well at it in another country. Especially if it afforded me the opportunity to go and learn and grow and enjoy.
This past January I went to the Passion Conference in Atlanta, Georgia and was blessed to meet a sweet lady named Jessica who I spoke with about doing missions and I had told her that I had an opportunity to go on a trip to France where I felt I was being called to go but I knew I didn't have enough money to go but that I needed to make a decision pretty soon. Jessica and I talked some and she told me very directly, "Kara, if thats where the Lord wants you and he has placed the desire in your heart, don't let money stand in the way, HE WILL PROVIDE." Her words stuck close in my heart and my mind and over the next few days I start crunching numbers and praying real hard that the Lord would show me his way in what he wanted me to do. I decided to take the plung and sign up for the trip and trust that the Lord would provide. The Lord is so amazing and he provided when at times I didn't even know how the numbers added up or where the money came from. I was blessed to be on a plane to the French Alps in mid March to spend a week around the French people and serving them while enjoying a nice vacation. During that week I was able to meet a few missionary couples and families who served mostly in the Paris area and I took the time to ask questions and learn more about their ministries and what they do on a regular basis. The Lord was putting a stir in my heart even greater than anything I'd ever felt before. Later in the week we found out that our airline was going on strike and our flight had been cancelled, leaving us "stranded" (haha) in France for a few more days than expected. At that point I knew it was meant to be and I needed to get up to Paris and job search and network and make connections. The rest of my group decided to take a trip down to Italy and go explore and enjoy while I knew I had no desire to be in Italy but I needed to take this open door to go to Paris. I had made a contact with a family who lived in a suburb just outside Paris the year before when I had been there with my aunt and cousin and emailed them and asked if it would be possible for me to come and stay with them for a few days (5 days to be exact) as I was "stranded" in France and had "nowhere to go". haha. They, without hesitation, agreed to host me for the next half a week and gave me directions and phone numbers and told me to give them a call once I got into town. The next step was figuring out how to get from Grenoble, France to Paris, France. I had the option to get on a train but one of the missionaries agreed to let me ride back in their van which was a major blessing as it saved me quite a bit of money. Trains there are like plane fairs here, if you buy them in advance you can get good deals but buying a train ticket 24-48 hours in advance is not very cheap so I was very thankful for the ride and the company.
I was so excited about the opportunity to be back in Paris that I almost couldn't contain myself. I was glad for the opportunity to explore some more, to make sure this is really where I was supposed to be and to know that I could do it, I could call this place home, and to network and hopefully meet a family and get a job. I told you about a family that I had met the previous year on my trip who had agreed to let me stay with them, the Belorgeot Family. They were the biggest blessing EVER, and I know I keep describing everything as a blessing, but I truly feel that way. I know and feel that I don't deserve anything that has been given to me or that I have experienced and I owe it all to the One who has put down this path. The Belorgeot Family took me in as if I were one of their own and treated me to the best of what they had. I have never been served in such a way before and it was very awkward to constantly be given and cared for by people who barely knew me and not be able to truly show my gratitude. They took me into their home, fed me every meal I was there with them, took me to the train station and picked me up every day, let me borrow their cell phone while I was in Paris, sleep on their pull out couch in their game room, use their phone to call the US, use their computer to research and network. They threw me a surprise birthday celebration on my birthday which was amazing and so very generous. I had talked with Viriginie (the mom) about what I was trying to do and she had mentioned that she had some friends who were looking for an Au Pair and if I was interested that she could set up a meeting with them and introduce me and I took her up on her offer and one of the days I was there they took me over to meet this family who was looking for an Au Pair. This is the famiy that I would soon take their job offer and am in 29 short days going to be living with and working for.
I think this is a very long post so I will write some more on this story another day, but the story is just beginning and its so incredibly awesome that I tell everyone who asks and even those who don't. It's dangerous to start asking questions about my move to Paris because its not so simple to answer. I owe everything that I have and have been given to the One who created me and first gave me the dream and desire to move to France and love on the French people. I am so excited about the next and newest chapter in my life and I hope that those who read my blog would keep in touch with me and pray for me as I know in the next 11 plus months I am going to need all the love, support, and prayers that I can get!
So ***cheers*** to faith, new passions, and this new journey I am embarking on...
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