…said American naturalist and essayist John Burroughs.
When Jay and I got married, we planned on taking a year off to travel and volunteer overseas. We thought we would do this two years into our marriage. But life got busy and we got caught up in the rat race of life. This vicious cycle of working more and more hours, to make more and more money, just to spend more and more money. It never ends and it feels like there is no way out. And we started to get this feeling that we were never going to be able to make our dream come true. Excuses start filling your mind…we’ll never be able to save up enough money; we have too many responsibilities at home; we can’t leave our jobs, our pets, our friends, our family; it’s just too difficult to make it happen.
Then one day we realized…to make it happen was going to take a leap of faith. We can’t just wait for all the pieces to fall into place. We can’t just wait until we reach the point of absolute certainty that everything will work out OK – that day will never come. We have to be willing to take a leap of faith and trust that once we’ve taken that leap and are committed to making it happen, things will start falling into place. And that’s exactly how it happened.
We decided that instead of going overseas a full year at one time, we would travel for back-to-back winters (the slow season for Jay’s business). In between, Jay could run his business and I could find project work. We set our travel dates. We told our family and friends. We officially committed. And one-by-one, things started falling into place.
In order to be more financially secure, we decided to rent the upper level of our home and move into the apartment downstairs. As of November 1, a tenant has moved in and we are now living in the apartment. It’s definitely a sacrifice to move out of the space we spent years remodeling, and to move out just when everything was finally complete. But at the end of the day, it just a house.
In early October, I turned in my resignation. My last day at work is Dec 3. Jay will also be working up until we leave, trying to get a bunch of jobs done and things wrapped up with the business before we go, while also working to get jobs lined up for when we get back.
We leave the U.S. on December 5 and will return on March 5. While we don’t have all the details figured out, we do know which countries we’ll be going to, and have been working on lining up volunteer work. Our journeys will take us to Thailand, Cambodia, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, France, and Iceland. I know that may seem like a strange combination of countries. But there is a reason and purpose it turned out that way. And I’ll be blogging about each over the coming months, so stay tuned! We are anxious and excited for what lies ahead, but most of all, just filled with gratitude.
Leap and the net will appear!
Jay and Joann's Journey 
I’m sure you are getting excited about your trip. Look forward to seeing you before you leave. Love. Grandma
What an adventure. We will be praying for you as God will surely rock your world and bless you in ways you cant imagine! AND we are more than excited that you will be staying with us in Nigeria! See you soon…love you guys
Love the quote at the top by Mark Twain. This is great, it will be fun to follow and keep up during your adventure. I have you bookmarked 😉
Can’t wait to see you!!
So excited about your big journey. Looking forward to reading your blog updates. Just can’t quite accept that you are willing to give up living in your newly remodeled home to do this. So happy for you and looking forward to your visit for Thanksgiving. Looking forward to sharing your dreams come true.
I’ll take avocados to Libby……since we will be neighbors.
This sounds amazing. If something happens and you make it to Hong Kong we would love to see you. You could volunteer here at Crossroads; Looking forward to reading about your journey.
Thanks Polly! We won’t be making it to Hong Kong this trip, but maybe another trip! Would be great to be able to volunteer with Crossroads! Hope things are going well. I’ve been following you guys and keeping you in my prayers!
Be willing to go out on a limb with Me. If that is where I am leading you, it is the safest place to be. Your desire to live a risk-free life is a form of unbelief. Your longing to live close to Me is at odds with your attempts to minimize risk. You are approaching a crossroads in your journey. In order to follow Me wholeheartedly, you must relinquish your tendency to play it safe.
Let Me lead you step by step through this day. If your primary focus is on Me, you can walk along perilous paths without being afraid. Eventually, you will learn to relax and enjoy the adventure of our journey together. As long as you stay close to Me, My sovereign Presence protects you wherever you go.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
—Psalm 23:4
Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.
—Psalm 9:10
“Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.”
—John 12:26 – http://bit.ly/eF5kSq
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This came from today’ s devotional in the book Jesus calling….thought u would enjoy it as u take ur leap of faith!
Love this! Thanks for sharing. We downloaded some devotionals to read and the first one was about being fearless. Really struck home for me and getting this from you is making it hit even harder. Over and over again in the bible God calls us to not be afraid, to trust in Him. Not sure why it is so hard! Working on this!