Our Move West.

It was March of 2011. We had been married almost a year and were headed off to California in pursuit of our dreams. We left behind our hometown of Orlando, Florida. Leaving our jobs, family, comfort, and everything familiar to us. We were three parts excited and one part terrified. But we were ready. We were full of faith and trusted this was part of God’s plan for us. We were excited to go on an adventure & build a new life for ourselves. 

At times the path was unclear, and our faith tested. As we headed West, just as we were driving out of the state of Florida, Ryan got a text from the friends we were supposed to crash with for a week or so until we found our own place. Plans had changed and we could no longer stay there. What now? We thought. Do we turn around? We can’t waste all of our savings staying in a hotel. 

Within minutes, out of nowhere, we received a text message from a new friend, Monty Kelso. We were introduced to him by a mutual friend & met him a month prior when we were in LA scouting for apartments. He had no idea of our living arrangements but sent us a text saying “I’m not sure if you guys have a place to crash but I talked to my wife and you’re welcome to stay with us for a week or so.” We read this and tears filled our eyes. This was exactly what we needed at the exact moment we needed it. We barely knew this family. We had only met Monty once & had never even met his wife, and yet they were willing to take us in. We changed our GPS to their home address in San Clemente and continued driving.

A strong friendship with the Kelso family emerged, and they became our “West Coast Family” as we call it. We immediately developed a sense of family, and community, which helped us have a smoother transition into life in California. 

After a few weeks we landed an apartment up in LA and began to get settled in. Neither of us had jobs nailed down at that point and were both searching for the right opportunity. One weekend we were down in San Clemente visiting with the Kelsos. Monty had forgotten that he had made plans to meet with his friend, Todd, for coffee. So he had Todd just come over to the house to meet. Ryan and I were there hanging out in our PJs. Turns out Todd was the Pastor of a church called Mountain View and they were looking for a new worship leader. Coincidence? I think not. The next weekend Ryan was brought in to lead their Palm Sunday service, and was hired as full time staff a few weeks after that. It’s been such a blessing being apart of this church community and seeing my husband grow into such a strong leader. Now it is so obvious that this was a huge part of God’s plan all along.

It’s still a little mind boggling how it all came to be. If our original plan hadn’t failed we would’ve never stayed with the Kelso family. We might never had become as close to them as we are now. We wouldn’t have met Todd that fateful afternoon, and everything might be entirely different. It wasn’t always easy, but we trusted God and he showed us the way. He provided for us and made a way for us. As Todd’s daughter, Rachel, recently wrote, We live in a world that says “God, just show me and I will go” but we have a God that says “just go and I will show you.” That really rings true in our story. And had we never taken those first steps, we never would have gotten to where we are today.

Moving to California was one of the bravest and best decisions we ever made. A journey that brought us closer to each other and closer to God. There have been struggles: we have been lonely at times and have missed family to the point of tears. But overall it has been so rewarding and we know we are exactly where we are supposed to be. ♥