This post, I imagine is a work in progress. Can you go back and edit posts? I don't know. I'm sure that there will be several of these, I know when Erik (my husband) and I were researching (still are) about life in the Foreign Service, we combed through many blogs with time lines. So I will add ours to the mix. For us this journey started in December of 2011 when Erik graduated from college with his Masters degree in Construction Management. The economy was less than stable and that launched an exhaustive job search. In those job searches one popped up that sparked his interest - A Construction Engineer in the State Department. They were taking applicants. We thought, what the heck. We sat down one afternoon and filled out the exhaustive questionnaire...and...didn't make the first cut. Why? Humility - trust me - don't be humble people. If you don't know your stuff, you will get weeded out - trust me. Erik was discouraged to know that you had to wait a year before applying again. In the mean time, a facilities manager position came available that Erik technically qualified for. This time he was more confident in his answers and his application passed the first round. He was invited in December of 2013 to Washington DC for an interview. Early February of 2013 we flew to Washington DC for the Oral Assessment. I could tell you what is on the assessment, but I would have to kill you :) no, really, he had to sign a non disclosure agreement so I couldn't actually tell you what was on the assessment. And trust me if you google it - you will come up with nothing! These people take those agreements seriously! All I can say is good luck! Back to my time line - he failed. However, being believers, we know that God works all things to the good of those who love Him according to His good purpose (Rom. 8:28) so we took comfort knowing that it wasn't his plan for us at that time. The end of February 2014 the position for Construction Engineer re-opened. Erik applied, made it past the first round and was invited for his Oral Assessment - we went in July of 2014 and (drum roll) he passed. Which I am assuming you have guessed by the title of this blog. Side note - there were many emotions, prayers, and other circumstances that played into this decision making process but that is for another blog post.
After the acceptance immediately came CLEARANCES. Which were the funnest thing ever for a pregnant 35 year old woman (oh yeah - managed to get pregnant during a major career and life change because that is how it goes right?) and her two sweet kiddos. We received medical and security clearances for all four of us in September of 2014 and Erik received word that he was #3 on the roster. In early December of 2014 he received an invitation to the January class. He accepted, but after much prayer and tears (on my part) he deferred. Our baby was due January 8 and the class began Jan 26. Too close for comfort! He was assigned a wonderful HR person and simply gave her the dates that he would be available. Long story short...er...he received an offer from the State Department in April of 2015 inviting him to the July 2015 class. He has accepted and I created this blog ;) All kidding aside, with each step we take toward moving we learn something new. The purpose of this blog is to inform you of things we learn as we go - both factual and spiritual and sometimes just to share the random stories of this crazy happy adventure we are on.
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