Goodbye Louisville, Hello Yukon!

Big news: the Kieklaks have moved to Oklahoma!

Since last fall, Steve has been looking for a ministry job. He’s had several retail jobs since we moved to Kentucky, which has given him some good experience and he’s made some great friends. But it’s become more clear to us that he really thrives on the hands-on, personal aspects of a ministry job, which is what he did for the 5 years before we moved to Louisville.

We’ve looked all over the country for youth and college ministry jobs, but we were focused mostly on Arkansas and Oklahoma. We’d like to be closer to family as we start having children. We looked online and used the seminary’s resources to find positions, but then we heard from Steve’s parents that their church in Yukon, OK was looking for a new youth pastor.

Steve went through several steps of the interview process with this church, and in June they asked us to come visit. We had a very full weekend. We met with the senior pastor, got a church tour, met youth student leadership, had dinner with the pastor search committee, Steve spoke to the youth group on Sunday morning, we had dinner and a Q & A session with youth students and parents, and, finally, we met with the elders. Later that night, they called to tell us that they voted unanimously to offer Steve the job.

When we arrived for our visit, we were just excited about the prospect of a ministry job, but by the time we left, we were excited at becoming a part of Covenant Community Church. We felt so welcomed by all the people that we met there, and it’s clear that God is doing a great work in the congregation.

So now, less than a month later, we’re in Oklahoma! The move went smoothly and we’re staying with Steve’s parents right now until we find a place to live. We’re so glad to be here, and Steve is ready to start work on Sunday.

I’ll be updating you guys soon about the adoption and our new life here in Yukon!