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| 2011 engagement pictures Okinawa, Japan-Ally Wiseman Photography |
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| Hedo Misaki (Cape Hedo) Okinawa, Japan 2010 |
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| My mode of transportation while I lived there |
This whole waiting period that I'm
I found myself on a beautiful island filled with some of the kindest, humblest, most gracious people I have ever met. It was also an island filled with military bases, and I had no access to them (without Ben). It was filled with military spouses, and I was not one of them. Ben spent more time in the Philippines, Thailand, and Iraq than he did in Okinawa during those two years. Even when he was on the island, we lived an hour apart and had opposite work schedules. This gave me the opportunity to really get the experience I was searching for, one that holds the place as the beginning of our love story; thus, the beginning of Jack's story.
June 18th, 2009
I move to Okinawa today. I left behind my family, friends and dog. It is finally starting to sink in...I might not step back onto U.S. soil for at least a year...that thought is scary, exciting, uncomfortable, and REALLY hard to imagine. Why am I leaving everything I've ever known behind and moving to Japan? There are so many factors that seemed to align perfectly that pointed me in this direction--the first being God. I have grown closer to Him this past year than I ever have before. I have learned so much about Him and yet so little at the same time. I have prayed long and hard about this decision and God has somehow managed to give me the means I need to make this experience seem almost practical. He made it possible for me to move there providing me with not only a job, but also a place to live, and this job just happens to be something that is capable of changing/sculpting my career choice.
The other factors that have fallen into place and as a result have made me consider this path are the series of events that took place after last New Years. I met the most amazing man, fell in love, he moved to Okinawa, and I graduated college. At this point in my life, I am ready for a drastic change. I cannot imagine starting a teaching job right after I graduated and being content in some suburban school--I need something else. I want to travel first, I want to experience life outside of my comfort zone, I am ready to really learn about myself.
Ben could not have come at a more perfect time. I had no idea what I was getting myself into that one New Year's, but I immediately understood that guys like Ben do not come around often. I wasn't sure if Ben and I were really compatible--we seemed so different. However, the more time I spent with him the more I craved for more time with him. We had a few short months to get to know each other before he left for Japan. Those months really challenged my misconception that we may be too different and I began falling in love with someone who was moving across the world for 2 years. As it turns out, Ben is someone I can see spending the rest of my life with--I would be lucky to. He trusts in God, is kind, handsome, generous, loving, faithful, and so much more..
So there you have it, I am currently departing Tokyo to head to Fukuoka and finally to land in Okinawa. This has been quite the trip already--Chicago>Toronto>Tokyo>Fukuoka>Okinawa-and I can hardly wait to start my new life as an English Language Instructor who is also dating the man of her dreams. Wish me luck!
To read some of my posts during that time, click here.
