First of all, I'd like to introduce both myself and my husband. I am Calli-Jade English and am a seeker of God who found a fellow seeker by the name of Isaiah Paul English. The other details aren't as important quite yet. After all, since you'll be on this journey with us for quite a while, I have a feeling you'll learn about us both soon enough.
For now, I'd simply like to catch some of you up. Those of you who know us a bit, as well as you newcomers, deserve to know some of our story. Though it may not be time to tell you everything about who we are, I'd like to share a bit of what you'll find here. First off, in between the typical icons on this page (facebook and pinterest), there is one that holds a picture of us. This icon links to our wedding website, which tells some of our "couple" story. Feel free to visit if you feel like getting to know us a bit more. Though the Bridal Party and Details pages may not be of much use to you, the sections that communicate our heart can get you started on feeling like a part of our story and journey.
Now to officially catch you up: Isaiah and I were married February 14th of this year. We are currently residing in Lexington, North Carolina, where I grew up. This means we spend plenty of time with my family and even get to spend a bit of weekend time with Isaiah's family in Concord, North Carolina. Though we are currently living pretty mundane lives, there is beauty in the mundane. Working at the local YMCA and tutoring my brother may not be where I planned on being at 25, but it is certainly where God has me. And this wonderful husband of mine can be found cooking and cleaning the lakehouse we're currently renting from my grandfather (huge blessing!); he is often also at my side praying for God's direction and reading theology books aloud to me. He teaches me more about God every day. I praise God for this rest period. It is also quite wonderful for solidifying a God-driven marriage. Isaiah and I have learned more about each other these past few months of "the mundane" than many couples learn in 5 years of marriage. We have more time together because of my part-time jobs, and I wouldn't trade those cups of coffee and conversation for the world.
There are exciting things ahead however, one of which includes The Boardwalk Chapel in Wildwood, New Jersey. It is an open air chapel run by the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, and it's awesome! Folks come from all over the world to visit and work for the summer in Wildwood, and Isaiah and I will get to talk with them about Jesus. Some folks gave us money for this Summer mission via the wedding, and we are so excited to use it well. The Boardwalk evangelizes during the day (welcoming people from the pier), takes a break for a night program which includes praise, drama, a short sermon, and a moment of truth, and then late night evangelizes more (this time in teams which are sent out). Isaiah will be coordinating Evagelism (teaching youth groups how to evangelize with truth and relate to people, ordering tracts, etc.) with his good friend Chris Byrd. I will be coordinating Drama with Ben Faudree, a new friend. Isaiah and I have our own room, but we will still be living in a home with many other people. We are looking forward to dwelling in community and getting a chance to minister together in a different way than we have thus far. So Summer is set, and we are pumped!
Our after Summer plan (post-Boarwalk) is a little more foggy. If I said I was 100% okay with this, I'd being lying. Truth be told, if Fall came tomorrow, we would have no plans, no jobs, and no place to live. But God is good, and we trust Him to lead us both in this season and during the Summer; He will speak to us; He always does (even if it is to say wait). We only have to have faith and pray. We communicated a call to Japan a little before the wedding itself. Due to this, the wonderful women of Matthews OPC as well as others (via monetary wedding gifts) gave Isaiah and I some money for plane tickets to Japan. We still plan on purchasing these tickets; however, the timeline and route is less clear than we originally thought. I figured, being the "planner" I am, that I would grab a teaching job in Japan for this Fall, and we could head there directly after the Boardwalk Chapel. However, the job that I applied for fell through. Though I assumed I'd be in absolute angst about this, I remain calm, a huge testament of God's work in me this year. He is so faithful to changing our hearts, and I love that and Him so!
We are currently thinking that perhaps after the Boardwalk, we'll at least visit Japan to get our feet wet with the money for tickets and stay with friends of ours. It would give us a feel for the culture and what prayers we should be lifting up in preparation since we know we are called there. We are simply unsure of timing. Fall could also be spent support raising and looking more into missions organizations for more full-time work. We are also praying about applying to a missions school in Georgia which would go from January to May whilst still applying to a few other places in Japan. We are praying about all of these things and would appreciate prayers being lifted up with us and for us concerning the uncertain future. Summer is golden. Fall is foggy. God is good. And hence, we are glad in this time of waiting and watching. God doesn't fit into our time frame. If He "fit into" our anything we would truly be in trouble. Serving a God greater than my boxes makes my heart happy; it makes pursuing Him that much more interesting. Talk to me in a few months, and I hope and pray I'll be as excited with the unknown as I am at present.
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