a grand adventure awaits

so you may have heard some murmurs here or there about the garrels family moving. we are approaching the end of our year here with my mom in north carolina, and as we've prayed about it we knew the decision to not extend our stay here was the right one. over the months here we've had many talks about the need for community, and the need for vocational growth for both of us. for the past few months we have been considering boulder (to be near the bundies, the wiltons, musician friends, and a great church), seattle (friends + family), the outer banks (more friends, close to my mom) and west virginia (to live with our friends joel + charity on a farm and learn the creative subsistence life). but in the end, something out of the blue came up...

PORTLAND, OREGON!

portland? we've never even been there, but just a few days ago we made the decision to move there in september so that i can go to art school! that part seems out of the blue, too, but in reality that dream has been forming for a long time, and it's highly connected to my vocational pursuit of sustainable development work.

following months (actually years) of hard family talks about vocation, and how in the world to merge the life of a midwestern boy & his stateside musical career with a jungle girl & her desire to live & work among the world's poor, we decided that while we would need to take both of our goals into account in the coming move, the priority would be to investigate development work/training opportunities for me. josh freed me up to pursue internships, organizations, & schools that would enable me to work towards that goal, & it became the major factor in determining our next home. so, after considering everything from an art + development position in cambodia (this looks like an awesome job, and someone i know should apply for it!) to school in san antonio, we have landed on portland. i was leafing through a Fiber Arts magazine when i stumbled upon Oregon College of Art + Craft's MFA program in Applied Craft and Design.

i was originally considering a 3-year certificate program in fibers, but after talking with someone in admissions about my experience in development & my goals to combine art + development, working with women artisans in developing countries through microfinance & training, she encouraged me to apply for the MFA, even though it's quite competitive & i don't have any formal art training. she said i'm exactly the kind of person they're looking for, as the program emphasizes entrepreneurship, functional art, and looking at art/handcrafts from a historic & global perspective, using art & craft to address social problems (a.k.a. art + development through microfinance, etc, which there is even room for me to investigate & practice in my MFA practicum).

so i'll begin taking classes in the fall, just a few adult continuing education classes at the school, to learn some new skills both in & out of the fibers department (they also have book arts, photography, woodworking, ceramics, etc... yum!). starting gradually will allow us to get to know the city, the school, and help us figure out how mitchy being in school affects my ability to be a good mother to heron, and a good companion to josh in home & business. in the spring i'll start a post-baccalaureate program (1-2 years) in fibers to build up my portfolio, then apply for the MFA program. (well, this is the plan for now. building relationships at the school will continue to bring direction, i'm sure)

it turns out portland will be a great move for josh, too. he'll be able to learn from his music engineering friend nick moon, and be in a good place for touring by car. it's close to other oregon spots where his music has caught on, seattle, & northern california. and the best part... WE'LL BE CLOSE TO OUR SEATTLE FAMILY + FRIENDS! josh's parents, 4 sweet nephews, 1 bird niece, & our amazing siblings & their families live there, as well as many of our indiana friends. awesome!

we are so thankful for the Lord's faithfulness & guidance. it always comes down to the last minute for us, but it always works out in the end...