In the Beginning - - Feb 2008

Feb,2008

Sometimes things are meant to happen. Some call it Karma. Others call it divine intervention, and a few just call it plain luck. But what ever you call it, our journey so far has been filled with little things that appear to be telling us - - "this is suppose to happen". We just have to keep working very hard, look for all the "open doors" we can find, and keep moving forward. The way this all started is just one of those "little things" along the way.

After 37 years of marriage (yes we are that old), "hot Friday night dates" are pretty tame. We will visit the local Menards hardware, or a Barnes and Noble bookstore. In early February, we were at a local bookstore. We don't buy much - except for hot chocolate, but we will wonder around browsing for an hour. That is what we had done this Friday evening.

We were on our way out the door when Lynn saw an aisle she had not visited. "Wait - let me check this out" she said, and went over to an end-cap display of one new book. In that display there was one paperback book out of place. It was called "Retirement on the Cheap". She picked up that book. At the back of the book - not the front - there was one chapter called "Peace Corp". That is where she opened up to. She called me over, and showed me the Chapter title page. "Have you ever thought of this" she asked? I told her "Yes - but I think of lots of things." Lynn put the book back on the display (still out of place), and we left the store.

During the next few days each of us started doing intensive research on the Peace Corp - - without telling the other what we were doing. Finally one of us saw the other checking out Peace Corps, and we started telling each other what we had found, and what we felt about this. We had both decided we wanted to find out more, and move forward. There was a Peace Corps informational meeting in St. Paul a few days later on February 18, 2008.

One year (minus one day) from our first meeting, on February 17, 2009 Lynn and I received the official Peace Corps invitation package in the mail.

The application process was not easy! Nor should it be easy.

But it is strange how things happen.

Mike and Lynn