Things Work Out
*This is a lengthy post detailing Burke's employment journey in the past year, mostly for my journal and posterities sake. Feel free to skim!*
Some of you are aware of the roller coaster Burke has been on with employment over the past year. When we left for Paris in May of 2010, we both left our jobs, confident that work would come easily when we returned with a MBA under Burke's belt. Once home in July, we weren't too worried when the job market seemed bleak. After all, we had a sound amount in our savings account, faith in our hearts and an overall feeling of peace. Over the next 3 months Burke turned in application after application while working on a temporary construction job with his cousins or spending a few days on the family farm up in Parowan to try and slow the steady leak from our savings account. On four separate occasions Burke had positive interviews with companies and we felt confident that here was a job at last. None of them worked out. At one point two of the jobs were vying for him at once, yet at the last moment they both chose another applicant on the same day.
We maintained our perspective that the Lord was watching out for us and had something great in store if none of these other options were working out. Then the first week in October we discovered I was pregnant. The peace I had been feeling was seriously threatened as I felt a great urgency to make sure we could provide for our little one on the way. It was so disheartening to see Burke apply for job after job and make more frequent trips to the farm to do what work was available. Finally in December, just as we began to see the bottom of our savings account, Burke was able to land a job with a company we would have turned our noses up at 6 months prior. We were so grateful for work, however, that Burke accepted the position and began doing 8-10 hour shifts of phone sales in January at Allconnect.
The people he has worked with there have been very kind, but this has definitely been a less than ideal job and it has been sad to watch him get home each night, discouraged and demoralized, not sure how long he would have to keep working there. Another great opportunity opened up at a company in town in February and we felt as if all our prayers and patience were going to be answered at last with this perfect setup. In the end they chose the owner's brother for the position although they raved to Burke over the phone about how impressed they had been and how sorry they were they couldn't take him right now. When Burke told me the news over the phone (on break at his tedious sales job) I could hear in his voice that he had hit the bottom of the barrel. When we hung up, I knelt immediately and prayed for him to be comforted and asked for reassurance that something better was around the corner if yet another seemingly ideal situation had passed us by.
I started thinking of what I could do to encourage my sweetheart. I tidied the house instead of grading papers, started dinner, and ran to the grocery store to pick up treats and a card. Minutes before he got home, I checked my email and found a message from my dad, sent three hours prior, exactly when Burke had received the call from the company letting him down. Dad was sending word of another job opportunity in Logan with Campbell Scientific that Burke had been extremely interested in months ago as it is along the lines of his long-term goals, even more so than the job that had just turned him down! I couldn't believe the timing of such news and again took a moment to say a prayer - this time of gratitude. When Burke got home, he was trying to put on a good face and was very gracious about his treats and dinner. When I asked him to come into the office for one final surprise, I could see the strain in his smile and discouragement in his eyes. When he read the email from my Dad he turned to me with tears in his eyes (something I have only seen twice in our entire marriage) and pulled me into a huge bear hug. All of the disappointment melted away as we said another prayer of gratitude together. Talk about a tender mercy coming at the absolutely perfect time to uplift our spirits and encourage us that the Lord is aware of our needs, our wants, and especially the limits to our strength.
In the past few weeks, Burke has been in contact with Campbell Scientific, going from extremely hopeful to a bit uncertain as it appears they have been inundated with applications and may not even begin interviews for another month or so. We decided at Family Home Evening on Monday that we needed to pretend like that job wasn't even an option and continue searching for other work while we wait to hear further news from them. Burke also committed to being more positive about his phone sales job and to make the best of it as we really had no idea how long he would have to stick it out there. We would have never guessed it would only be 24 hours more!
On Tuesday night Burke got a call from his cousin Wade Hughes in Mesquite, Nevada (30 mins from St. George). The Hughes brothers own a very successful landscaping company and, unlike most businesses across the country, they are experiencing a lot of growth right now. Wade said they were in desperate need of a manager to take care of all of their accounts and customer service. He offered to start Burke at more than he is making at Allconnect, with insurance AND he wanted him to start the next morning or ASAP. We were flabbergasted! Burke and I talked it over together as well as over the phone with his wise father and dropped to our knees once we had made a decision. Yesterday morning he called Wade and accepted the position, while being honest about his hopes for obtaining the job in Logan. Wade was amazing and said that if Burke got an interview with Campbells, he would understand. Burke then went into work at Allconect and told them he had been offered a management position with another company. He had planned to finish out the week for integrity's sake, but they were very kind and supportive, wished him luck and told him not to worry about finishing his shifts! So Burke officially began his new job at Kokepelli Landscaping this morning!
I cannot tell you how blessed we feel from these unexpected turn of events! To still be able to pursue the job with Campbells, but meanwhile to be working for such a wonderful company. This way, if Burke gets an interview with Campbells he won't approach the position out of desperation to get away from the tedium of phone sales, but rather he can take a more confident and positive approach. Also, if he doesn't get an interview or job with them, we can be happy knowing he is working for great people at Kokepelli. I also think Burke can bring something positive to the table for the Hughes boys as he really is wonderful with people and perhaps his MBA can be put to use improving aspects of their company as well. On top of all that, I can remember in our earliest stages of dating when Burke told me he had worked construction and then switched to banking, he said his ideal job would be where he could do physical labor half of the day and office work or crunching numbers the other half of the day. He has since repeated that desire many times in our marriage when we have talked about our goals and it looks like Kokepelli will offer him exactly that!
It is humbling to look back over the past 10 months of trials and blessings to realize that God has a plan for us and he will lead us where we need to be. I am thankful that we were able to remain positive and have all of our needs met during those challenging months of uncertainty. I know there were many people praying for us and I would like to thank you for your love and support. Isn't it amazing how things work out?
Some of you are aware of the roller coaster Burke has been on with employment over the past year. When we left for Paris in May of 2010, we both left our jobs, confident that work would come easily when we returned with a MBA under Burke's belt. Once home in July, we weren't too worried when the job market seemed bleak. After all, we had a sound amount in our savings account, faith in our hearts and an overall feeling of peace. Over the next 3 months Burke turned in application after application while working on a temporary construction job with his cousins or spending a few days on the family farm up in Parowan to try and slow the steady leak from our savings account. On four separate occasions Burke had positive interviews with companies and we felt confident that here was a job at last. None of them worked out. At one point two of the jobs were vying for him at once, yet at the last moment they both chose another applicant on the same day.
We maintained our perspective that the Lord was watching out for us and had something great in store if none of these other options were working out. Then the first week in October we discovered I was pregnant. The peace I had been feeling was seriously threatened as I felt a great urgency to make sure we could provide for our little one on the way. It was so disheartening to see Burke apply for job after job and make more frequent trips to the farm to do what work was available. Finally in December, just as we began to see the bottom of our savings account, Burke was able to land a job with a company we would have turned our noses up at 6 months prior. We were so grateful for work, however, that Burke accepted the position and began doing 8-10 hour shifts of phone sales in January at Allconnect.
The people he has worked with there have been very kind, but this has definitely been a less than ideal job and it has been sad to watch him get home each night, discouraged and demoralized, not sure how long he would have to keep working there. Another great opportunity opened up at a company in town in February and we felt as if all our prayers and patience were going to be answered at last with this perfect setup. In the end they chose the owner's brother for the position although they raved to Burke over the phone about how impressed they had been and how sorry they were they couldn't take him right now. When Burke told me the news over the phone (on break at his tedious sales job) I could hear in his voice that he had hit the bottom of the barrel. When we hung up, I knelt immediately and prayed for him to be comforted and asked for reassurance that something better was around the corner if yet another seemingly ideal situation had passed us by.
I started thinking of what I could do to encourage my sweetheart. I tidied the house instead of grading papers, started dinner, and ran to the grocery store to pick up treats and a card. Minutes before he got home, I checked my email and found a message from my dad, sent three hours prior, exactly when Burke had received the call from the company letting him down. Dad was sending word of another job opportunity in Logan with Campbell Scientific that Burke had been extremely interested in months ago as it is along the lines of his long-term goals, even more so than the job that had just turned him down! I couldn't believe the timing of such news and again took a moment to say a prayer - this time of gratitude. When Burke got home, he was trying to put on a good face and was very gracious about his treats and dinner. When I asked him to come into the office for one final surprise, I could see the strain in his smile and discouragement in his eyes. When he read the email from my Dad he turned to me with tears in his eyes (something I have only seen twice in our entire marriage) and pulled me into a huge bear hug. All of the disappointment melted away as we said another prayer of gratitude together. Talk about a tender mercy coming at the absolutely perfect time to uplift our spirits and encourage us that the Lord is aware of our needs, our wants, and especially the limits to our strength.
In the past few weeks, Burke has been in contact with Campbell Scientific, going from extremely hopeful to a bit uncertain as it appears they have been inundated with applications and may not even begin interviews for another month or so. We decided at Family Home Evening on Monday that we needed to pretend like that job wasn't even an option and continue searching for other work while we wait to hear further news from them. Burke also committed to being more positive about his phone sales job and to make the best of it as we really had no idea how long he would have to stick it out there. We would have never guessed it would only be 24 hours more!
On Tuesday night Burke got a call from his cousin Wade Hughes in Mesquite, Nevada (30 mins from St. George). The Hughes brothers own a very successful landscaping company and, unlike most businesses across the country, they are experiencing a lot of growth right now. Wade said they were in desperate need of a manager to take care of all of their accounts and customer service. He offered to start Burke at more than he is making at Allconnect, with insurance AND he wanted him to start the next morning or ASAP. We were flabbergasted! Burke and I talked it over together as well as over the phone with his wise father and dropped to our knees once we had made a decision. Yesterday morning he called Wade and accepted the position, while being honest about his hopes for obtaining the job in Logan. Wade was amazing and said that if Burke got an interview with Campbells, he would understand. Burke then went into work at Allconect and told them he had been offered a management position with another company. He had planned to finish out the week for integrity's sake, but they were very kind and supportive, wished him luck and told him not to worry about finishing his shifts! So Burke officially began his new job at Kokepelli Landscaping this morning!
I cannot tell you how blessed we feel from these unexpected turn of events! To still be able to pursue the job with Campbells, but meanwhile to be working for such a wonderful company. This way, if Burke gets an interview with Campbells he won't approach the position out of desperation to get away from the tedium of phone sales, but rather he can take a more confident and positive approach. Also, if he doesn't get an interview or job with them, we can be happy knowing he is working for great people at Kokepelli. I also think Burke can bring something positive to the table for the Hughes boys as he really is wonderful with people and perhaps his MBA can be put to use improving aspects of their company as well. On top of all that, I can remember in our earliest stages of dating when Burke told me he had worked construction and then switched to banking, he said his ideal job would be where he could do physical labor half of the day and office work or crunching numbers the other half of the day. He has since repeated that desire many times in our marriage when we have talked about our goals and it looks like Kokepelli will offer him exactly that!
It is humbling to look back over the past 10 months of trials and blessings to realize that God has a plan for us and he will lead us where we need to be. I am thankful that we were able to remain positive and have all of our needs met during those challenging months of uncertainty. I know there were many people praying for us and I would like to thank you for your love and support. Isn't it amazing how things work out?
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