Ch-Ch-Changes

Before I discuss the upcoming changes, let me start with a little catch up for those of you who don't know what the Robbins have been up to in the last year (or five).

We moved from Chattanooga to Minneapolis in 2010 for Chris to complete a four year MDiv program at Bethlehem Seminary. As we neared the end of his program it became increasingly clear to Chris that his desire was not to be in vocational ministry. It was, however, on our hearts to partner in ministry with one of his classmates and hopefully be of some help to them, their family, and ministry. Our friend Dave had been preaching regularly at Sojourners Church, an hour and a half south of the Cities in Albert Lea, MN. Dave more or less 'recruited' us to come and support him and be a part of Sojourners. When God provided a job close by, we joyfully moved in February 2014.

It's been a year of ups and downs. (As most years are.) We transitioned. We experienced owning our first home. We watched Sam grow from a baby to a toddler and Jocelyn was born. Chris has done very well in his job, but the rigor and pace of the job is not sustainable. He's been working 10-12 hour days, with some weekend work meaning 12 day stretches. On his feet, moving, no breaks, lots of stress. As you may have guessed, this leaves little work-life balance. Not much energy left for family, not to mention the vision of preaching or potentially becoming an elder. It's become clear that a better work-life balance is not in Chris' future if he stays with his current job.

So, after a really long year and much deliberation, Chris has decided to take a job that will move us back to the Cities. Specifically the job is in South St. Paul. It seems to be a great situation with a much better balance. We do own our home in Albert Lea, so the amount of time it will take to sell seems like the biggest wild card in the future. For now we will stay put and Chris will commute. We're not sure how long this scenario will work, but it's where we're starting.

We are so thankful for those in Albert Lea and at Sojourners who have embraced our family. We are sad in so many ways to be moving on from the vision of partnering with our friends at Sojourners. We are thankful for your prayers as we are hopeful that this change is God's answer to prayers for the chance to focus on our children and marriage and be involved in the local church.