My family and I moved to the greater Houston area in July 2008 from Boston, MA. The previous December we had the realization we would need to change residence before our eldest daughter enter middle school the following Fall, due to the poor academic standard of the middle school she was slated to attend. As we started looking around at the surrounding communities, we came to the realization we didn't have to limit our search to the greater Boston area since the only anchor we had was my job. I felt I had valuable skills and that I would be able to find employment else where in spite of the economy.
With that realization, we listed our priorities. First we needed a top pediatric hospital for our eldest. My dear wife researched the top hospitals. We then printed a map of the US and highlighted the cities where they were located. We crossed out the cities that didn't have major international airports there. That was important for me because having lived in rural regions, I felt it was important to be able to go places easily. As the list became shorter, we further narrowed our search by eliminating those cities that did not have a temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints nearby. The list was finally narrowed down to Houston, Texas or Orlando, Florida. Once more my dear wife went into overdrive and started researching both cities. She came to the conclusion, our only choice was Houston based on the school districts we could choose from.
In January of 2008, we announced our intention to move to Houston to my employer, friends and family. My wife, G, started researching neighborhoods, schools and the like. By the end of June, early July we had packed our belongings into portable storage containers and made our way to Texas on a hope and prayer. Having never visited Houston and having only had one phone interview in the Houston area, we didn't know what to expect. Of course G had done her research. She had identified apartment complexes we should consider and had a very good idea as to where things were located. We were able to secure an apartment, and to begin to get to know the area. We were fortunate to have been within the boundaries of the Kleinwood Ward in the Klein Stake of the LDS Church, were we made great friends who took us under their wing and helped feel welcomed.
By the end of August, I was able to secure permanent employment. Life was looking great. Then on September 13th Hurricane Ike made landfall. It was a harrowing experience, but one in which the Lord's hand and mercy was clearly felt in. I could not imagine what it would have been like to have been looking for employment during the aftermath of Ike. Soon thereafter, we started looking for a permanent home. We found our current home and were able to move in the begining of November. The house was within the boundries of the Spring Creek Ward of the Klein Stake so even though we really didn't want to change wards (congregations) we did. As is so often the case, we made new friends in our new ward and we quickly got used to our new life.
In February of 2009, I was informed by my employer my position would be outsourced off-shore as of August of that year. While I was concerned, I recognized the hand of the Lord in our life. Had we waited longer to buy our home, we would not have qualified because of my impending employment status. August came and I was asked to remain one more month with the firm. Since I didn't have any new opportunities I stayed the extra month. Unknowingly as a result, I received an even more generous severance package.
That Fall, the Spring Creek Ward was moved from the Klein Stake to the Houston North Stake as a result of the creation of the Spring Texas Stake. In addition to our ward being transferred into the North Stake, 3 Spanish speaking wards were also moved too. As I looked around us during the Stake Conference, I commented to G I would like to work with the Spanish speaking youth. In January 2010, I was called to serve in the Stake Young Men's Presidency assigned to work with the Spanish speaking units.
In April, 2010 I started working for my current employer as a contractor and was made a full time employee the following January.
