Most everyone knows, but I wanted to make an official post saying that our family is back in Ohio. It has been a very difficult few weeks while we crunched numbers, prayed, and thought about what was best for our family.
When CCU announced the decision to close in December it meant several changes for our family. I was able to be in Prishtina because I was on a sabbatical from CCU. This means I continued to get paid even though I wasn’t physically on campus. My CCU income was covering our expenses back in the states (house payments, bills, etc.). We always carried our health insurance through Batavia, but when Derek took his leave of absence, we had to give up the Batavia insurance and we picked up the CCU plan. Closing in December meant we were losing health insurance for our family. We planned to purchase the COBRA insurance to cover us for the first months of 2020 until Derek returned to Batavia mid-year. We were very surprised to find out that COBRA would not be offered as an option for CCU employees.
Many people offered several suggestions that we carefully looked into. It quickly became evident that our situation was a bit more complicated as we were looking for temporary coverage and we were out of the country. In the end, the cheapest option we could find was going to cost us $12,000 – $15,000 over the next six months, on top of the other expenses we had to maintain our home. In addition, I completed several video interviews for another job, but it was clear that the next steps for any of them would be an on campus interview.
Then we got the news that Batavia was graciously giving Derek his teaching job back in January. This meant insurance coverage once again. We made the decision to come home early. I am careful to not say that “God had other plans” or that “He was calling us home.” The truth is, we had the money in the bank and we could have paid it. We could have stayed, but it felt like a lot of money and we made the decision to return home. I have no idea if it was the right decision or not. And I’m sure many will be quick to say they would have had the faith to stay. But I have to find peace in that this was our story and we were actually living it. In addition, processing the closing of CCU was taking an emotional toll on me.
So, here we are.
And then it was a whirlwind of Christmas with family. It was wonderful to share that, but we just now have the chance to process the reality of being home.
I’m glad the boys get to return to North Adams and many are excited for their return. I’m thankful Derek gets to return to fourth grade math at Batavia and that Lucy can go back with him. I’m happy Ellie gets to be with her grandparents again. What I am unsure about is me – I have plans and ideas and an opportunity in front of me that I’ve never had before, but running the CCU Education Department was a huge part of my identity, it was my ministry. And now it is no more.
I’m excited for whatever is ahead. But I am thankful that I was able to go up on the hill one last time to properly say goodbye.
The Beam Bunch 