Many know already, but this is our official announcement: the Newkirks have left Georgia. Our time as the partnership farmers at Koinonia Farm has come to an end and we are very excited to tell you about the next chapter God has opened for us.
After much prayer, many conversations, and a multitude of counsel we made a very hard decision to leave Koinonia Farm as our lease ended this summer. There is much that could be said about the decision we made to end our time at Koinonia, but the simplest explanation is that we were a square peg in a round hole. We fit in the hole, but we did not fill it to the edges, and Koinonia was much the same for us.
It has been said that you will be who you are today 10 years from now but for the people you meet and the books you read. We met many people the last three years, and have always been intentional to be constantly learning and growing. As a result God provided more insight into what He wants our family and our farm to be about in the future. We can see now that God wants Deeply Rooted Pastures to be a place where 18 to 24 year olds with backgrounds of crisis or trauma find hope and healing. We will share more about this in the coming blogs, but what is important for now, is that as we shared our vision with Koinonia they applauded our hearts and willingness to follow God, even affirmed this calling, but ultimately did not see their land as the long-term home of such a ministry.
In consultation and prayer with a number of trusted advisors we made a very difficult decision to not renew our lease when it ended and we find ourselves in a familiar yet still daunting place of walking with God as He leads. We currently are in a season of waiting to see what God does next. As we left Georgia, the church we called home there gave us a sign that reads, “I trust the next chapter because I know the author.” We have learned through the years that trying to figure out God’s plan never works. Each time we try to make a plan (like Georgia being our forever home) sooner or later God takes us in a different direction. We are not saying God puts His people through hard times to test them in some way, but we are saying that walking with Him beyond our comfort zones has always led to greater understanding of ourselves, our God, and His desires for us. We certainly have free will as well, and some of our trouble in the past with changing farms, jobs, states and such has been self-inflicted. Please know if you have walked with and loved us through one of those times in the past this is not one of those times. Koinonia wanted us to stay and was sad to see us go, but the nuts and bolts of their current mission and vision didn’t align with ours. As we all sought God neither of us felt called to realign (so we are continuing on separate paths).
When we made the decision to leave, the next decision became, “Now what?” We were led to Becca becoming a contract travel nurse. She is helping hospitals that are short staffed by coming in for 8 to 13 weeks at a time. There is a shortage of nurses nationwide, and currently hospitals are trying to make do as best they can by working with third party agencies to supply nurses during times of need. Many units only have enough staff to cover the shifts if everyone is healthy and coming to work, but if nurse A has to take extended leave for a parent with cancer and nurse B is on extended leave for a hip replacement then that is where folks like Becca come in to plug the leak. We do not want to do this forever. However, Covid added pressure to the preexisting labor shortage, making wages at this point particularly appealing. There is a bubble that will pop eventually, or the market will correct and traditional resident nurses will start to get paid more, but for now we see it as a possible once in lifetime opportunity for Becca to really capitalize on her skill set and education.
This travel lifestyle helps us with three goals: 1) Reconnecting with our community to share the vision God has given us, 2) Preparing financially for the next door He opens, and 3) Using travel to make memories as a family and broaden our horizons. The contracts for travel nurses are available all around the country, but we are taking contracts that place us close to family and old friendships, so that we can tell people about the journey God is bringing us on in person. We have not arrived, but we want those who saw us 10 years ago with no experience and just a hope and a dream to see where God has brought us to now. We hope to build a nest egg during this time, so we are prepared financially for the opportunity that God brings to us next. It has held true for us that we do not change except for the people we meet or the books we read, but we would add that things we see, hear, touch, taste and smell, at times can leave a greater impression than books. That is our goal in traveling to new places and breaking bread with new people, along with the fun memories of peach shaped water towers, museums, and flavors of local restaurants. See our next post for the pictures and synopsis of our 10-state, 2,242 mile drive from Georgia to Maine.
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Until next time keep pressing on to win the PRIZE,
Andrew for the Newkirks