Norway, Here We Come!
WE ARE MOVING TO NORWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, nice subtle eye-catching beginning, right? Let me back up a few steps...
Jason and I love to travel. One of the reasons we chose the oil industry was the opportunities we knew it might provide for us to see the world. Last spring, Jason got a chance to visit Celle, Germany for two weeks and work at the Baker Hughes office there. When he left he casually mentioned to the manager to let him know if there was ever an opening for a job.
Well that manager called Jason awhile later and they discussed him going there for an assignment. Unfortunately it was project-based (meaning that the client company and Baker Hughes would both have to decide to fund it) and it would only be a short-term contract (<1 year). However, this did open up the doors for Jason to start talking to different people within Baker about other opportunities.
He was approached with the position in Norway and immediately liked the sounds of the job. It would be something different than he was currently doing and developmentally he has been ready for a change for some time. He applied for the position last February and we anxiously waited. And waited. And waited. And were told they were working on determining the number of Expats; that they did not want to do moves before promotions, etc. We finally gave up on the idea and Jason started looking elsewhere in Baker for opportunities.
Then a few weeks ago Jason got an email from Tore, the person who had been talking to in Norway. Tore was leaving the company and wanted to let Jason know he had passed along his information and had discussed things with Adne, the person taking over his job. This just reinforced the idea that we most likely were not moving to Norway. Jason had worked with Tore on other projects and didn't know who the new manager was or anything about him.
I encouraged Jason to email him anyway. The worst he can say is no, right? So Jason did and was pleasantly surprised to hear back from him right away. He told Jason he was aware of the discussions, apologized that it had been taking so long, and said that his boss was on vacation that week and he would get back to Jason the following week with more information. Just a couple days later Jason got another call from him. He asked Jason some additional feeler questions about his interest, etc. in the position and Jason told him that Norway would be his top choice for an opportunity. At the end of the conversation he told Jason that he had spoken with Global Mobility the day before and they were working on an offer for him!!!
We have spent the last two weeks praying for God's patience, trust for His timing, and wisdom for the plan we know He has for our lives. It hasn't been easy. I'd be lying if I said we hadn't started looking at apartments and thinking about what stuff we'd need to sell, etc. But after thinking back in February that it was going to happen, we both knew not to really get our hopes up until we saw the offer.
Which didn't come that week. Or the next. Then this past SUnday our pastor did a sermon on Psalm 23. That good ol' Psalm that so many of us memorized and recited in competitions when we were younger (1st place baby!!). Rev. Crimmins said "God knows when it's time to transfer you from one life situation to another". Um, hello?!? Can't ask God for more of a neon sign than that can you?
On the car ride home, I repeated that quote to Jason and we prayed again and just came to peace that we knew something was going to happen - whether it was Norway, a different job in Houston, etc. and that we were letting it go and we will just keep being patient.
I'm so glad that we had that little reminder on Sunday because I bet you'll never guess what happened Monday morning... we got the offer!!! :-)
Jason just "officially" accepted this morning after touching base with HR on the start date, etc. We don't know the timing yet because it can take 1-2 months to get visas and both Jason and I are taking the PE this October. Ideally, we are targeting sometime in November for the move.
By know you might be wondering, "Okay so she's talked about Jason's job, but what about hers?" Well, ConocoPhillips has an office in Stavanger. Less than a 5 min walk from Baker. I talked to my boss back in February when it was a possibility and they reached out then to our technical team that oversees (or overseas, haha, lame joke I know) moves. There is no guarantee that they are going to be able to get a job for me, but there is a good possibility considering the circumstances. We are just trusting the Lord that He will open or close any doors according to His will and accept whatever happens.
Much more to come when we have more information, but for now WE ARE MOVING TO NORWAY!!!
