Securing the Next Workamping Job

In mid-July, as our wonderful summer season at Surf seemed to be racing toward its end, we decided we needed to begin diligently working on our next task -- securing the next workamping job.

We were thankful to have a few options available to us.  We had originally agreed to stay at our first job, Surf Motel and Campground, until mid-October.  But in a conversation early in the season with our employers, they informed us that we really wouldn't be needed much after Labor Day.  That fact changed things quite a bit.

One job which we had heard about, and for which we even took part in a Workamper News Webinar,  was working the sugar beet harvest in the Red River Valley, up along the border of North Dakota and Minnesota.  Having never been in this area of the country, and learning of the money we could make in just a short period of time prompted us to apply, and subsequently get hired, for these positions.  We even started planning our departure and week-long trip up there, hoping to see as much along the way as we could.

But this job would have only been for about 3 weeks in October, and we began looking at securing the next workamping job beyond that time.  With two of our sons in college in North Carolina, our heart's desire was to find a position somewhere in the middle of that state, between Chapel Hill and Charlotte where the two boys were in school.   As had been our experience in looking for work in one specific location, namely NW Ohio, we didn't see anything pop up for the Fall/Winter season in NC.  So I got on the www.visitnc.com website and began looking for campgrounds between Chapel Hill and Charlotte, and I contacted each one, sending an e-mail and resume as I had when we were looking for work in Marblehead.  But the typical response was that NC campgrounds don't hire extra workers in the off-season, because there isn't enough business to warrant doing so.

And then we saw a job pop up on the workampernews.com Jobs Hotline.   Full-Time managers wanted for the Lake Norman Motorcoach Resort in Sherrills Ford, NC.  We applied right away, and heard from the owner, Jim soon after that, letting us know that he'd love to have us join him as "volunteer" workampers -- receiving only our site and hook-ups as compensation.  We politely told him that we were only interested in the full-time paid position which we had seen advertised.  Well, squeezing a long story into a pea pod, he ended up hiring us for the job!  Jim believes, and we are confident, that we'll be  well-suited for this position.  Once again, we give God the glory and are so thankful that He found an ideal place for us to be -- about 40 minutes from Sean, and roughly 2 hrs from Jake.  God is so good!

Jim wanted us to come down the Lake Norman as early as mid-August.  We had committed to our present employers, Mark and Julie, that we'd stay through Labor Day.  If it meant costing us this new job, so be it -- we weren't going to renege on our promise to them.   But when Jim called us to offer the job, his question was "How soon after Labor Day could we be there?"

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths." (Prov 3 :5-6)

This verse has meant a lot to John and me during our entire marriage, but especially during this past year as we've made so many big life changes and embarked on this Workamping venture.  And as we see His hand guiding and directing our own paths, and the paths of our sons, so clearly, our faith has been strengthened all the more.  Our first summer as workampers has been filled with innumerable blessings, and we look forward to seeing what He has in store for us in the future!  Sherrills Ford, here we come!