Our Place on the Map

In response to some questions, I will update you on our plans for the location of our family.  In January, Derek was a top finalist in 6 different City Manager recruitments.  He has been a finalist for many jobs in the last 8 months, but this was the most at one time.  Of course, we knew about the cancer, but assumed it could be removed with the surgery and the chemo would just give a little extra protection against any potential spreading.  We were told by the doctors to continue to pursue job options and that he would be ready to start something new by mid-March.  The City of Lehi, Utah was the first to offer Derek a job.  They were able to come to agreement on a contract, which was to be submitted to the City Council for approval, on the Tuesday after Derek's surgery.  When we got the Stage 4 diagnosis after the surgery, Derek received a call from the Lehi Mayor and told him everything, even saying that Lehi should probably hire somebody else.  We were still trying to process the information we had received and it was overwhelming.  The Mayor amazingly said that he felt strongly that Derek was the right man for the job, and even went so far as to say that he knew the City of Lehi was the place for our family.  He said he would sit on the contract until after our meeting with the oncologist to see if Derek would be able to do treatment in Utah while starting a new job.

With the oncologist's absolute approval, and after much consideration and prayer on our part, Derek called the Mayor of Lehi and let him know that he would appreciate the continuation of the hiring process.  He even dropped out of all the other jobs for which he was under consideration, feeling like the Lord may have been trying to get us to Utah for the last eight months. The Mayor seemed excited and positive but wanted to make sure that each member of the Lehi City Council knew the full story.  He will be meeting with each of them today and then the contract will be submitted for approval at a meeting held on Tuesday evening.  Our hope is that if Derek was the best man for the job a few weeks ago, that he still will be tomorrow night.  We will know by Wednesday morning if he can start working as their City Administrator on April 1st.  If that is the case, we will likely try to move our entire family to Lehi, Utah before that date.  There are a lot of things that would need to fall perfectly in place for that to happen smoothly, and we will be so sad to leave our support system here, but right now it is our best option.  We will keep you posted!