Comments:
In August of 1990 I packed up and headed out to Johnson City, TN where I was going to attend Milligan College on a volleyball scholarship. I began dating Ryan (my husband) my freshmen year. After my sophomore year Ryan proposed and we got married in Jan of 1993. He finished his degree in Bible and Business Administration and took a job as the senior minister in a town south of Columbus, OH. I transferred my studies to Ohio State University (don't worry I will always be a K-State fan!) and graduated with a B.S. in Biology (specializing in zoology) in March of 1996. Which, we descovered, was good timing because we were expecting our first child in August of that same year. Besides going to school I also taught swimming lessons at the YMCA and worked in the VP's Office of Finance at OSU. After I had TRevor I became a full time mom. In June of 1997 Ryan accepted a job as senior minister of a church in Barberton, OH. (about an hour south of Cleveland) I had the opportunity be the Varsity volleyball coach at Barberton High School for three years. It was humbling because, quite frankly, we stank! But it did teach me how critical it is to have a good support system when taking on something like that. I also got to teach a woman's bible study for several years, and lead worship on Sunday mornings with some wonderfully gifted and God loving musicians. October of 2003 was a very difficult time for me and my family as we lost my youngest brother, Earl, to alcohol and drug use. Then in the summer of 2006, My dad (David Pape) decided to retire after serving as the minister at University Christian Church in Manhattan, KS for over 25 years. AS a search process began to replace him, somebody threw my husbands name into the hat. Through a series of crazy and God-inspired events, they offered Ryan the job and we moved back to Manhattan in Jan of 2007. It has not been an easy transition for me but I can see a "method to the madness" and things are becoming more normal as Manhattan becomes home again. My husband is loving his job and the congregation. My kids also seemed to have adjusted well and quickly...something I had prayed and prayed about.
