By Nancy Jennings
“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” The eloquent quotation commonly attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt could have been written for Trish Ambrose.
In 2010, Trish and her husband, Rob, found that a dream about waterfalls would start a chain of events leading them from Pennsylvania to Silverton. The couple, both 61, packed up their car and drove to Oregon’s “Garden City” in August 2010.
Having lived on the East Coast for over 40 years, they were happy, established – and surrounded by family and friends. They have now been married for 39 years, have six children and five grandchildren, “with another on the way.”
“At that time, there was a tragedy that affected our family and community. We felt the need to move. Rob found a church network that we were interested in. One of their leaders suggested we go to a conference in St. Louis, Missouri,” Trish explained. “A night or two before this conference, I had this dream. We were traveling up a mountain inside of a flying, open car — like the one in the movie, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I remember feeling frightened in the dream. I looked down and saw beautiful fir trees. Ahead of us was this high waterfall, and we sailed over it… and then I woke up.”
Two days later, they met Josiah Miller. The lifelong Silverton resident was spending a year as an intern at the church which sponsored the conference in Missouri. After the conference concluded, an informal dinner was held at the home where Miller was staying.
“We went there and met this young man from Oregon,” Trish said. She started to ask him questions about Oregon “to be polite and out of curiosity.” She immediately perked up when he described fir trees and waterfalls in Silverton. Putting it all together appeared seamless. “They were looking for a new home and church community,” Miller said.
The couple flew home the next day. While back home pondering their chance meeting with Miller — and the dream of the waterfalls – a divine-like urging took place. Rob recalls awakening one night, hearing the name, “Miller!”
“For me, it was strong direction that’s where God wanted us to go. I was very encouraged and excited,” he said.
“We’ve always believed that God is very real, present and involved in our lives,” Trish added.
While he marvels at the “synchronicity” that brought the couple to Silverton, Miller believes it was their determination that makes their tale unique.
“The truly interesting part of this story is that they listened and responded to the dream. I think that has drastically affected how they live their lives here. They have been very conscious and purposeful about digging their roots down deep and really giving themselves to the community.”
The friends now attend the same church. In 2012, the couple helped organize the reception dinner for 300 guests on Josiah and Kalia Miller’s wedding day.
While her dream remains the gist of their story, Trish maintains that a pragmatic approach brought about the relocation. They did visit Silverton before moving.
“Of course, there were other conversations we had with a variety of people, both here and back in Pennsylvania, and circumstances that needed to line up before a final decision could be made. They indeed took place, all propelled forward by that initial dream.
“Only then did we head to Oregon.”
