Back to Where it all Began

Picture this...

A 14 year old girl from Oregon, smart but insecure. Likable enough, but too reserved to really be cool. Later voted 'Most Likely to Succeed'

A 15 year old boy from Ohio who would choose getting a laugh over getting an A any day of the week. Later voted 'Class Clown'. 

That was us, proving that opposites do attract, and that high-school sweet-hearts can last! And it all went down in Kenya, back in the dark ages of 1991-1995, when thank goodness we didn't have social media to document all our shenanigans! We left Kenya when we graduated high school, certain that we would never be back. 

After we married in 1998, life has taken us all over: a year in Oregon, seven in Ohio, then a few in Washington state. Off to Malawi, then Kenya, then North Carolina and back to Ohio. In our 25+ years of marriage, we've moved too many times to recall. And can I tell you a secret? One that really exposes my crazy???

I love moving. 

For real! It's messy and exhausting and my back is sore for weeks, but it's also new and exciting. It means buying new furniture, decorating new houses in new ways, meeting new people, and experiencing new things. I actually love change. See--told you I'm crazy! Moves 1 through 4 were awesome. Each place was a new adventure, and I loved it. But as we sat in Malawi, sensing God was about to bring about another move and certain it meant adding Mozambique to our list of homes, a colleague asked us to consider moving to Kenya. I recall actually snorting, there at his dinner table, and I'm pretty sure I said the words, "We agreed we'd NEVER move back to Kenya!"

Of course, 2 weeks later we were packing and sorting for our move back to Kenya. And it wasn't because it was an easier place to live, or because it was familiar--in fact, the familiarity was exactly what I didn't want! I wanted NEW. But when we prayed, as we are committed to doing, it was clear that the 'good works prepared in advance for us to do' involved Nairobi, Kenya. And of course, once we got there, we loved it. Chad worked with University students- getting a million laughs and probably keeping them from a few A's at times! I worked with colleagues by supporting their medical needs, and it was perfect for us. 

When our next move was unwanted but necessary, my only consolation was adventure. Newness. Chad was offered a job in Arizona. Yes, please! I pictured hikes and fruit trees and a swimming pool. Oh, wait-- he was also offered a job in Ohio. Same suburb as before, even. To me, Arizona was the no-brainer, but--again that prayer that can make you sure of things you don't even want! Off to Ohio we went. And it's also been great. Not much in the way of fruit trees. Or swimming pools. Or sunshine half the year for that matter. But it's got great thrift stores and Graeter's Ice Cream and some of the best people in the world! 

We knew God was starting to stir a change for us, but we had no idea what it might include. Adventure, clearly. But what kind??? I had all sorts of hopes- maybe a town in Oregon near my family? Or Arizona at last? I'd also settle for Utah, because I'm flexible like that. But we also explored international options, because we've always believed that if the whole world is God's, then God is just as likely to call you to one country as another. God doesn't have an America First policy!

And I'm telling you--Bogota, Columbia is where I had us headed. I research the schools, the viability of gluten-free foods (we have 2 Celiac kids), the vacation spots, and I went to town on DuoLingo Spanish. All the things that the world says are important for quality of life and adventure and joy, I found there. And we were friends with people directing strategy for gospel work in the area and they confirmed need as well--it wasn't JUST about the vacations! We started the process of re-applying with the International Mission Board (IMB). But as we prayed about it...that same pesky thing happened. What I wanted was not what was right. There was no problem with it; in fact, it checked every box. It would be right for someone! But it wasn't what God wanted for us. So we withdrew our names from consideration and stopped working towards appointment with the IMB. We figured--maybe the family wasn't ready yet? Maybe Ethan needed us here longer? Maybe our role in Ohio wasn't done? And I was at peace about that. 

Then one day Chad called and said that he needed to talk. His mind was reeling from a call he had received. From Nairobi. About a job. In Nairobi. 

Now I am CERTAIN I swore we'd never end up back in Nairobi after leaving the second time. Not because it was horrible, but because...been there, done that. TWICE already! Plus, it's sometimes hard to fit back in, once strategy and relationships have moved on without you. It seemed like starting fresh somewhere new would make more sense.

But do you see the trend here? What makes sense to me is rarely how God chooses to move. It's almost like I should decide what makes the most sense and then be prepared for the EXACT OPPOSITE! I guess that's what faith is-- doing the thing that doesn't always make sense. Needless to say, as soon as Chad told me about the job, I knew it was right. It was where God wanted us for this time. The pieces all clinked into place with perfect clarity, and we called up our HR person and told him we were back in. And then we rushed to finish up the paperwork we had stopped doing (thank you all our friends who filled out long reference letters!). 

We will be joining an existing team who is already doing amazing work at training East African Christians to do international missions. We'll also work with the pastors to help them set up ways to identify people being called for missions, to develop a pipeline to get them the training and empowerment to thrive cross-culturally, and then hopefully do the same in other countries around East Africa. And if God blesses it as we pray He does, then maybe extend that beyond East Africa. We know that missions is not something that only the United States owns- all Christians are called to participate in the Great Commission however God calls them to participate (locally, nationally, and/or internationally). And we know that both unintentionally and incorrectly, past strategies have suggested that Africa is sent to, but not sent out. We are being sent to Africa--and we will joyfully help send out. The African church has so much to offer, and we can't wait to see what God will do through believers there. 

So I don't get my new adventure in Bogota, Columbia, and I've switched my DuoLingo from Spanish to Swahili (which is much harder for my brain, let me tell you!). I have grieved the loss of unrealized versions of life in South America (and ongoing life in Ohio, or in Arizona or Utah and the other hundreds of places I envisioned living) and each day I get more and more excited about the upcoming move. It's sort of going back home, seeing as we've spent so much of our lives in East Africa. They say you can't go back home, but that's just silliness. Plus- we'll be on a different side of town, and with Nairobi traffic, that's practically a world away!

Pray for us, if you would, that we will fit back in well with the team in Nairobi, and that we will be humble learners of what God has been doing there while we were away. Pray for Isaac and Omara to fit back in at Rossalyn Academy, the American-accredited school they will attend again. And praise God with us that we get the chance to pick back up with dear friends again. It may not be new, but we love it.