Upheaval

I should not put off much longer the task of sending a newsletter to my whole network about all this, but here is a preview, if anyone is watching!

Caleb Project/Initiative360, the mission organization I’ve been working for since 1995, is in an extremely vulnerable position in terms of finances and leadership. Several staff resigned in December. Right before Christmas the Board of Directors released our founder and CEO; they are looking for a replacement. This may be for the best but was handled in a way that left morale very low and and confusion quite high. I am expecting more resignations from frustrated staff. A bit more information, but not much, is posted on the front page of each of our web sites.

My team is still intact and our plans and dreams still have a bright future. The organization continues to support the things I came here to do. So I will not leave unless the whole thing goes down or there is nothing left to stay for, though the changes are hard.

At the same time, I’m wondering if God is moving me on in some significant ways.

I’ve met and fallen in love with a wonderful man who lives on the other side of the world. His name is Tom and he lives in Kazakhstan. It may or may not be possible or wise for me to stay on staff with my agency, if it survives, and still join Tom in Central Asia - though it might! I expect to explore a couple of scenarios.

But I suppose some of you are more interested in the relationship than how it affects my career... !

The doors have opened for us to spend several weeks together here in the States and we are about two-thirds of the way through that period. If we still feel we have a green light at the end of it I will try to arrange some time to visit Tom in Kazakhstan as well as to meet his kids.

Here’s a bit more about Tom, if you are interested:

1. We met in November through an online matchmaking service, although we’ve discovered quite a few friends and acquaintances in common and might have just as easily met at missions events in years past.

2. He is Australian and while he hasn’t lived there in a long time, has deep roots on the family farm he inherited from his father and grandfather in New South Wales.

3. He is 12 years older than me and was previously married. The marriage fell apart six years ago. The two great kids who live with their (British) mother and her new husband in England. Genevieve is 14 and Josiah is 9.

4. He has traveled 'heaps,' including three trips to the US in 2006 alone. Only recently has he returned to the city in Kazakhstan where he lived for five years in the 1990s. But he does have a three-year contract with his company there and expects to spend at least the next five years there and help catalyze ministry efforts throughout the region.

6. Tom has been praying and looking for a ministry partner with whom to set up a home and have a family. Yes, in Kazakhstan.

7. He adores me and thinks I’m beautiful and loves my heart and mind. I’m thrilled by his passion and vision and delight. We are different in significant ways and also have a lot in common. Still exploring…We only met face-to-face about two weeks ago.

So, in all this, I’d appreciate your prayers!