The author of Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a time for everything. Though they do not mention a time for rest and a time for activity, the implication in the list is that through all the various aspects of life, there are times for seemingly opposite kinds of activities. For the past 20 years, Jon and I have been very active in ministry in the Cariboo. We jumped into the active schedule of house churches in remote locations every evening of the week that had been developed and established by David Webber in the 5 years previous to our arrival. Within 2 years, the number of ministry points had doubled and all of us have been running ever since. We thought that our pace of life might shift to be less busy and hectic when we moved into the bush to the isolated community of Ndazkoh, but the opposite was the case. God has blessed this ministry with more than enough need for all the ministry team to keep us going, wishing we had about 5 more missionaries to help fill all the gaps. But there comes a time when we all need to step back, rest and listen to the Spirit in a more intentional way.
Beginning in September, Jon and I will be taking a 4 month leave from ministry in order to rest, reflect on the past 20 years and the next decade or two, and recover a better level of overall health. We aren’t without some anxiety about what will happen to the ministry when we are away. We will be leaving some ministry on hold for the time. One house church will be picked up by either Dave Webber or Bruce Wilcox as will half the ministry in Ndazkoh. We are blessed to have new members in Ndazkoh who will look after our home and the other half of the services in our home while we are gone. Now we are praying that God will meet our needs for housing in the Langley BC area after mid-October when our house sitting arrangements finish. God called us here 20 years ago and now is calling us to take a look at where the next years will take us and this ministry as we make the transition this year of moving forward on the foundation built by the Webbers. Please pray for us as well take this journey of rest and restoration, that God would renew our strength so we can rise up on wings like eagles and return in January with fresh vision and energy.
The blog! You won’t be hearing from me in the coming months, but the blog will be taken on by our very competent Lay Missionary Bruce Wilcox. Like me, Bruce will be writing some blog entries himself, while on other weeks, sharing the gifts and reflections of others in the Cariboo. I hope you enjoy the time of change! See you in January!
