Off to Where?

Welcome to our first post on our new blog. For those of you who have come from Five In Fresno, welcome back and for those that are new, you are in for a real treat.

We thought we'd fill you in a bit more about of next adventure.

A few years ago, Carl and I talked a bit about serving overseas, but at the time, we were happy pastoring our church and comfortable with our jobs and family, and loved our house. So the idea of leaving went to the back burner.

Then in 2007 we felt called to leave and head off to Fresno for seminary for a year. That was a stretching experience! You can read all about it here. And it was there that we really started to feel that the time for us to go overseas was approaching. So we started to walk towards that.

In December of 2007 we applied with MCC and talked with our friends and family a bit about the idea. It wasn't until April where we had a personal interview with MCC reps. I was beginning to think they forgot about us! We also wondered if God had something else in mind, (and this was asked during our ministry discernment seminar) and so as other doors appeared to open up, either in Fresno or Winnipeg or elsewhere, we pursued them. In the end though, we received verbal as well as situational confirmation that MCC would be best for us.

The interview process in April went very well and it was just the next day that we received a phone call from MCC about a possible position in Bolivia. We were excited, but then a bit hesitant. We weren't sure the job suited us and we also wanted a unique experience, one that would give us the freedom to be released from the "been there, done that" mentality we've experienced with people in the past.

Well, we let it sit for a while and checked out other positions in different countries. We talked with our homegroup, our family, and our Winnipeg and seminary friends. We made a mental list of things that we were hoping from a cross cultural experience and things that our family needed, and it seemed that every other position fell short. So we had a conversation with the current workers in Bolivia and found out they too had a young family. As we talked, many of our questions and concerns were addressed. Carl and I felt much better about the position, it had met all of our mental requirements.

Then we decided to sit and wait. Neither of us talked about it, and we invited some friends and family to pray with us to discern if this is what God wanted for us. After 2 weeks and a few days of fasting, Carl and I sat down and we both had a feeling of peace and excitement about accepting the Bolivia position.

Are you wondering where Bolivia is? Click here for the map.

So what's the job look like?

Well, Carl and I will share the 1.5 hosting position at the office right in downtown Santa Cruz. The office has a library and resource centre for German as well as National Mennonites. There is a support staff of about 25 that work right at the centre and about 25 MCC international workers that are in and around Santa Cruz. Some of our duties will be:

-hosting any visitors, MCC workers or others
-coordinating the support staff schedules
-making sure the vehicles are maintained (work is done by support workers)
-shopping for MCC workers
-keeping the office running
-being available after hours on the grounds when the night watchmen is not on
-helping the workers with medical stuff
-caring for the emotional and spiritual well being of the workers

I'm sure once we get there, we'll find there will be more jobs. It's exciting because the job, which 1.5 between the two of us, has places where we both can use our gifts. And there is always a need for pastoral work in the local churches as time permits for us.

Joel will be starting kindergarten at an English school (where his uncles attended 16 years ago), where most of the kids are Bolivian and will speak Spanish. The MCC kids get picked up on a bus and go to the school. He is excited about that, he's keen on the idea of wearing a uniform and learning Spanish from his buddies on the playground.

Kezia and Asha will be at home and while Carl and I are working, will be cared for by a Bolivian MCC worker. From our phone conversation with the previous family, she likely won't speak English and so I will have to learn Spanish to communicate with her. The big plus is that she'll speak Spanish to the girls, and it won't be very long before they are fluent.

The house where will be living is a three bedroom house right on the MCC grounds. It will be a comfortable size and with ear shot of the MCC office where we'll be working. Plus, there's a sandbox in the huge yard for the kids and everything is gated.

Well, that's what's in store for us, but in the meantime, there's lots to do. We have orientation in Akron, PA from July 6-19 and then be back in Winnipeg until the first week of September. We have to get our shots, go to the dentist, get physicals, have our eyes checked, take care of our house, get rid of a bunch of our things (it's kind of easy when you've lived a year without them), sell our van....oh yeah and spend time with family and friends before we go. It'll be a busy summer. Can you keep up?