Moving to Africa?

For those who follow this blog and DON'T already know it, or know very little... it's time I share about our potential plans to relocate to Southern Africa.

You probably already know about my (our) growing passion for the people of Africa. Our desire to serve overseas goes back many years prior to our marriage, and has been a common thread throughout our life together. At the time we married, we anticipated being deployed overseas, serving with Brethren in Christ World Missions, within a few years of being married. God redirected us... and for how long, we didn't know. We ended up at The Meeting House 4.5 years ago, and it's been a wonderful place for us to serve, grow and engage in community.

And yet, that desire to serve overseas never died.

As a church, we desired to take a very active role in compassionate ministry to the people of Africa. We sent Joel and Julianne for 10 months to research how we could do that. The decision was made that we needed to partner with an organization that is already there, already doing great work. The last thing we wanted to do was to be a big church with big money, going in and doing things our own way. There's already lots of very intelligent, skilled people on the ground doing great work in Africa. God has gifted us with financial resources... we need to use that to support the great work that's already in place. The organization we feel we are best suited to partner with, and with whom we have the opportunity to make the biggest impact, is Mennonite Central Committee. (Learn more about them at www.mcc.org.)

So our goal as a church is to double MCC's budget for Southern Africa over the next 5 years. We want to raise millions of dollars for them to use to strengthen existing programs in Africa, and to create new ones.

Part of our committment was also to provide personnel... in several ways. Our leadership wants to send a couple (or family) from the church to live in Africa, to fulfill a couple of objectives:

- Communication

If we are asking people in our community to give millions of dollars, we have a responsibility to communicate with them how those finances are being used. We place a high value on communication within our community.

- Logistics

We want to not just send money, but also people. People to serve in various short-term capacities. People to just go and "do life" together with our African family. People who can come back to Canada and share with passion about what's going on there... keeping the vision alive for partnering with MCC and our African brothers and sisters. Others who desire to use specific skills and educational experience to work alongside the Africans for a short period of time.

So we are hopeful that by the middle of 2008, our family will be on the ground, in Africa, fulfilling this role. In so many ways, this is a very good fit for Arja and I. It fits our passions and our skills. It fits with our desire to serve others, and it fits with our desire to serve together as a family. It's the ideal time for our children, and we know that they will gain incredible life experience from it.

Our trip to Zimbabwe in November served to affirm our desire. We came back with a love for the people, for the land, and a passion to use our gifts to serve. We gained a huge appreciation for wonderful things that are happening there, and a burden for the very saddening state of affairs in some regards.

There are many things we will give up when we leave Canada. We will sell our home, our cars, and 99% of our possessions. We will give up our salaries. We will give up much. But we will gain SO MUCH MORE. We will learn to live simply. We will learn to value community over commercialism. We will live, travel, learn and work together as a family. I will learn to slow down (I know many people are waiting to see that happen!)

We trust that through our work, we will help a community of nearly 5000 people in Canada engage in meaningful ways with millions of people in Africa, carrying out the practical teaching of Jesus to love our neighbours. We will be a part of helping people's physical needs be met. We will witness people die of HIV/AIDS, and we will witness others live because they received ARV treatment that they couldn't afford themselves. We will meet people who are starving, and we will work alongside people as they plant gardens with seeds they bought because of micro-loans. We will use video and blogging to tell people's stories... people like Rebecca, whom you can meet through our November Zimbabwe video... (see it here)

I can't wait to meet more of these people, and to introduce you to them.

This posting isn't formalized yet. We have been in discussion with MCC and The Meeting House leadership team. In January, we will formalize our application and interview with MCC. From there, we need to work out a few logistical details, and then, if all goes smoothly, by July, we'll be packing our stuff and boarding a plane.
Where, exactly, we will live, is yet to be determined. It will likely be either Choma, Zambia, or Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. But our role will take us throughout all of Southern Africa.

Stay tuned in the new year as things progress.