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I was able to see my “upstairs neighbors” from Cameroon while in Vancouver for Blue Ocean!
Greetings. What a whirlwind this past month has been! I have driven over 5,000 miles and connected/re-connected with so many people. What a blessing my churches have been, how wonderfully I have been welcomed, and what love I have felt – Thank you! If you are one of the many churches I have not yet visited, I would love to hear from you so we can schedule a visit. Please email me at tenclayk@gmail.com so we can set up something.
It seems so strange to not have any RFIS updates for you, but God has given me a tremendous peace being as disconnected as I have been from them. That being said, please continue to pray for the staff and students there, as well as for God to provide direction as they continue to navigate the ever-changing world of education and international missions.
As I sit to write this update, it is interesting to reflect on what a different “place” I am inhabiting today than at any other point in the journey these newsletters have chronicled.
Physically, I am now in Kansas, back in my house and surrounded by boxes and piles as I progress toward being unpacked and settled in. However normal that physical “place” may be, there is profound difference in what it feels like.
You see, every other home assignment has held an expiration date. When you know everything is going back into storage 6–9 months down the road, unpacking becomes a process of weighing the value of having or using something for those months against the time and energy of pulling it out and having to repack it.
Likewise, the very nature of home assignment is mobile, so you never totally plant in a single location. Mentally, home assignment is also a constant balance between being here and preparing for “there.” I am not sure I realized how scattered my life has felt being spread between continents and across multiple states. Though still not certain what God has in store for me next, there is an odd sense of relief as the physically scattered pieces are gathered together and my attention is able to remain more in the here and now.
I also can’t ignore that part of this “place” is the reality of being back in the United States (and even more profoundly, in the midst of this election season!). It isn’t the same place I left fourteen years ago, and I am not the same person I was then. Quite honestly, I have not yet managed to wrap my head around so much of what the US and the American church have become . . . what hills we have chosen to stand on and what ground we have chosen to surrender.
But here I am.
Your continued prayers are appreciated as I continue to be immersed in the tension that exists between my yearning to have a plan that would allow me to take steps toward SOMETHING and the deep desire to honor God in the waiting.
One of my great joys on this trip was the opportunity to connect with others who served in Cameroon in the past – Wilma (above) and Lenora (below) both served in what is now Limbe, Cameroon.
