I don't typically do personal posts here, but I thought a year-end reflection might be worthwhile, even if only for my family and friends who read this blog. Be warned, though – when I do foray into more personal, introspective posts, they tend to be quite long, so get a cup of coffee if you're thinking of reading this all the way through.
Robin and I began 2010 with a great deal of uncertainty, still waiting for visas to process for us to move to the United Kingdom. To be honest, by January, we were seriously beginning to think it wouldn't happen. We both had jobs we did not particularly enjoy, and we had a lot of uncertainty about the future. The visas did come, however. On my birthday in February, we got the news that the church here had finally been approved to sponsor us. From there, the next few steps moved on comparatively quickly, and by May, we had the visas in hand.
Our remaining time in Florida was really a time of blessing, though. Relationships with our church family at River Oaks Church deepened, and I continued to have many opportunites to partake in the church's ministry. As we were leaving and saying goodbye to all the wonderful people there, we found that words could not express how blessed we were to have spent our four years in Florida sharing our lives with them.
We did a quite a bit of travelling last year. In early May we took a road trip across the southern United States and into Texas, going as far as San Antonio, and in June, we took another road trip on our way out of the United States, first heading west to visit some friends in Mississippi, and then north to visit Robin's family in Michigan and mine in Ontario, before flying from Toronto to Gatwick, and driving from Gatwick to Hull. Since arriving in England, we've been able to visit some of the sights here, including York and London.
Packing up all our stuff in Florida was an adventure in itself. Our move to Florida when we got married was a big move, but we didn't have a lot of stuff at the time. Moving to another continent, though, accessible only by air or sea, was going to be interesting. We had to sort through all kinds of stuff, and we managed to get rid of a lot. We ended up getting a 20-ft. shipping container to move our belongings to England. During our three weeks between leaving Florida and arriving in England, I enjoyed tracking the container and learning about the shipping container business. In the end, the process couldn't have gone smoother; everything arrived right on schedule and nothing was damaged.
The biggest event of the year was, of course, the actual move to England. This photo summarises our life for about three weeks in the middle of last year – going from place to place living out of suitcases. It was taken at Gatwick Airport in the carpark where we picked up the car we hired to drive to Hull. Robin says she gets dizzy looking at this photo because by that point, we were exhausted from travelling, and both nervous and excited because we were about to make the final journey to our new home.
We weren't really sure what it was going to be like living in a new country and a new culture, but our initial experience was very good. The church family at St John's was so warm and welcoming, and they were eager to make us feel at home quickly. And they succeeded – this is the fourth time I've moved in my life, and this has by far been the easiest transition. After being here about three months, I was beginning to get tired of people asking me, "How are you settling in?" because I felt that the process was over and that we had settled.
People often ask us to point out the differences between North America and England, but I always find this question hard to answer. There are little differences – terminology, the way houses are constructed, different cars, some unique foods – but I'm hard-pressed to make any sweeping observations about how these two places differ. I'm well aware that we are in a different culture, but it's not so radically different that I can be specific about it. People here are like everywhere else, in one sense – concerned about providing for themselves and their families, desiring relationships with others, spending their time watching television or going shopping or taking a walk. Maybe it will take time before I'm able to make more observations about the differences.
We moved to England so I could take up a position as an assistant minister at the church. My official title is "Assistant Minister – Community Action," meaning that half my role is sharing in the preaching and other pastoral responsibilities, and the other half is developing and coordinating the church's community outreach work. The first part of the role has gone well. The 'pastoral' side of the role is new to me, and while I'm still getting used to people unloading on me – seemingly without inhibition – I'm learning quickly. I have more experience preaching, although not a great deal, but I continue to be challenged by it and enjoy it, and I'm grateful for the opportunity to do it far more regularly now.
The community action side of the role is new, though, both to me and to the church. When I got offered the position, I was told it would be up to me to give shape to it. Starting almost from scratch, as it were, the first few months were a difficult. I spent a lot of time trying to get to know this city and thinking about how we wanted to approach this work. Within a few months, though, I felt much more confident about the role, having seen some things unfold and fall into place. I now understand myself to be doing three things – articulating a biblical and theological basis for our community work, developing and coordinating community projects, and equipping people in our church to participate in these projects and to live as Christians in their communities. I am excited to see how this will play out further in this new year.
For now, though, thinking back over the past year and looking forward, I'm reminded again of how blessed we are. While the year began with uncertainty, we now look back and clearly see God's hand guiding us. Yet at the same time, I'm aware that the uncertainty we experienced is nothing compared to what others around the world have faced, especially those who have suffered greatly in this past year from famine, war, natural disasters, and whatever other terrible things sin has wrought on creation. I mourn with them, and earnestly pray that 2012 will be a more peaceful year.
But Christ is still enthroned as King over heaven and earth, and as we move into another year it's again my hope and prayer that he will return to conquer sin and death and fulfil all his promises to his people.
Until then, let us continue to faithfully bear witness to the Kingdom of God, offering to the world the hope, joy, and peace that are only found in Jesus Christ.
May God richly bless all of you in 2012.
(NB: We're beginning the year with a short holiday. There is one post set to publish on the 4th, but aside from that, posting will not resume regularly until the 10th of January.)
