Little did I realize that to ‘move on’ would actually mean pitching my tent with the Scarboro Missions at 2685 Kingston Road! But here I am, right back where it all began as I initially prepared to go on an overseas mission with the Scarboro Missions.

For the next 5-6 months I will be participating in an ongoing investigation to collect information that may be used as a future resource for the Lay Mission Office and General Council. Two specific areas of investigation have been identified:

1. Policies: education leave, secondary education for children, student loans, resettlement/readjustment, marriage, adoption

2. Lay presence in English speaking areas in Africa focusing on collaboration with other missionary groups in Africa. This would include the possibility of short term ministry eg two semesters or one year in duration.

This is also a time of transition for me as I adjust to the realities of living once again in one of the richest countries in the world. Rich, not only on an economic level, but also rich in the multitude of personal choices and opportunities that are offered to us each day. One of the ways my cross-culture experience in China has changed me is that it has made me more aware and more grateful for the choices I can make in my daily life.

This is a short term contract. In the spring I will once again be looking at choices and discerning where my next ministry may lead me. In the meantime, I see my life as a journey and as an adventure, and try not to dwell on the future nor focus on the past but to live wholeheartedly in the present moment. Each day I am reminded of and endeavor to follow Gandhi’s advice to “live simply so that others may simply live.”