We’ve known that this day would come for some time. Two years ago, we decided to pursue the goal of long-term work in Karamoja and set out on the course, watching as the providence of God dropped the stones in place ahead of us to form the path He would have us travel. But to move forward is always to leave something behind, and so it is with a mix of melancholy and joyful anticipation that we now say goodbye to our family, our church, our friends—knowing that it is likely we will not see some of these again until the resurrection.
As we have spent the last couple of weeks unmaking what has been our home for the last three and a half years, I can’t help but reflect on what an indelible mark it has left on our lives. As we box away silverware and measuring cups and our Total Body Workout Gym, I am reminded of how gracious many of you were at our marriage, helping Chloe and me to set up a new life together. As we take apart the dining table, the many meals that were shared around it on Sunday afternoons come afresh to my mind, the many great bottles of wine that were poured and the many expansive conversations that were spun.
And as the house grows daily more empty, the reality of the new life we are beginning slowly makes itself real in my mind, and I am made to recall the tremendous generosity that you all have shown in sending us forth, in blessing us financially, in encouraging us with words and thoughtful cards, and in bearing the burden of our absence on your hearts because you love Christ and his kingdom more than your own lives. As you have been so sacrificially faithful to send us, pray that we may be equally faithful to go, knowing that whether it be here or in the fulness of resurrection, we will see you again and rejoice in the anticipation.