Written by Jim Manchester
 |
Changing Direction |
These past months have been a time of
major transition for me, and for our family. For some time now, I
have been questioning if and when it would be the right time for me
to transition out of the business that I have co-owned for the past
17 years.
Over the past five years or so, as I
have been involved with ministry in our church back in Evanston, I
have been sensing that God wanted me to pursue a more active roll in
the church. When I first sensed this call, I didn't feel like I was
in a position to do so. My business depended on me significantly, and
I didn't want to leave the business in such a way that caused its
collapse, and the livelihood of my business partner and employees
with it. So, over the past five years I have been working to train
employees to be able to take over those things that I had sole
responsibility for, while I worked on continuing my education in
international business. I was also fortunate that God provided the
opportunity for me to become the new Worship Director at our church
during this time, working on a part-time basis.
Last year, when the opportunity came up
to be able to come to Mongolia as the bookkeeper for CAMA Services, I
was able to arrange for the business to continue in my absence, with
me providing financial oversight and programming support remotely
over the Internet. With Skype, I could check in as often as
necessary, either over the phone or attending meetings over Skype
video conference calls. As the year has gone on, I have been able to
continue to work at the business less and less each week. As spring
came around, I knew it was time for our family to make some decisions
on what the next step would be when we returned to the States in the
summer.
Although this time in Mongolia has been
a blessing to us in many ways, there are a number of factors for our
family personally that do not make full-time service overseas
possible, at least not at this point in our lives. We decided that
whether we are to do this type of work overseas in the future or not,
that we wanted to be involved in making a difference in other people's lives.
Based on my desire to make this
transition, and with the support of my family, I began discussing my
transition out of the business with my business partner back in
March. I also began the process of applying for provisional licensing
with our church denomination at that time. Over these past two
months, I also did some searching for opportunities in ministry
within our church denomination. Of the positions that were open, one
in particular stood out in Iowa that would put us a lot closer to
Denise's family in Minnesota and Illinois. It meant huge changes for
us, with a lot of uncertainty, but we really felt like this was the
time for our family to make this transition.
Since March, a lot has happened. At the
end of April, I signed the share transfer agreement for my half of
the business. Last week I was able to complete the provisional
licensing process with our denomination when I was interviewed before
a board here in Mongolia. With the provisional licensing in place, at
the end of this week we were extended a call from that church in Iowa
to become their new associate pastor for youths and young adults,
with responsibilities in tech and worship. There are a number of
reasons we feel like this opportunity is a really good fit for us,
and are excited to start this next adventure.
So, we will be returning to Evanston in
two months, on the evening of July 13th, but we will be
beginning the process of moving to Iowa so that we can be there in
time for Elise to start school at the end of August. We are sad to be
leaving our home and friends in Evanston, but we are excited about
this new direction in our lives. And we are also hopeful that the
lower altitude will be beneficial for my Mom's health, since she will
also be relocating with us.
Much like this time last year, we are
on the precipice of another major change in our lives. Our experience
this past year in Mongolia, and in the time leading up to our coming
here last year, has taught us that we can count on God to provide for
us in these weeks and months ahead. We're excited about what comes
next, but apprehensive about our transitions as we say goodbye to
friends both here in Mongolia, and back in Evanston. We have formed
some very close relationships
Some very busy days are ahead, and big
changes and adjustments are coming as we re-integrate into American
culture, and as we get settled in a new community. We would sincerely
appreciate your prayers over the coming weeks, and we are looking
forward to sharing with all of you the details of our continuing
adventure!
