A New Call

One Hundred and Three - July 2008

I took this photograph just over five years ago as I was following a local evangelist on his pastoral caregiving rounds through the shamba or fields outside of Pommern in the red hills south of Iringa. It was the final summer of my MDiv studies at Yale Divinity School. The following May I was to graduate. It was to be the end of my time in East Africa, my last trip to Tanzania - or so I thought.

Funny how life works, isn't it?

About a week ago I received and accepted a new call - an invitation to return and an opportunity to serve among colleagues and friends in Minnesota and Tanzania. This January I'll be starting in my new role as Director of the Bega Kwa Bega Companion Synod Program between the Saint Paul Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Iringa Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania. It is a call that I have been both honored and humbled to have been able to say "Yes!" to.

In the Lutheran tradition we say that one's call is both internal and external - that is to say that it both resonates within a person and is also recognized and affirmed by others. In this instance, this call began externally. A drastic change in career or vocation was not on my radar six months ago and yet it has happened. It began with emails and messages from several friends and colleagues from different parts of my life sharing word of this new position with me. In retrospect, "Wouldn't it be funny if . . ." turned out to be very potent words to say indeed.

With my curiosity piqued and Holy Spirit indicator pinging away, I engaged in a few cautious conversations. My expectations were muted. Obstacles seemed insurmountable and, I was fully engaged in work with the YAGM program that is meaningful with people I deeply care for in a place that I love. I truly had little desire to move on. And yet, as some have noticed, I've "clearly been drawn to this (new) work, as this work has been drawn to me." And so I pressed on.

One conversation led to another, which led to another. . . and then last weekend happened. The Holy Spirit blew through like a tornado. In an absurd string of events and moments of crazy-random-happenstance, plans were upended, timelines thrown out the window, mountains were leveled, and ways forward were lit up with blazing signs and red ink. Soul stretching, heart breaking, life expanding questions of discernment and direction were met with one word. FINAL. In, with, and through the whirlwind God spoke and I have responded.

It is a divided state to be in, for sure. I'm thrilled beyond belief at the new opportunity before me but am also taken aback by the abrupt nature of the transition ahead. I swing between joy and mourning, between excitement and trepidation. And yet I move on - trusting that the same God who opened these doors to me has great plans in store for those who are now called to Malaysia after me.

The months ahead are certain to be filled with many challenges, but also much cause for celebration. There are friends to spend time with, still new foods to try, and many adventures still to be had. I'm not gone yet - and even when I am, I can always come back.

There's a lot more to say, a lot more that will be said. For now I'll leave it at this, and a simple request for your prayers and your blessing.

With Peace
-peter