Preparing for a New Journey
Dear Friends,
Like Abraham and the Jesus’ disciples, we are invited on a journey to the unknown and journey of faith. From humble beginnings in Chicago, we’ve pitched our tents on foreign land — in Boston, California, and Mongolia. With your partnership and support, we’ve moved on without knowing exactly where we are going, but trusting in God’s promise that He is preparing a place for us…
*PREPARING FOR A NEW JOURNEY
The time has come in our Sabbatical for our family to move on, to begin preparing for our next journey. This May, we’ll be moving to St. Louis, where Tom will serve as Regional Director for InterVarsity’s work in the Central United States (incl. Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska). We are on this journey because we continue to believe that American students make life decisions during college and that these graduates play a critical role in changing today’s world. Tom’s readings in his Fuller Seminary course affirmed this as well:
“The college stage of life is a crucial and pivotal stage…at this stage, young people make life decisions and career choices that implicitly or explicitly affirm for themselves the worldview of their upbringing and of their culture (or subculture), or being along another path which either denies or abandons the worldview of their parents or significantly refocuses and reforms that worldview.” - Brian Walsh, author of The Transforming Vision
We’ll send you a full brochure detailing the ministry in the coming months, but in brief, Tom’s role will include:
* Setting vision and direction for the Central Region’s ministries
* Providing pastoral care and professional development for the regional leaders
* To lead and support the 30+ staff in the region
* To raise strategic funds for the region
* And of course, speaking at campuses and conferences across the region!
*URBANA 06 MISSIONS CONVENTION:
Thank you for praying for Tom and his short message at Urbana. Speaking to the 23,000 students was fun for Tom and hopefully inspiring for the students. We also praise God for over 1,000 international students, including several from “closed” countries who became believers at Urbana! Our inaugural “Open for Business” track also was a success, drawing over 1,000 business professionals and MBA/business students. Positive news coverage was also given by several national newspapers. For example, the Kansas City Star: http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/living/16392520.htm
*FAMILY NEWS & PHOTOS:
Thanks for praying for Olivia and our transition to being a family of four. Olivia is now 2-months old, and we ventured out on our first family vacation last week, a 2-day trip to nearby Monterey. “I love Monterey. My favorite was the hotel room,” concluded Abby. Tom is walking again after his achilles injury, and Nancy is sleeping much better, as Olivia is kind enough to take a 6-hour break from feeding at night! For NEW photos from January, click on: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tomandnancylin/.
*PRAYER REQUESTS & UPCOMING TRAVEL:
1. Wycliffe Board Meetings, Feb. 9-10 (Orlando). While on sabbatical, Tom has enjoyed more time to devote to his service as a Director and engaging with Wycliffe’s leaders. Pray for Tom as he leads a devotional time and several important committee discussions, including a multiethnic initiative that he is spearheading for the Board.
2. House-hunting Trip, Feb. 16-20 (St. Louis). Our whole family will spend 4 full days in the St. Louis metro area looking at new homes and meeting new friends. Pray for the Lord to put the perfect home on our lap, one that’s affordable! Pray also for an encouraging entry into this new “land” and culture.
3. Time with Family & Friends, Feb. 21-Mar 5 (Chicago). We’ll celebrate Olivia’s 100-day birthday (Korean tradition) with our extended families. Pray for a restful time in Chicago, as Nancy’s parents and Tom’s dad give us some relief from the kids!
4. Speaking at DC/Baltimore Area Churches, Feb. 23-25. Pray for Tom, who will go alone to visit partners in our ministry in Washington DC and Baltimore. He’ll be preaching at Baltimore Chinese Christian Church on Sunday, as well as sharing at other local churches.
5. Continue praying for our Sabbatical goals of physical rest, spiritual renewal and study. Tom is taking two classes this quarter at Fuller Seminary. Nancy is looking forward to some R&R during our family vacation to Hawaii on March 15th!
With Love,
Tom and Nancy
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