December 15, 2007
To the People We Love,
There is a built-in praxis of reflection in our community because of the opportunities we have to write for The Cry, but also because in WMF we are asked to periodically send out update and prayer letters. During this sabbatical year, I know Phileena and I haven't been the most faithful at putting down our hearts and thoughts in routine update letters, and for that we appreciate your understanding.
We wanted to let you know that in 2008 we will be more proactive about communicating with you. We will continue to share our joys and sorrows, our prayer requests and our needs, but we also want to be more thoughtful about sharing our vision and what we're learning with you. And we'll also try to fill these envelopes with something fun from time to time, like occasionally throwing in a picture or two from our travels and hopefully sharing provocative articles here and there. So look forward to more thoughtfully imaginative letters from us in the year to come.
That said, we also understand that lots of you may get more mail than you know what to do with. If that's your case and if you'd rather just read our letters on-line if/when you find the time, we won't take it personal-just let us know and we can take you off this distribution list.
Soooooooooo, 2007 is coming to an end. Wow. Where did this year go?
On one hand this year really seemed to slow down in so many much-needed ways, but wow, I do start feeling like age is creeping up on me when I feel like 12 months has blown past me in what seems more like 99 days. I wanted to share the some of the highlights of where your prayers have led and supported Phileena and me in 2007
The Year of The Conferences: After having spoke at The Gathering last fall, I ended up sharing at Urbana, Passion, and Catalyst all this year. The whole Christian conference scene was really new to me, but quite energizing to be around so much enthusiasm. I hope the visibility at these events (in total, more than 60,000 participants attended the conferences I spoke at) will bring more attention to the suffering of our friends and create on-ramps to get people thinking, praying, and living in ways that allow them to be part of the solution. I've already agreed to speak at 2 more conferences in 2008, the Urban Youth Workers International conference in Southern California from May 15-17 and then MissionsFest in Toronto from March 6-10.
The Children in Chennai Finally Get a Home: Many of you may remember that I used to live in India where I helped start a couple children's homes. That was way back in 1994. As you can imagine many of those little boys and girls we found and became family for are all grown up now. It was finally in January of this year that we were able to buy a permanent home for the kids! Phileena and I were able to visit India for the dedication of the home. Moved to tears by the memories of struggle, sacrifice, and real suffering (we've had to burry 10 of our children that didn't live to see the doors of this home opened to them), we thank God for the provision and blessing of this sanctuary of grace. And I want to thank all of you who have stood with us and the kids over the years. Your prayers continue to be answered.
Our Personal Support Melt-Down: Everyone in WMF is asked to find personal supporters or sponsorship as a way of including family, friends, and partners in our journey of finding God's heart among the poor. As the director, it is sometimes hard to know how to navigate balancing the needs of the mission against the needs Phileena and I have. Not only do Phileena and I need to raise our own support, but if/when there are real needs in our General Fund or for the Chennai projects, the responsibility of seeing those needs met becomes central to my activity in WMF.
This year provided even more opportunity for many of our international communities to buy buildings for children's homes, drop-in-centers, and day-centers in Peru, Bolivia, Romania, and Nepal. Of course we were excited to see many of our international projects maturing to the point where land and buildings were necessary for the stability and sustainability of their efforts, but as you can imagine this also created new opportunities for all of us in WMF to find friends to help invest in these needs.
That caught up to Phileena and me in a very personal way early this spring. Our support account and our monthly income statements were as bleak and thin as they had been in nearly 7 years. We stopped. Prayed. Considered how and who could join us on this journey. Then in May Phileena sent out an honest appeal that was (and still is) and invitation for friends to join us in our vocation. Though we shouldn't have been, we were surprised. No, we were shocked. Many of you responded with humbling generosity and love. By June we had started recovering much-needed monthly support and know that we will end this year at a positive place inspiring confidence for a promising 2008. Thank you so much for standing with us through your support. We are humbled and your kindness continues to inspire faith in us.
The Writing Projects: I used to think I was a pretty good writer. That was, until I actually had to start writing stuff that people would actually read. Well, this past year has been my most prolific. Coming off of the Lausanne Younger Leaders Gathering in Malaysia last fall, I was asked to write for TheOtherJournal.com. That was followed by an invitation to write for the Christian Vision Project in Christianity Today. In the meantime I was furiously working in spurts to finish a manuscript for InterVarsity Press. I did finally finish the manuscript in October and you can look forward to seeing my first book, Simple Spirituality, in stores by June of 2008. Between now and then, I do have 5 articles for various publications that will need to be finished and I have also agreed to a second book with InterVarsity Press. Christine Pohl (author of Making Room) and I will co-write a book for the Center For Reconciliation's small-book series, Resources for Reconciliation. Our book is provisionally titled, Friendship At The Margins, and will tease-out the idea of moving from donor to receptor in relationships with our friends who are poor.
On Pilgrimage, El Camino de Santiago: Perhaps the most spiritual, contemplative, and internally transformative experience of my life was a 500+ mile walk from southern France all the way across northern Spain. In May and June, Phileena and I walked the Camino de Santiago. Carrying everything on our backs, hoping for a bed at the end of each day, and living off the kindness of monasteries, convents, and pilgrim houses, we made our way quietly and reflectively though pilgrimage. Even now, nearly 6 months later I struggle to wrap language around the impact it has had on my life. Phileena is currently in the process of writing about the spirituality of pilgrimage, something we hope to share with you soon. Thank you all for your prayers that accompanied us during the walk. It has forever changed us.
The 2007 Word Made Flesh Staff Retreat: From pilgrimage to celebration. Every 3 years we pull together over 100 of our staff and board to spend 10 days learning from each other. This past summer we held our 4th ever WMF Staff Retreat in Nebraska City. It was a time for reunions, reflection, and renewal. Being together with everyone and seeing so many true heroes of the faith was an invigorating reminder of the joys of our vocation.
Visiting Practitioner Fellows at the Center for Reconciliation at Duke's Divinity School: Trying to keep the spirit of pilgrimage alive, Phileena and I packed up our little car and drove 1,000 miles across the country to Durham, North Carolina. Duke Divinity School would be the host for the 2nd part of our sabbatical. The Center for Reconciliation gave us a fellowship and time to rest, reflect, and find renewal. As the Visiting Practitioner Fellows for the fall semester we were able to soak up much of what Duke Divinity School had to offer-mentors, and lots and lots of new friendships with some of the most promising young people we've ever met. The past 4 months really have been a contemplative retreat from the demands of a very active vocation. Learning to rest, reflect, and find renewal will surely propel us into even more fecundity as we begin to reengage our vocations and our community.
Gratitude for your Prayers and Support: It goes without saying (but I'm gonna say it anyway), that without you and your support Phileena and I could never have made it this far. Thank you. Thank you so much for standing with us. For loving us. For believing in us. Thank you for your real interest in what we do. Thank you for making our friends your friends. Thank you for your desire to follow the poor to God's heart. Thank you for making a difference in our lives, the lives of our friends, and in the broken parts of the world. We are humbled and moved by your kindness.
I wanted to close this letter with some reflections on the gift of sabbatical.
When we first arrive in Durham there was a large box waiting at the door of the little home (the Rose Cottage) that the Center for Reconciliation was renting for us. The box was from a dear friend, Jara. In it was a beautiful bamboo bowl. An enclosed letter from Jara read,
It's a simple gift. A bamboo bowl. As I've thought about how to send you off and how to keep in touch I'm excited because through this time away our friendship will be deepened. It isn't until we are empty-like this bowl-that we can fully embrace solitude and welcome each other more intimately in our lives. My hope and prayer is that you can fill this bowl with love, memories, letters-and that it brings us closer and closer to God and each other.
Jara, and others from our community faithfully wrote beautiful letters, sent crazy postcards and photos, and during the 4 months we were in North Carolina, filled that big bamboo bowl up with love.
It's a powerful reminder of what our sabbatical has been. A time of emptying out. A hollowing out of our souls. A rediscovery of our identities, freedoms, vocations, and community. Our sabbatical has been a time of making space to meet with God and space for our marriage to grow. As we have found the courage to explore hollowness and emptiness, God has been faithful to fill us up.
We are energized. Revived. Full of love from old and new friends. We are anxious to get back to the task God has set before us.
Thank you all for journeying with us this far. We look forward to many more years of sharing life together!
May God visit each of you in a tangible way this holiday season.
Take it slow, keep it simple, and bless God,
Chris and Phileena