I could not have known then that everybody, every person, has to leave, has to change like seasons; they have to or they die. The seasons remind me that I must keep changing, and I want to change because it is God’s way….Everybody has to leave, everybody has to leave their home and come back so they can love it again for all new reasons. I want to keep my soul fertile for the changes, so things keep getting born in me, so things keep dying when it is time for things to die. I want to keep walking away from the person I was a moment ago, because a mind was made to figure things out, not to read the same page recurrently.
Donald Miller, Through Painted Deserts
March 2014
Dear Friends and Family,
It is with much mixed emotion that we write this letter to inform you of an upcoming transition in our community and in our family. In June 2012 Rachel and I entered into a two-year covenant with our community in Moldova and, after much dilemma, have decided that we will not be renewing our covenant this coming June. As such, we will remain in Moldova for a few months beyond our covenant renewal date and will then return to live and work in Columbus, Ohio at the end of August.
These have been years in which we have rejoiced together with our community at the growth in the children who come to La VIA’s after-school program. We have cried at the injustice in their lives. We have loved and been loved. We have failed to love and have failed to allow ourselves to be loved. And through everything we have been transformed, slowly, painfully, a little bit more into the human beings we are meant to be.
But we sense that it is time for us to leave. We sense that the next season of our lives is to be spent closer to our family.
We make this decision, however, knowing that many of our friends in Moldova do not have the choice to live closer to their families as we do. Many of them are growing up in institutions without parental care. Many of their parents are abroad in desperate search of a living. Our decision to return to the US has been quite heavy.
And so as we leave behind our home in Moldova and our friends whom we have grown to love, we will carry them with us as we go.
We will carry the many gifts that we have received over these years in Moldova back with us to the States. We will treasure them and we will share them.
It is with deep gratitude that we reflect on the years in which we have counted all of you as partners in the work we have been a part of in Moldova. As I think back to my initial move to Moldova in 2006, it is overwhelming to remember the way you have accompanied me, and then us, on this journey. Thank you for your prayers, your financial partnership, your words of encouragement and your love.
With deep appreciation and gratitude,
John & Rachel
Q & A
So, what is next?
Per Word Made Flesh policy, as of May 2014, I (John) will be eligible to take up to 9 months of sabbatical leave from active service in Moldova. WMF staff are eligible for such a leave after every 6 years of full-time employment and service. After much wrestling with the meaning and purpose of sabbatical and whether this is a good decision for Rachel and for me, I decided to prayerfully move forward with the application process. My application was approved this month, so I will begin my sabbatical leave on September 1, 2014 and will end on May 31, 2015. The majority of that time will be spent in Columbus, Ohio. Beginning June 1, 2015, I will no longer be employed by Word Made Flesh.
Because sabbatical is a concept that was new to me, and because it is something that I have learned a great deal about, I would like to devote next month’s entire letter to communicating the thinking behind sabbatical, the purpose of this time and my vision for it.
Upon our return to Columbus, Rachel will begin looking for a job and would like to be working while I am on sabbatical. We appreciate your prayers in this time for our family as we move into a very different rhythm from our life in Moldova, where we have spent our entire 3 years of marriage.
How long will we continue receiving salary from WMF?
Per WMF policy, Rachel will continue to receive salary and will have health insurance for three months after her completion of service at the end of August. This means that November will be the last month for which she receives salary. The reason that WMF has this policy is to allow time and space for a healthy, successful reentry and adjustment to life in the US as well as time to look for a job. John will continue to receive salary and will be on WMF health insurance until the end of his sabbatical in May 2015.
So, accordingly, our support account will remain open until May 2015. We are unspeakably grateful to you who have supported us over these years in Moldova and who will continue to do so as we seek to transition back to the US in a healthy, thoughtful way.
What will happen to money that is left over in your support account after your employment at WMF is terminated?
We have decided to transfer any money that is left in our support account at the end of May 2015 to the Moldova field account. This money will be used to support staff salary and program expenses for La VIA’s ministry. If for some reason there is a negative balance in our account at the end of May 2015, it will remain open until the balance is brought back to zero.
Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions about our transition.
Again, we plan to devote next month’s entire letter to the topic of sabbatical.