Farewell Tour

Greetings to family, friends, and supporters in the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ!

Thank you all for your interest in and support of ELCIC's Mission in the World, and specifically, with our partner church, Iglesia Luterana Evangelica Peruana (ILEP), and my work as a long-term missionary. It is my hope that this blog will keep everyone "in the loop" with the ministry, the travels, stories, and learnings during these years. I hope to share with you something of my work and life, as well as what we can learn from our neighbours in Peru. I hope that this shared ministry will enrich and challenge our sense of who we are and how we respond as Christians in the world, as well as call forward deeper connections to God and to all of God's children throughout the world. Saved by grace, we are called and strengthened to be in ministry for and with our neighbour. I look forward to serving with our partner church in Peru, our global neighbours. 

The last couple of months have served as a time of preparation for this ministry and for leaving Canada. Details, arrangements, and planning have gone smoothly and only final details need to be taken care of at this point. Part of the preparation involved the Mission Orientation facilitated by the Canadian Church's Forum on Global Missions. It was a wonderful time of training, discussions, inter-faith visits,  and reflection.

This picture shows Co-Director, Alice Schuda, as well as this year's participants at the Mission Orientation in Toronto.

Interspersed with the details, there has also been the "farewell tour" of the summer, as a family member put it. The summer has been full and meaningful as I have travelled from Saskatoon to Strasbourg, Winnipeg, Thunder Bay, Toronto, southern Manitoba, and North Dakota to visit with family and friends and say goodbyes!  As the summer nears its end, I find myself reflecting on the last few years of Seminary: the studies, papers, friendships, examinations, CTEL interviews, colloquy, Graduation, Ordination, moving from the apartment and now the last couple of months of farewells and goodbyes. This has been an emotional and exhilarating time! Lots of mixed emotions, of course, as I plan to leave: sometimes sadness, but much anticipation and excitement, too!

Leaving Canada on August 23, I will travel to Cochabamba, Bolivia for three months of language training where I will live with a host family. From there, I expect to arrive in Lima, Peru in December and begin the ministry as parish pastor and teacher of church liturgy and music for ILEP.

At this time, I want to thank those whose support, love, hospitality, and warm send-offs have encouraged and strengthened me to serve in this way!  My heart is filled with gratitude for those who have helped in so many ways and who have journeyed with me during this whole process...what a blessing you are!

Now...we prepare to leave Canada and let the next step of the adventure begin! Come, journey with me!!

Thanks be to God...

Fran