Sitting in the parish house at early morning, noticing the pictures and furnishings … many of them are obviously from Bob’s family and his growing-up years. These are the little reminders of a happy past, of people and events that had significant positive impact in Bob’s life.

My thoughts turn to my own life, and the mementos of my growing-up years and those of Edye and our children … the joys of those times and events … and the sadness that so many of them had to be given up/given away/thrown away in the transition to our new life.

The good news is that the memories are not given away. We scan the photographs and digitize the recordings to preserve them … but even if all these are lost, the memories bring back scenes we saw, voices we heard, aromas we smelled, flavors we tasted, people we touched … and those who touched us.

These are the piles of stones – the pillars of remembrance – erected in our lives like those of the Israelites, so that when we are old we can look back and remember God’s rich provision in our lives … even if we have no earthly riches. We review them with our family, reminding our children of God’s faithfulness which they have seen firsthand, and which they can know for themselves.

That is covenant. They are automatically part of it. They do not have to choose it to receive it … but they can choose to walk away from it and not receive it.

We must remind them. We must show them the pillars of remembrance, and recall with them the bounty of God’s love and grace poured out to them. We must make clear to them the incredible value of Christ’s precious gift to us.

For the day will come – much too soon – when we, too, will be just pillars of remembrance … for them.

Daily devotion for March 19, from Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest

In the Old Testament, personal relationship with God showed itself in separation, and this is symbolized in the life of Abraham by his separation from his country and from his kith and kin….

Faith never knows where it is being led, but it loves and knows the One Who is leading. It is a life of Faith, not of intellect and reason, but a life of knowing Who makes us “go.” The root of faith is the knowledge of a Person….

http://www.oswaldchambers.co.uk/classic/the-way-of-abraham-in-faith-classic/

It is worth the separation, because God shows Himself faithful.

For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie [prove false]: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry [delay]. – Habakkuk 2:3

Dear brothers and sisters, family, and friends,

The Word of God does not return void (Isaiah 55:11), and that is being proven true once more in the Scripture that begins this letter.  After more than two decades laboring wherever we have been planted, God is bringing to pass the vision He gave us on May 13, 1991:  we have been called to St. Stephen’s CEC in London, England.

St. Stephen’s has been faithfully ministering in the heart of London for more than twenty years as an outreach of the Diocese of Asia International Mission.  In the body of this church beats the heart of a servant: most of its members are Filipinos, and from this strong base God is calling His people to carry the light of Christ and the historic faith into the post-modern culture of post-Christian Britain.

St. Stephen’s meets in the Guild Church of St. Margaret Pattens, an Anglican church in the center of the London business district that hosts mid-week Communion services every Thursday, and various cultural events on other nights during the week.  St. Stephen’s rents the building for use on the weekends:  worship rehearsal and other activities on Saturdays, and Holy Eucharist on Sunday mornings.

St. Stephen’s is active on many fronts.  It has responsibility for a mission church that meets in the Greenside Parish Church in Edinburgh, Scotland.  It is also in the midst of planting a new church mission in Dublin, Ireland, and has begun Portuguese-language Eucharist on Sunday evenings in the London area.  These ministries are being carried forward by St. Stephen’s current clergy: Dcn. Andrew Gossage, Dcn. Dado Macasling, and recently arrived from Lisbon, Portugal, Fr. Marco Lopez.

Our Patriarch Abp. Craig Bates, has given his approval for this move, and Bp. Michael Davidson, my current bishop, has issued a letter of transfer from the Central Province of the United States to the Diocese of Asia International Mission.  Bp. Elmer Belmonte, who oversees the CEC churches in Europe, will receive the transfer.  At some point in the months that follow he will install me as Rector.

St. Stephen’s will provide a stipend for the Jackson family to live on, and it is our intent to live within the means provided by that stipend rather than maintain an American lifestyle.  No doubt it will be a learning experience, but having spent the equivalent of four months in the United Kingdom during our travels over the last decades, we are confident it can be done.  To that end, we have sold our home in Lovettsville, VA and dispersed or disposed of most of our possessions.  Six different families have graciously shared their homes with us, allowing the greater part of my current salary to go toward paying off our few remaining debts.  One significant hurdle remains, however:  the cost of relocation.

There are two components to the expense of moving internationally:  funds required for the immigration process (which are fixed), and the cost of moving ourselves and our goods.  By greatly reducing our possessions we are able to fit everything we own into the smallest shipping container available – 20’ long – utilizing less than 2/3 of its capacity.  Even so, the resulting costs are significant.  We are reviewing the inventory of items to be shipped very carefully, with the goal of further reducing our shipping weight and costs.

We ask that you would pray for us.  The road God has led us on has already been long and challenging, and we don’t expect it to get easier as we move closer to fulfillment of all God’s purposes.  Please pray for wisdom, for protection, for courage and initiative, for perseverance with joy, and that we would be good stewards of all that God provides.  Pray for the clergy and people of St. Stephen’s in London, the mission church in Edinburgh, the church forming in Dublin, and the Portuguese-speaking ministry – that God would continue to fill them and use them for His glory.  Pray that God would accomplish all He desires in the ICCEC churches of the British and Irish isles, for the praise and glory of His Name, for the expansion of His Kingdom, and for the good of all His Church.

We know God will provide: He has already done far more than we could ever ask or imagine.  We set up this blog to share what God is doing in us and for us during this exciting transition. It will serve to keep you informed of our progress both spiritually and financially, and also communicate prayer needs as they arise.

Grace and peace be yours, in the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Dana+ and Edye Jackson