Two Projects...

Just a quick note on my work these last few weeks, culminating with an all-day meeting today. Since returning from Mexico, among many other things, I have been doing reports and evaluations for the boards that I work for at the Conference office. Along with that work, I initiated a new project that I presented today at our Board of Missions meeting (7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.). The project was a strategy paper that I wrote about our mission work in Mexico, looking back over the past 50 years of our time there, evaluating what our current status is, and presenting some proposals for the coming years. It was a great project and produced good feedback from board members today, and, together with my mission co-workers at the office, we have been given the green light to forge ahead on this strategy work. I am pretty pumped about what this will mean for the future of missions within the EMC.
The other project I reported on was the short-term mission/ministry program our Conference offers to students every summer. While it has normally been a mission-focused venture under the name "Project Macedonia," this year I was again given the green light to move forward with a new proposal. This new program is called SOLID and will focus on Leadership Development for our high school leaders. The running of this program will also accomplish another aspect of our Mission program, and that is that it will be the internship for two couples who are on their way to the Mission field, LeRoy & Faith Siemens and Dallas & Tara Wiebe.
Between these two projects and other work that continually piles up on my desk, my work has been busy but very exciting as well. I feel so blessed and privileged to be doing this work/ministry for the Conference - this June it will be 9 years since I started...together with the 4 years on the mission field in Mexico during the 90's, I will have worked 13 years for the same organization - pretty amazing I would say! And...while we don't know yet where the Lord is leading us in the future, we sure believe he has lots more amazing things he wants us to do for His Kingdom - what an incredible joy to have our lives in the hands of our loving Saviour! PTL!

We sure appreciate your prayers...
Gerald