The Mission Link

After September 11th, 2001, many people began to talk about “the new normal.” The idea was that things were never going to be the same as they had been, and “normal” was certainly not going to mean what it once had.

 In the past two and a half months, we at 2850 have been trying to adjust to a “new normal” as we lived together in a makeshift “camp” that was once the building’s cafeteria. Now, though, we are heading back to our “new” old location. The boxes are coming off the truck, the dust is settling (and being vacuumed up!) and we are back in our “new normal”–the cubicles (with only a few offices) that will now be our home for a while.

I realized how difficult it had been to adjust to the “new normal” when I felt an unnatural level of affection for this cubicle I now call home . . . and more so when I realized that that the things on my “to-do” list were actually getting accomplished.

 We have faced many challenges in the past few months, and yet we were so blessed in that time . . . with the grace we offered to each other, with the minimum amount of sickness that went around, despite our “cozy” arrangements, and with the wonderful “nearly new” accommodations that we are now enjoying.

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 We give thanks for the hard work of Duc and his team of faithful employees who put up with our “um, this still needs to go on the truck” and the “have you seen this box?!” We are so grateful for the many ways that God carried us through this time, and we look forward to the prospect of being able to continue on in the work God has called us to of supporting those who serve God “to the ends of the earth.”

I believe my Grand Rapids colleagues are moving this week, possibly some stuff done already!  Wow.
And with Thanksgiving coming what timing to have yet another thing to be thankful for! 

Happy US Thanksgiving All!
Jessica (and the Canadians)

Those of us who are not working at home are getting settled into our temporary location in the (former) cafeteria of the denominational building here in Grand Rapids, Michigan. We’ll have some pictures of our new digs soon, but in the meantime, here are a few scenes from the weeks preceding the move . . .

Our hallways are normally quite colorful, with flags from many different nations, as well as decorative items given to us by our partners throughout the world. This group of incoming students from Calvin Seminary didn’t get to see all of that, however, as we had packed up just about everything by this time. Hopefully they’ll be back to visit after our remodel!

Gord Buys, our Logistics Manager, used to have walls . . .

but, as a former missionary pilot to Nigeria, he is very familiar with upheaval, and he seemed to adjust quite well to his new surroundings! 

(more…)

Some scenes from our Grand Rapids offices over the past week . . .  

We at the Grand Rapids office of Christian Reformed World Missions are in the midst of a remodeling project that will require all of us to be relocated to a makeshift set of workspaces in the cafeteria for three to four months. In the meantime, we are frantically cleaning out our spaces, as well as the random closets and files we’re each responsible for.

I’ll have more to say, and some pictures of the process, soon, but for now, here are a few of the fun things we’ve found:

1) a stuffed penguin (not a plush stuffed penguin–a TAXIDERMIED stuffed penguin. I tell my boss frequently that the penguin is “staring at me!” but she won’t take it down. seriously, wouldn’t you be afraid of this?)

2) several cassette players (a few that look like this and had everybody saying, “I had this exact cassette player when I was a kid!”)

3) more books than we know what to do with, including, “Management trends of the 80’s” and other fun titles

4) Binders, binders, binders

5) a Kodak “Disc” camera, circa 1984

We are praying that we will give each other much grace in the tense, chaotic weeks and months to come. We are reminded quite frequently to “keep smiling!”,  and we are trying to do so . . .

Have you done any spring cleaning lately?  

I’m quite embarrassed to admit that my desk looked like this
BEFORE we started “the move” . . .
                                                                                                              Lorraine Woodward