At the end of this month, I will retire as a United Methodist missionary. Although I’ll continue working as a photojournalist, my formal relationship to the denomination and to your congregation will come to an end.
I write one last time to tell you how much I appreciate your support during so many years. In many cases, it's been decades. You have given me the incredible privilege to witness God at work around the world, creating space for hope in the middle of conflict and suffering. And you’ve faithfully sought to understand and respond to the economic and political challenges of mission in an increasingly globalized world. For all that, thank you.
Some final resources:
Here’s the video about my work that I shared during my itineration this spring.
Here’s an interview with Lyda and me that the Pacific Northwest Conference presented during this year’s annual conference session.
I discussed with several of you some options for missionary sponsorship in the future. One I hope you'll explore is developing a covenant relationship with individuals who participate in Christian Peacemaker Teams in places like Colombia, Iraq, and Palestine.
Or you can sponsor another United Methodist missionary. There are lots of them doing exciting work, including people like Katherine Parker, a US native working on education about water and sanitation in Nepal (see video), or Lorraine Charinda, an agricultural specialist from Zimmbabwe working in the DRC, or Emma Cantor, a Filipina deaconess working to empower women throughout Asia.
If you want to follow my adventures in my new life as a freelance journalist, you can follow me on Facebook and on my blog (on which I'm way behind).
We have shared an adventure together. From the depth of my soul, thanks for your friendship, encouragement, and support.
