The old is gone and the new has begun.

“Being born again from above is an enduring, perpetual, and eternal beginning. It provides a freshness all the time in thinking, talking and living - a continual surprise of the life with God.” Oswald Chambers

This was in my devotional this morning and it really rang true for me. As I start this New Year I start it coming from one of the continual surprises that come from the life with God. I have hinted but not explicitly stated that as 2015 came to a close, so did the door to ministry in Cartagena, I love that city and still think of it as my home on this side of the Atlantic, however for reasons beyond my control, but not God’s, the time has come for me to move on. Although I am still in some ways mourning the loss of that time I am excited for what this new season will bring.

On a practical level my plans for 2016 have not changed, it is my 7^th year of ministry on this continent and therefore, biblically speaking, is a sabbatical year, a time to take a step back and re-evaluate my relationship with God, my ministry and my personal life. I had planned, and still plan, on using the next year to do just that, to travel to various places for extended periods to visit and volunteer with projects working in similar fields to the work God has called me to. I start tomorrow when I fly to Jamaica to work with a pregnancy resource centre that supports women who have become pregnant as a result of sexual violence. My initial plan is to stay for a month; however, I also want to remain open to God’s leading as to the possibility of staying longer if He desires it. I then have plans to visit 2 projects in Peru and 2 in other cities in Colombia as well as the possibilities of projects in the USA and Mexico. Whereas my initial plan was to simply learn from them and perhaps gather the beginning of a team, my plan now is to learn but also to talk to the directors and to seek God about the possibility of partnering with one of the existing projects to extend the work into the area of restoring girls who have been rescued out of sexual exploitation.

During this year I will also undertake to continue in my specialist training to effectively counsel these girls through online courses in trauma counselling and counselling children and young people. Thanks to the generosity of some of you through my go fund me page I have now purchased the first trauma course and with a promise from a church in Baltimore I should be able to enrol for the Children’s counselling course later on in the year. The Go Fund Me page will remain active for anyone who would like to donate towards these trips and other training that may come up in the course of the year.

Through all of these experiences and contacts I mostly want to grow in intimacy in God and truly seek His will and not “lean on my own understanding”, to ensure that wherever I commit to from the beginning of 2017 I am exactly where He wants me to be doing what He wants me to do. I ask for your prayers for especially this area during the next 12 months; for wisdom, intimacy, and clarity of vision.