Not today Europe, not today...

Some of you may know that I had aspirations of spending a year abroad, somewhere in Western Europe, somewhere that spoke English - 'cause that's the extent of my language skills. Well, on Wednesday, I got a delightful letter from the Dean of Student Life here at Princeton, through which I had applied for a Fellowship that would fund a year overseas. Part of that letter included "I am sorry to inform you..."

In all honesty, it wasn't as much of a blow as it might have been a few months ago. I don't know if that was because I'm getting a little tired of school and itching to get back out into fulltime ministry, or whether it was because God was preparing me, or simply I was not wanting to do all the logistical stuff like passports, storing belongings, finding a home for our cat... That was probably the #1 thing. I know it was much more difficult for Bridgette to take. She was getting so excited and interested in multi-cultural stuff, especially since she's been working at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School for Public & International affairs. Maybe someday down the road we may cross the pond for a few months or a year, a sabbatical or something, but it doesn't look like that's in the cards right now. Hopefully, this passion will be fulfilled where we end up next - like in mission trips or something like that.

The big prayer now that this seems to be a no go, that is unless we hear back from Oxford and not only do they invite me over, but somehow find $50,000 to fund me for a year... is that Bridgette & I be on the same page about our future & the church we go to. Yes, it's technically my call, the church extends the call to me and they pay me... but we can't go somewhere that Bridgette isn't excited about, somewhere Bridgette doesn't feel like she can fit into the culture and feel like she can pursue her dreams alongside mine. I don't want, nor does she, to feel like I'm dragging her around to places where she has no say in things.

Right now, I'm just sending out my PIF (resume) and doing some interviews here on campus. Bridgette is looking at the different churches and if things get serious, she'll get a little more into it. In the meantime, we'll just keep talking & praying and we'll covet the prayers of our family & friends too...