The Move

No mountains - but still beautiful.

View from an art gallery at Cornell University in Ithaca New York.

In a matter of weeks, the Ninans will be on the move.
We will pack up our stuff and some big men will come and pack them into a moving van.

Our stuff and us will take separate journeys and reunite again in Ithaca New York

I have taken a position with Bethel Grove Bible Church.
After a lengthy Visa application process, I have been accepted by the US government to live and work there.

And so, we move.

This will be quite a change for us.
Felicia and I have lived in Vancouver for 12 years - our entire married lives.
All 3 of our kids were born here.
We are a part of Vancouver and Vancouver will always be a part of us.

Deeper than that is the fact that we are all Canadian citizens - soon we will live as immigrants in a nation that is not our own.

Big changes ahead.

Another change is that both Felicia and I will be living in the smallest town that we have ever lived in. The county that Ithaca is in is about 100 000. By comparison, Metro Vancouver is 2 million. So, we leave the buzz of city life for the relative quiet of small town life. (Truth be told, we've lived in the suburb of Port Moody for the past 4 years, which is pretty staid).

As, I reflect on this change, I find it quite amazing. How did I, an immigrant from India to Canada, raised on the Canadian prairie all of a sudden find himself in a college town in upstate New York?

I guess it comes down to calling and surrendering to the economy of God. God is sovereign, and in his sovereignty, he moves his servants for strategic reasons at strategic times. Sometimes the servants are let in on the reasons, most times they aren't.

For me, there was a twin heart and head call. Intellectually and rationally I could see that this would be a good ministry and good fit for my gifts. But more importantly - there is the matter of heart and feeling. In my 3 trips to Ithaca, there was not a single time where I felt that this wasn't right, or wasn't going to work.

In fact - I will never forget an event last week while on a ministry visit to Ithaca. I was driving with my host for the week. We were on the way to the church. I was preaching that morning. I looked at the freshly fallen snow, the bright sunlight and the rolling hills of the area and .... I just thought - this is right, this is going to work. It was such a strong impression that I was confident it was the Spirit of God confirming our move.

And so, we are on our way. Out of the comfortable confines of our west coast life onto the adventure of the American North East.

I'll keep you posted.