"So we loaded up the truck and moved to Cannon Falls ... "

If you had seen our little caravan traveling eastward across southern Minnesota this weekend, you might have thought the Beverly Hillbillies were moving to Cannon Falls.

No, it was actually my family moving most of my worldly goods into a storage unit. After a brisk day of sales at a garage sale at my sister Amy's house, Saturday was a disappointment and Sunday was less than that. So we put our time to good use moving my things into storage. The many boxes and bundles lived in the auxiliary garage and one part of the basement for months. When Amy and her husband, Jerry, and daughter Lenyn moved into the house two years before, we hatched a plan for me to convert the walk-out basement into an apartment. But I put my house in St. Paul on the market just as real estate began its nose dive and I had little interest -- much less a sale -- in the four months it was on the market. The boxes just collected dust in the meantime.

Moving them into an official storage unit made my upcoming move to Jerusalem seem more real. The money I paid ... er, charged ... for a year of storage sure seemed real. And more or less closing the door on our basement apartment dream was a dose of reality.

It was a deeply bittersweet experience -- sweet because of the way my family pitched in to help me overcome one major hurdle; but bitter because I'd soon be leaving this dear family for two years. And no matter that I had been dissatisfied -- the move put me one page closer to the end of a chapter in my life. If it's true that one can miss even a chronic pain when it's gone, there will be more than a tear or two shed for my 11 years in St. Paul.

By the way ...

... my new address will be:

Lutheran Church of the Redeemer
c/o Allison Schmitt
PO Box 14076
Muristan Road
Jerusalem 91140

Drop me a line or, better yet, stop by!

And for some light reading, here is my job description: http://archive.elca.org/globalserve/pd/gm2/Jerusalem_Communications_08.pdf

Change of address

It's been about six weeks since I was offered -- and I accepted -- a two-year post in Jerusalem that starts later this summer. It doesn't feel quite real to me yet -- except for the panic I feel whenever I think about all I have to do before making the big move!

Shortly after an orientation session scheduled for July 8-28 in Chicago, I will serve as communication assistant to the bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Jordan and the Holy Land. It is a global mission position of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in partnership with the ELCJHL. I will maintain the church's website, write press releases, take photos, help the bishop with speeches and sermons and generally tell the Palestinian people's story to the world. For someone who is passionate about peace and justice, there couldn't be a more ideal job.

In the meantime, I'm trying to learn a little Arabic. That's a relatively fun part of the preparations. The not-so-fun part is selling my truck and getting the house ready for renters. That is, assuming I find renters. I'll be in a pickle if I don't, since my missionary salary of $675 a month is probably not enough to live on there AND pay my mortgage here. I guess this is where faith comes in, mine and yours. Please keep me in your prayers as I get ready for this big change of address!