{"id":323,"date":"2011-06-06T23:46:43","date_gmt":"2011-06-07T03:46:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/?p=323"},"modified":"2011-06-07T18:03:55","modified_gmt":"2011-06-07T22:03:55","slug":"change-on-the-horizon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2011\/06\/06\/change-on-the-horizon\/","title":{"rendered":"Change on the Horizon"},"content":{"rendered":"
Dear friends,<\/div>\n

We have a lot to share with you since we last wrote. \u00a0In short, we have been living a time of transition and change and have more change on the horizon. \u00a0Through it all, we are thankful to know that many of you have been thinking and praying for us. \u00a0We will try now to fill you in on our journey…<\/p>\n

As you are most likely aware, much of Mexico — especially the northern part — has been affected by the war against and between the drug cartels. \u00a0The city of Monterrey has been increasingly affected in waves of violence that have ups and downs every few months. \u00a0We have felt it possible to operate safely here by maintaining a low profile and taking a range of security precautions. \u00a0However, we have also felt corresponding waves of stress and anxiety as things around us continue to be unpredictable.<\/p>\n

Around the middle of April we shared these feelings of stress with some of the leadership of the Family Foundation. \u00a0We were so grateful for the ways that the leadership listened, prayed, and cared for us. \u00a0In the end, they made a unanimous recommendation: that the two missionary families serving at the Foundation (ourselves and Lisandro and Patty Restrepo) take a leave of several weeks to step out of ministry and life in Monterrey to be able to rest, relax and reflect.<\/p>\n

This recommendation was presented to our supervisors in Covenant World Mission (CWM) and was received very well. \u00a0CWM quickly organized to get us to Miami for a time of debriefing, reflection, and prayer. \u00a0We felt God\u2019s presence and love for us in the special ways Dave and Wendy Mark, Byron Amundsen and Bob Auger ministered to us and cared for our boys. \u00a0We are very grateful for how CWM takes care of us as missionaries. \u00a0From Miami our family traveled north (Restrepos stayed in Florida) to have time to reflect alone as\u00a0a\u00a0family and also with our extended family.<\/p>\n

In the end, we have come to the very difficult decision that it is time for our family to begin to transition out of Monterrey.<\/strong> We felt, and continue to feel, that the risk level is not so high as to necessitate an evacuation-type departure. \u00a0 In fact, our colleagues, Lisandro and Patty, will continue to live and serve in Monterrey for the time being. \u00a0But our time away helped us recognize that we have been living with moderate to high levels of stress in an evolving and unpredictable situation and that a change for our family is necessary.<\/p>\n

Our next steps are still being defined. \u00a0We are back in Monterrey now and plan to move from here this summer, probably in early August, and hope to finish off the 2-3 years of our term in another part of Mexico before\u00a0returning\u00a0for our next home assignment. \u00a0We anticipate that part of our job description will be to continue to support the Family Foundation from a distance. \u00a0We will update you about where we will be heading next and what we will be doing as soon as we know more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Claudia Garza<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In a sense, we have known and even celebrated that this time was coming from the stand point that we have seen the leadership and the volunteer base of the Family Foundation grow and stabilize to the point where missionaries could move on to other areas. \u00a0Eighteen months ago, Claudia Garza and Sandra C\u00e1zares (see pictures) were hired as the Ministry Director and Administrative Director respectively, marking the first time in the 10+ years of the Foundation that it has had full non-missionary leadership. \u00a0And this milestone was the result of an organized and thoughtful search process by the Board of Directors — a small but passionate and talented group that has solidified in recent years.<\/p>\n

Additionally, we praise God for the growing team of volunteers that are whole-heartedly serving in a variety of areas. \u00a0Please keep the entire team in your prayers. \u00a0We trust God has great plans for them, but our earlier than anticipated departure will add some additional stress in the near future. \u00a0So while it is with sadness that we will be saying goodbye to Monterrey, we are also filled with joy and hope as we see the ministries of the Family Foundation in very good hands and as relevant and necessary as they have ever been.<\/p>\n

There is much more we could write, and we will try to post more frequently on our blog as we go through this transition time. \u00a0In the mean time, we ask you to join us in prayer. \u00a0Pray with us first and foremost for peace in Mexico. \u00a0Pray also for our transition, including the decision of where we will go, and for our family\u2019s adjustment to where ever we end up, especially for the boys and their schooling. \u00a0 Finally, please keep praying for everyone at the Family Foundation.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Sandra C\u00e1zares<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We are blessed to know that we are part of the great family of God. \u00a0It is our privilege to consider you our friends, co-workers and prayer partners for God\u2019s Kingdom to come and God\u2019s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.<\/p>\n

With hearts full of gratitude,<\/div>\n
Nils and Erika, Mat\u00edas and Lucas Clauson<\/div>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear friends, We have a lot to share with you since we last wrote. \u00a0In short, we have been living a time of transition and change and have more change on the horizon. \u00a0Through it all, we are thankful to know that many of you have been thinking and praying for us. \u00a0We will try […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-323","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nChange on the Horizon - Clausons in Mexico<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2011\/06\/06\/change-on-the-horizon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Change on the Horizon - Clausons in Mexico\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dear friends, We have a lot to share with you since we last wrote. \u00a0In short, we have been living a time of transition and change and have more change on the horizon. \u00a0Through it all, we are thankful to know that many of you have been thinking and praying for us. \u00a0We will try […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/clauson\/2011\/06\/06\/change-on-the-horizon\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Clausons in Mexico\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-06-07T03:46:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-06-07T22:03:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2011\/06\/Claudia.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nils\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nils\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nils\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4fcb77788cb59033c642702e7c1724cf\"},\"headline\":\"Change on the Horizon\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-06-07T03:46:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-06-07T22:03:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":908,\"commentCount\":3,\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/blogs.covchurch.org\\\/clauson\\\/2011\\\/06\\\/06\\\/change-on-the-horizon\\\/\",\"name\":\"Change on the Horizon - 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