Will It Have a Happy Ending?

This blog was published in the Richmond Times Dispatch on April 28, 2015

Will It Have a Happy Ending?

My wife, Tracy, and I moved to Richmond in January trusting that God would provide for our needs. Five years ago, we left the safety and security of a job and benefits to take our family to Cameroon in West Africa. I am a pastor and Tracy is a counselor and at the time, our children were 14,15 and 16. It was a crazy time to take our kids out of a relatively safe environment, but we felt compelled to follow God's leading and give our children the experience of a lifetime.

I accepted a job with Rain Forest International School (RFIS) in the capital city of Yaounde to be a Bible Teacher, youth leader and coach. Unlike teaching jobs here, we were not paid a salary, but we had to raise our own support. This journey began in 2009, which all should remember, was not a highpoint in the U.S. economy, so everything we did was a step of faith. While still at my church, we began raising the support that we would need. By November of 2009, it was all in, and we were given the green light to buy our airline tickets. Those alone cost over $10,000 for our family of five.

We spent 1 1/2 years living in a community with Cameroonians and missionaries. We were able to practice our French but fortunately, the school was in English. While shopping or communicating with people in our neighborhood, we spoke Cameroonian French. I will confess that I struggled greatly. After teaching and coaching for 10-12 hours a day, I had little energy to perfect my three years of French which I had learned in high school from a very passionate teacher...sorry Mrs. Cash.

At the end of our time there, my daughter actually graduated from RFIS and my boys were ready to come back to America and pick up their lacrosse sticks again. Soccer was the game of choice in Cameroon and upon arriving back in Grand Rapids to our previously rented home, the boys easily made the varsity high school soccer team with their new-found skills. Lacrosse had to wait.

I began looking for employment and was surprised that it turned out to be so difficult. I often argued with God saying, "Hey! We sacrificed, raised support, left the comforts of home to serve on the mission field...is it too much to ask to take care of us when we return?" God didn't answer...but he did provide for our needs. I started a Handyman business in order to pay the bills and continued to interview for pastoral positions. Over the months, I would make it to the top of the heap several times, but was not chosen.

After the last rejection, Tracy suggested we needed to go to plan B. "Let's just move somewhere we want to live." I said, "That's crazy!" Who would do a thing like that? Well, there's biblical precedent with Abraham and Moses. Jesus called the disciples to new careers with very few promises. It seems that this life of faith may be more common than we realize. How many of our ancestors came to America with nothing more than a suitcase and a dream? So, here we are in Richmond, VA. We sold our house in a month, moved in the 'delightful' month of January where it was not only snowing in Michigan, but it was also freezing and snowing here.

Upon arriving, I hit the ground running by getting involved in "Career Prospectors", a job seeking group which has been a great encouragement to me. I also contacted as many pastors as I could find. I am trying to network, get to know the needs of this community, and figure out how I might use my skills as pastor, missionary, mentor and entrepreneur. I have a website: www. pickettsweb.info which details a bit about our lives and my hopes for the future.

Meanwhile, we've been visiting my folks and getting involved in our church, Community West, a congregation of the new Presbyterian denomination ECO. We ran the Monument Avenue 10k and are excited about participating in other events around the city. We're still in the midst of trying to figure life out and wondering, "Will it have a happy ending?" We're trusting that our faith in a God who provides will come through as he always does.