Seasons Greetings!

If you’re reading this post then there is a good chance we know one another, which means this update shouldn’t come as much of a surprise, but is nonetheless a significant development for me and my family. Next year I will be working part-time for Partners Relief and Development. 

For most of my adult life, I’ve been involved in some sort of humanitarian work, largely connected to Myanmar. A few years ago we merged our small non-profit, Bridges Myanmar (Instagram page still live! fun!) into the work of Partners and I joined their board. This past year I was asked to consider a staff position to support strategic engagement and fundraising, and after some consideration and prayer, I applied. 

Starting in January 2024 I’ll be working more deeply with the staff of Partners and doing my best to tell the story of their work and our community to more people. Partners is a unique organization that brings life-saving relief and support to kids and communities affected by conflict and war. Sadly, the reality and suffering of war is something we’re tragically seeing in headlines all too often as of late. Our work has always been in some of the most underresourced and neglected situations like Myanmar’s ongoing ethnic conflicts, with the Rohyinga in Bangladesh, in the wars of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Ukraine, Afghanistan and more. As the picture above states, “Children shouldn’t suffer because adults are fighting”. Our aim has been to alleviate suffering and bring hope to places ravaged by conflict. Over the years our family has been involved in this work in numerous ways and I’m looking forward to supporting this work more deeply in this next season. 

I’ve you’ve read this far, thank you. If you’d like to learn more about Partners, let me know. I’d love the chance to grab a drink and tell some stories. Don’t be surprised if I hit you up over the coming weeks :) If you’d like to donate or learn more about Partners, you can go here. Especially during this holiday season, with so much suffering before us, bringing hope and love is how we push back against the forces that divide us. 

PS, In case you’re wondering, my work with Partners is part-time and my role at Oak Life shouldn’t change much for now. Thankfully the Leadership Team is supportive of this new development and I’m looking forward to the ways it will deepen me as a person and in ministry.