It´s been a few months now since I took on the role of International Team Leader for Latin Link, and life is only just beginning to fall into a rhythm.
When I took on the role my predecessor, Paul, handed me the baton of leadership. In fact he handed me two! Firstly he handed me the baton that had been handed to him by his predecessor, and another one before that! It´s a plastic baton filled with small and/ or symbolic items to help in doing the job of leading a mission agency with many different aspects and challenges. However he also handed me a new baton. Knowing my concern for the environment, and aversion to throw away plastic, he had a new wooden baton made and inscribed with the Latin Link logo.
In these first few months, I've been reflecting on this balance between what is inherited in the role, and what can be created for this new season. I am very aware of all those who have gone before me, not only in leadership, but every member of Latin Link, and all that they have invested and sacrificed in supporting the Latin American church over the years and decades. But at the same time, I can see a very different world around us to the one in which Latin Link was created. The Latin American church is strong and is taking it's place in global missions, looking to partner with others. Within the last 2 years, the global context has changed so much, and the structures and practices that served us well in the past have been called into question.
It's exciting for me to be starting conversations as we consider new partnerships and opportunities, but I try to hold that in balance with all that has gone before. In it all I want to be receptive to God's voice and his leading in this new era and situation, to discern His way forward for us.
