Next Steps...

Hello everyone,

I have had a very exciting and life changing spring. I am engaged! On April 25th I asked Cecily Hutton to marry me and she said, “YES!!!” and then she cried, haha. I hope that is a good sign. We are both very excited and have appreciated all the prayers and support you have given us. With this engagement comes many changes. I will be married, which as most of you know will change both our lives completely. I will be moving to Washington D.C. this December. This will be a year short of my two year commitment to C.A. in Europe. Before I get into the logistics of all this, please know that this decision to get married and move to D.C. came with much prayer and discussion, and it was not entered into lightly. We both have peace about making this next step in our relationships and we both have peace about moving to D.C. for the next two years of our lives.

What does this mean for me and Christian Associates? I am pursuing a position with C.A. on our U.S. Operations Team. I would like to remain with C.A. My boss Dudley has known about the possibility of me moving back early for a couple months and he is very excited to help find a place for me on the U.S. Operations staff. I hope to have a position detailed out by August of this year.

What does this mean for all of you? For all my supporters I want to thank you for the money, prayers, and encouragement you have given me over the past couple years; from when I started my journey with C.A. through the present and hopefully continuing into the future.

What am I leaving behind? While I have been in Europe these past nine months, we have been able to accomplish most of what I had planned to accomplish in two years. We have cleaned up our Europe office and made it paperless. This means our office can be operated by laptop and is not confined to a rented office space. We have cut operations cost, which allows us as an organization to put more money into our church planting, and we have been able to hire more support staff, which will allow us to recruit, train, and support more church planters. The last task to wrap up my time is to find a replacement for my position. I have been praying from the start that God would raise up a European to replace me. I ask you to join with me in this prayer. My position is at a place where it can be performed from anywhere in Europe and that opens the door to many more people who could do this job. I am able to move back to the U.S. knowing that God has done good work here and that I am leaving C.A. Europe operations in a better state than when I arrived.

What is ahead for Cecily and me? We are planning to get married December 30, 2010 in Washington D.C. Cecily is starting graduate school this fall at George Mason University in the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution program. She will be pursuing a degree in Conflict resolution and social development. We will be living in Arlington, VA for the next two years. After that time we are both open to the plans God has in store for us.

When I look back on the last year, I can't help but shake my head. I can't believe I am in Europe, I can't believe I am getting married, and now I can't believe I am leaving Europe. I truly feel as though I am on a journey in which God is leading me. I would never have envisioned this path for myself. I am excited about what is next for Cecily and me in our lives and ministry. I hope and pray that you will continue to join us in this journey.

Tot Ziens (Dutch way to say good-bye)
Jason Cutshall