Tuula, Marsh and Sarah moved from Slovakia to the UK in 2008. From there we travel to Russia and Ukraine to work with friends and partner organizations to teach the ideas and methods developed in our learning communities.

During our furlough in 2006 Tuula and I spent time considering how we want to spend the next 10 years, what are the most effective use of our gifts and capacities, and how we can set ourselves up to continue our ministry in this next phase of our lives. Having not had a sabbatical in 20 years it was long overdue. The options seemed to be that I could manage other people, do institution building and leave behind some bricks and mortar that others would run or I could concentrate on teaching and mentoring and leave some ideas and wisdom. We have developed some very powerful ways to help people think through important question of life; questions that ultimately only Jesus can answer. I have wanted to work more to teach others how to spread these ideas and also to travel more in Russian and Ukraine from where the majority of our learning community participants have historically come.

In Deuteronomy we read that the priest serves from 20 - 50 and then he must help the younger priests. There is a great deal of wisdom in that. In the last three years a regular stream of younger missionaries has come to our door to spend time asking all sorts of questions; about central Europe, about the faith, about how to be married and be a missionary, about how to get on with local church leadership, about how to deal with cultural issues. We have the gift of listening and of reflection and this is one way of using it. Life can be very hard and we all need affirmation and encouragement.

In the village of Greatham  in Hampshire in southern England Map of Greatham you will find the UK branch of L'Abri.  (www.labri.org)  Whilst on our sabbatical the leader of that branch suggested that we might consider relocating there and then we would have many of the facilities we have enjoyed in Slovakia but without the management overhead. We could work with the many people who come through there and bring people with whom we want to work in depth from Russian and Ukraine. We would have stimulating peers with whom to think and work on the answers to questions we are asked, develop new ideas and have some accountability. We also intend to work with partners in Russian and Ukraine and put on seminars and up to month long learning communities in those countries. We are also working on materials for local church use.

When it came to it we had a simple choice to make: to manage a work in Slovakia for which it was becoming harder to attracted people because of the changes or to shed as much of the management responsibility and institution building responsibilities and set ourselves up in the best way to travel and teach and then bring some church workers and missionaries who wanted to go deeper to L'Abri and work with them there. So this is what we believe God is leaning us to do. While keeping our organizational identity as CityGate we will bringing people from Russia, Ukraine and other places to  L'Abri (UK) as God leads and will be travelling primarily but not only to Ukraine and Russia to work with a network of people who are keen to help people witness to the reality of Christ in their everyday life.