Rochester L'Abri Prayer Letter - May, 2023
Dear Friends
Mercy began our last prayer letter describing the gentle flurries of snow which graced the end of the winter season. As I (James) write this, accompanied by the sounds of the water main being replaced on the street, I am reminded that we are now well into Minnesota’s other season - Roadworks - which has begun with gusto!
Above the din, at Jock’s request, I would like to take some time to introduce myself, Imogen and our children as we settle into our new lives here with L’Abri amid the verdant Minnesotan spring.
We hail from a pair of small towns in the south of England equidistant north and south from English L’Abri. Imogen and I met as teenagers and married just a few days into our twenties in 2010. We moved that year to Nottingham for my University course. After completing my degree in communication studies, we remained in Nottingham where I worked as an EMT until 2021 when we began our tentative journey with L’Abri. We started this with a three month stay at Swiss L’Abri as students and began to test out the calling we felt towards this work. (As you may remember from previous updates, we then came here to Rochester as Helpers in winter 2022 - and then began the long wait for visas).
The idea of working at L’Abri first occurred to us in 2019. There were three things which drew us strongly, beyond the wonderful input which English L’Abri had been over the years. Firstly, I had the sense, working as an EMT, that so many of the medical issues I encountered through work were downstream of social issues and that those were often the result of spiritual issues. The notion of dealing with the source of so many ills through hosting people who were perhaps struggling with their faith began to appeal greatly. Secondly, (and this was particularly evident in the summer 2020 as society fractured across the topics of lockdowns, elections and critical theory), strongly articulated secular ideas were increasingly finding their way into our everyday life and the lives of our friends. We wanted a place to engage these ideas and to serve those who also wrestled with them. Lastly, the thing which encouraged us that this might be a good decision was that we found ourselves often opening our home to others - even to live with us at times - as it felt natural to embrace the whole person, serving good food in a loving environment as a place to bring anxieties and questions to the fore. This is not to say, however, that we think we are here purely through volition or logic; there have been two separate occasions where we have sought God for provision to get here - in part as a sign that it’s his will for us - and he has undeniably done that each time, so we can say with confidence that it is ultimately a place we are called to.
It was with some trepidation that my wife Imogen contemplated the move from England to the States. She, like many of us, finds herself in the tension of loving the familiar but being intrigued by the adventure to which God calls us as we trust in Him. She is a Hobbit at heart. As such she loves creative endeavours - especially knitting - and curling up whenever possible with a good book. Her gardening and walking fulfil her deep need to spend time in nature. She is observant and well read, taking in much from the culture around her and chewing it over carefully. We often find ourselves talking late into the night as we ponder society’s latest thing.
The major obstacle to these delightful endeavours is our four dear children! Their ages range from nine down to three and Imogen spends a good portion of her time homeschooling them and caring for their daily needs, making most of the food and dispensing most of the bandaids. She loves opening our home to others and has found L’Abri a good fit as she so naturally engages with people holistically, be it a physical, emotional, spiritual or intellectual need.
The aforementioned children are Rose, Malachi, Koa and Aurelia. They arrived over the past decade with alarming punctuality, having almost exactly two years between each of them. As you might expect, raising them is our greatest challenge and yet a great joy. Our eldest, Rose, like all our children, is extremely gregarious and physically active. Life with L’Abri suits her well with the constant buzz of new people to meet. She loves to get lost in books and colouring and long games of make believe. Malachi (seven) is a deeply feeling boy who, when he’s not pretending to be a ninja, loves to cuddle and fight his dad. (This normally takes the form of a surprise attack for which my ageing back is poorly prepared). His younger brother Koa (five) will happily while away the hours building train sets and is slowly learning that punching is not an acceptable form of greeting. Such is the life of the father of a five-year-old boy! Aurelia (three) gets her name from the Latin for ‘golden one’ and she really is a ray of sunshine who never fails to wake up with a smile. She spends her days copying her siblings and telling us ‘I do it!’ whenever we try to help!
I myself am a family man who loves the company of his wife and children (as long as it’s after my 7am coffee). I have an enduring fascination with our cultural sweeps and the Christian response to them and I enjoy writing fiction and non-fiction and getting outdoors on a bike or a kayak. I’m discovering that I may be an American trapped in the body of an Englishman and have particularly valued the warmth of the people here and the wide-open spaces. A midlife career change has its challenges, and it is my hope to begin further theological studies to facilitate this transition.
Well, briefly, that’s us. Looking forward to saying hello in person or writing again soon.
Much love from us all,
James, Imogen, Rose, Malachi, Koa and Aurelia Lowe