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     Three years is not such a long time.  It is less than a presidential term.  It is less time than it takes to get a Bachelor's Degree.  It is less than half a decade.  Yet when I think back on my time before I started working at Joel's Place, it feels like a different life.

     Three years ago I had no non-profit experience.  I had no grant writing experience.  I only had two children.  I had no idea what the non-profit sector was and the scope of impact that Joel's Place had within Fairbanks.  I had not published a book.  I had never gotten on a skateboard, much less taught 25 3rd graders how to ride them during a field trip.

     I was two years removed from a bad breakup with InterVarsity, which I was pretty sure was my last chance at ministry and leadership.  I was working at Sears, running the receiving department in February of 2012, when I heard God say, "They are ready for you, whenever you are ready to go."  I assured Him that I was ready to go right then...I just needed to know who "They" were.  Silence.  Unbeknownst to me, that very month saw Linda Setterberg give the Board of Directors her letter stating her intent to transition out of the Executive Director position.  Joel's Place launched their ED search and in May I received a mass e-mailing asking the supporters of JP to pray because their search was going back to square one.  I thought I would fill out an application and see what happened.  I did not have a great non-profit resume, but I was faithful and had character and was willing to work relatively cheaply.  The Board decided to take a risk on me and I will forever be grateful.

     So what have I learned in my time at Joel's Place?

• Accountants speak a strange, special language that is meant to confuse smart people into believing that adding the same numbers together can result in multiple different sums.
• Well-intentioned is not the same as effective.
• The need is not the call.
• When someone asks you about something that happened long before you started on the job, the best response is, "It seemed like a good idea at the time."
• This little endeavor called Joel's Place is too big and too important for one person, one family, or even one church to carry alone.  Building up the resources of these kids is a community-sized ambition and it requires donors, volunteers and advocates from every walk of Interior Alaska.  It is big, but it is worth it, because...
• God loves these young ones so very much.  So very much.  Whether it be the pierced and pregnant teenage girl or the FAS young man who steals things or the shy boy searching for a father figure or the rambunctious brute who is just looking for someplace he can run without breaking things or the dozens and dozens and dozens of kids who are just looking for someplace to be safe and have fun while they grow up...God's heart overflows for them all.  He reaches out to them with compassion and joy and anticipation about who they can become and He invites us to do the same.  In this job you have the opportunity to see the worst in young men and women.  Every once in a while you catch a glorious glimpse of who they could become.  We choose to work through the worst so that the best can move from potential to reality.

There are some jobs that you have just to pay the bills and tread water until something better comes along.  Every once in a while there are jobs that are transformational.  They change your skill set, your resume, your worldview and the direction that your life is headed.  Joel's Place has been one of those transformational jobs for me and I am so grateful.  Thank you to the Board of Directors.  Thank you to my amazing co-workers.  Thank you to the kids...who have no idea I even write this blog, but are important anyway.  Finally, thank you to all of you, our friends, supporters and donors who have followed along with me in the previous 121 posts.  Your encouragement and support have been a delight during the good times and have carried us through the darker days.  There would be no Joel's Place without you...and this world is a better place because Joel's Place exists.  Blessings upon you all.

     Humbly,

James