Sad, sad day

Today is a very hard day for me. One of my best friends and partner in ministry over the last 11 years, Travis Osborne has announced that he and his family are moving to Santa Cruz. I have known of this decision for a while but today was the day he announced it to everyone. I love Trav, Annette and his family and I totally support their decision. If you know Trav at all you'll want to take the time to read this letter to get the whole story. I felt like Trav and I would be doing ministry till we were old and feeble and things are going to be so much different with him gone. Great friends are greatly missed. If you know Trav and Annette make sure you catch them before they leave and tell them how much they mean to you. Here's the letter that Trav sent to our church:
My Dear Family of The Grove Community Church,
With much prayer and consideration, Annette and I have decided to move our family out of Riverside County due to the air quality and the effects it may be having upon our sons, Jonah and Davey, as they both battle with asthma. Consequently, it is necessary for me to resign from my position as the High School Pastor at The Grove Community Church, as we will no longer be living in this area. I will preach at the weekend services of February 10th and 11th, and finish my duties as youth pastor the following week. This weekend (January 6th & 7th), I will have a brief opportunity to address the congregation at each of the services regarding this transition.
I cannot begin to explain the honor it has been to be a pastor at The Grove for the past eleven years. This decision has been extremely difficult for us. We love The Grove and The Overflow High School Ministry. It has been the greatest privilege to serve as a pastor under and alongside Tom Lance. I am eternally grateful for his leadership in my life, his vision for our church, and his protection and provision for my family - it is every youth pastor's dream to have a Senior Pastor like Tom. The staff and board at The Grove have nurtured us, supported us, and believed in us - and even put up with us! The teenagers and adult volunteers of The Overflow High School ministry are our dearest friends. Who am I, that God is mindful of me, and blessed me with the privilege of ministering to these amazing young people? They have shown us more kindness than we could ever deserve. I am humbled by the support and trust the parents have given Annette and I as we care for their children
and lead them in their journey with Jesus Christ.
I have asked myself so many times, "How could I ever leave a place and a people as wonderful as The Grove?" Ultimately, it is because I believe my responsibilities as a father supersede my responsibilities as a pastor.
As you are well aware, my two sons have been struggling with asthma for the past few years. Our four year old son, Jonah, has been hospitalized three times due to asthma. His two year old brother, Davey, has been hospitalized twice with asthma. Just a few weeks ago, I had to take Davey to the ER at Riverside Community Hospital because of respiratory difficulty. Davey was not responding to the treatments at Riverside Community, so they transported him by ambulance to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at Loma Linda Hospital. This is serious.
We are in constant prayer for our boys, and we have taken many measures to ease their struggle with asthma (including medication, doctors and specialists, allergy testing, and diet changes). As much as I love Riverside, our county is ranked worst in the U.S. for ozone and particle pollution - a horrible combination for asthma sufferers. I hope you understand why we feel the need to relocate our family.
Annette and I are thrilled that The Grove has chosen Sam and Stacy Boone to replace us as the leaders of the high school ministry. I have had the privilege of working with Sam for the past 7 years. He is a godly man who genuinely loves people. I have learned so much from Sam about prayer and sincerity as a pastor. There is NO ONE ELSE we would rather have take over our ministry. We know that the teenagers we love so much will be in great hands - and this makes it much easier for Annette and I to leave.
Our personal plans are to move up to Santa Cruz for a short time. Annette's parents have a house on their property that we will live in for a few months. We are going to take some time to seek the Lord's guidance for our next step. We are confident that God is not done with us, and we look for Him to lead us to a place where we can continue to do His work. In the grand scheme of things, I believe that God is in this whole transition. He is not done with the high school ministries at The Grove either. In fact, I believe Sam and Stacy will lead the group to greater places than we ever could ourselves.
I feel it is important, for the health of The Grove, to be completely clear on the reason we are leaving Riverside. I do not want a single person to entertain ideas that there are problems or conflicts between us and The Grove. I do not want anyone to think that Annette and I are not satisfied here, or that we are not in full support of The Grove and its ministries. On behalf of Tom and the board, they would do anything within their power to keep us here (believe me, they've tried!). But they love us so much, that they are allowing us to make this decision on behalf of our boys. They have this attitude because they understand that the Kingdom of God is much bigger than The Grove. The Osborne family will continue to share the love of Christ with those around us - we are all on the same team, doing the same work, even though we will be miles apart.
All I have left to say is "thank you." You have loved and supported us more than we could ever have asked for. You have shown us exactly what God intended the Church to be. We have a lifetime's worth of memories and experiences because of you. I've said it many times before, and I'll say it again, "I have the best job in the world."
Leaving The Grove is the hardest thing we've ever had to do. These last six weeks will be difficult as we say our goodbyes. What we need most from you is your support during this time. I am sorry to leave you, but I am resolved in my heart that this is the step we need to make.
May God continue to bless you and use you to be a blessing to Him.
In His Grip,
Pastor Travis Osborne