They made the journey to God’s heart
Jim and Lois Caldwell have traveled and lived around the world. Since 2017, they have called Simpson Meadows “home.”
“Our fellow residents here are very friendly, and it’s a convenient location close to lots of different things,” says Jim, who served four Presbyterian churches over 35 years – two as Paster and two as Missions Pastor.
Friends in first grade
Both Philadelphia natives, Jim and Lois met in first grade but eventually lost touch. They reconnected again at a college dance. Jim studied mechanical engineering at Drexel. Lois went to what was then Beaver College and years later, to Immaculata, earning degrees in education and counseling psychology. They got married right after they finished college.
Jim’s assignment as a US Army lieutenant took them to Germany, where they were living when the Berlin Wall was being raised. He worked on plans for protecting the border. After leaving the Army, he took a job with a high-pressure equipment manufacturer. Lois taught elementary school and later had a counseling practice for 35 years. They had two sons and three daughters. But Jim wondered if he should be doing something else, something more. One day he said to Lois, “I’d really like to be a minister and do something that would affect people’s lives, but you don’t do that unless God calls you.”
Heeding God’s call
When God did call, Jim went to Princeton Theological Seminary and became a pastor. He and Lois led 10 mission teams to 15 countries and, after Jim’s “retirement” in 2001, they served on the staff of the World Mission Initiative of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Lois chronicles the family journey in her book Journey to God’s Heart, published by Winepress in 2012. In her foreword, Lois says, “It is our story of where Jesus has taken us and how he managed to do it despite our misgivings, lack of faith at times, and serious doubts that we would always be able to follow.”
In the book Creative Leadership Ideas, author Charles Gross says, “The Caldwells are nationally known mission consultants and are passionate in their love for and service to Jesus Christ.”
Bringing the message home
Jim and Lois have been married 63 years, and they counsel others to “love each other through thick and thin.” In addition to five children, they have four grandchildren. Raising a family and mission work and other travels are their happiest memories. All told, the couple has been to 35 countries and all 50 US states.
“We traveled the world and saw it as it actually is, not as tourists,” says Lois.
After the couple moved to Simpson Meadows, Jim started a Protestant interdenominational service there that meets twice a month on Sunday evenings. Lois often sings at the service and leads a Bible discussion group. They are still doing God’s work. They are living the most important lesson they’ve learned: “Trust in the Lord. Find out what he wants you to do and do it.”