Wednesday 27 March 2024

Its a travelling season

As I sit and write this update the weather is dreary and isn’t very inspiring.  At least we are heading towards the months of better weather so lots to look forward to and much to be thankful for.  I can understand why the Scot's talk about the weather a lot and drink lots of hot tea. :)

Last week I was in Budapest for the European Member Care Consultation.  The sun was shining and there was blue sky – just lovely!  I had never been in Hungary before, so it was great to do a wee bit exploring in between the sessions.  A few photos below to give you a visual for those who haven’t been.

Heroes Square

Vajdahunyad Castle




Danube River - the boat in the photo travelled from Basel, Switzerland
 

Reformed church on the banks of the Danube River
 

It was a busy week but many highlights including meeting a few MAF colleagues that I had only met online or knew by name.  Online is good but face to face is much better.  The theme of the event was Building Bridges – Cultivating mutual respect, understanding and learning across generations, cultures and genders.  There was a mixture of main events, workshops, and time to share with each other.  I especially enjoyed the discussions around burnout, Third Culture Kids (I’m married to one and my kids are TCK’s – interesting dynamics 😊), crossing across generations (how do we reach the younger generation), debriefing and trauma and much more.

Now time to process it all considering my work with MAF in People Care - what will be useful, as a team, as we continue to serve staff in MAF.

Simon has been home for a couple of weeks now.  He had a busy start to the year with two trips to Liberia and Uganda for flight checks and operational flying.  His last flight home from Liberia was interesting as he worked his way to London with Air Maroc.  Unfortunately, the flight was delayed from the start so that put him into London later than planned (after stopping at a few places in Africa on the way).  He missed his flight in Gatwick but had the opportunity to jump in a train and travel two hours south to Luton to catch another plane to Edinburgh.  However, after just reversing out of the gate the plane stopped and the police arrived.  There had been a bomb threat, so all passengers had to leave the plane.  Simon ended up having to stay overnight in London but connected with a friend from Edinburgh who was on the same flight which worked well as they were able to catch up.  Anyway, thankfully he made it safely home and we are enjoying a longer stretch of having him around.

We give thanks that Joshua is doing well and for many answered prayers.  At the beginning of the year, he changed his major to Digital Design and is enjoying the course a lot better.  He had hoped to get an apprenticeship in this area rather than going back to university, but the doors didn’t open for this, so he is continuing to stick with his studies.  We also give thanks that his work (Rebel Sport) agreed to a transfer to a store closer to where he lives which now saves him on travel costs.  Since his motorbike was stolen, he has had endless trouble with it due to the damage that was done. It got to the point where it wasn’t reliable at all, and he found himself pushing it to the garage or having to be picked up by the breakdown truck.  Long story short he was able to get another one which has relieved a lot of stress for him and for his mum 😊.  We are looking forward to seeing him at the end of April as we will be flying to Australia to celebrate his 21st birthday and catch up with friends.  Thankful for a gift that makes it possible!

Zara is continuing to work in the coffee shop and do as much travelling as possible whilst she is living in Scotland.  A friend from the States came for a visit in February and they headed off to Denmark for the weekend with a day in Sweden.  As you can imagine they came back with a few stories and lots of memories – so good!  Continue to pray for Zara as she prays through what the future holds for her next.  God has a plan for us all, so we trust Him to show us in His good time.

Thanks to all of you who check in with us and share what is happening with them too. It is always good to be connected.  Thanks also for your prayers as we navigate being apart at different times and caring for my Mum.  It can be a bit of a juggling act but thankful for the support we receive.

 


Friday 26 January 2024

Grateful for family time

 I can’t believe that we are already at the end of January – it has been a whirlwind the last two months.  Thanks to all of you who specifically prayed for Joshua’s safe arrival.  He arrived as planned on Christmas Eve.  Thankfully, he was able to enjoy Christmas Day before succumbing to a bug which he probably picked up on his travels.  This lasted about a week before he was beginning to feel more like himself.  The last week he was with us we travelled up to Nethy Bridge in the Cairngorms National Park.  Zara got her Christmas wish for snow.  The whole week it snowed and it was like a winter wonderland – such a gift!

Life this week has returned to Wunderli “normal” with Zara and I both in Scotland, Joshua back in Australia and Simon to Africa.  Thankfully they both arrived safely and are getting back into a routine.

Pray for Simon as he helps out in the Liberia programme and travels to Guinea this weekend via Ghana, Togo and Mali.

Pray for Joshua as he has some decisions regarding his Uni degree and is also waiting to hear back from some job applications - wisdom needed for him in this next month.

Pray for Zara as she considers her future this year and the wisdom to know which path to follow.

Pray for Pam as she holds the fort at home, cares for her Mum and wisdom in her role in the MAF People Care Team.

Enjoy some photos below of our time together as a family.

Definitely a great way to start 2024 - All 4 of us together!



Me and my not so wee boy :)


Simon and his not so wee girl :)


Castle Roy and Murdo the Highland cow


Simon enjoying his first African sunset in a while.  Somewhere between Sierra Leone and Liberia!



 

Friday 1 December 2023

Thankful for the year that's been

Today marks 12 months since we arrived in Scotland from Australia.  The temperature difference was a shock to the system.  Even one year on there is a thick frost outside and the current temperature is -4c.  We have definitely shifted from Autumn into Winter.  Now that we have completed 12 months in Scotland, we have experienced each of the seasons.  One season that surprised me with its beauty was Autumn.  I realised that it had been over 20 years since I watched the leaves turn from green to varying degrees of yellow, orange and red.  Some of the scenes were quite spectacular.

This year has had its challenges as we adjusted to a new way of living with Simon flying in and out of Africa, Joshua returning to Australia to start university and Zara figuring out life in a new country and me taking on a new role with MAF remotely.  However, we have seen God provide for us in many ways and are thankful for that.  One of our biggest prayer requests at the beginning was to find a home that was close to my Mum.  God answered that prayer and we moved into a place just 5-10 min walk from her house.  She continues to live by herself with professional support and family support.  We just take it one day at a time.

This year we have enjoyed visits from friends from all over the world which has been such a blessing.  So good to catch up with people we have known for years but haven’t seen for a long time due to living in Australia.  We look forward to what 2024 brings in this area 😊

Recently we had the privilege of visiting two of our supporting churches.  We had a wonderful welcome from the fellowships at St John’s Ben Rhydding, West Yorkshire and Castlehill Baptist Church in Glasgow.  We are thankful to both churches for their interest and support of us as a family and in the work, we do with MAF!

We are also thankful for our home church at Wester Hailes Baptist who we have been able to reconnect with over this past year and for their continued support and encouragement.  I have especially enjoyed being part of a the Sensible Shoes study with some of the ladies.  The fun, laughter and time of learning together has been amazing - thank you to each of you!

Simon and I have also been getting involved in our local community as time allows.  I am volunteering at  a church cafe in a neighbouring village and Simon has just started helping out for a couple of hours at a local church's food bank.  There are always stories to tell at the end of the day.

As a family we are particularly looking forward to Christmas Eve.  Joshua will be arriving from Australia to spend Christmas with us.  To say we are excited is an understatement 😊 I am counting down the days now!

As we look to 2024, we know it will be another year of travel for Simon as he will predominantly be supporting the Liberia programme and other programmes as the needs arise.  I also have some travel planned early next year but first we are going to enjoy some family time.

In one of the churches we visited, a lady expressed that it was easy for her to say that life is busy when, in fact, it is rich.  She changed her perspective on life, and this is something I won’t forget!  Our lives are truly rich!

So, as we round up 2023, we want to say thank you to you all for your continued support of us as family. It has been quite amazing the different ways God has provided!  We want to wish you a blessed time over Christmas and the New Year and we look forward with expectation of what God will do in 2024.

Updated praise/prayer requests to the right :)