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 :)
