WUNDERLI WANDERINGS

New Year greetings to you all as we start off 2020.  For those of you who keep up to date with our news on FB you will see that we have just returned from a family holiday to New Zealand.  We were able to catch up with friends from our time at Moody, Uganda and Scotland.  That is what made the holiday so special as well as the beautiful scenery which likens itself to parts of Scotland and Switzerland so we felt quite at home.  Below are a smattering of memories from our time together and additional photos can been see on our FB page Hobbit house We all got a bit over zealous with cherry picking and ended up with 9kg.  This fruit farm had just been taken over from a family that originated from Edinburgh.  He even caught me eating one much to the kids amusement. (No freebies allowed) We didn't stay on this beach long.....sooooo cold! Joshua about to go on a biscuit ride....it was a spectacular ride Mount Cook A sho...

For those in the northern hemisphere the words "Christmas" and "picnic" don't normally go together. However, at the other end of the world this is quite normal.  On Saturday we had our MAF Christmas picnic and one of the MAF families brought their boat.  As you will see from the photos the kids and the "big" kids had a blast whizzing through the water.  It took everything in me to stay on the "couch" but didn't have much luck on the other one as I was catapulted off on one of the rides.  A fun time was had by all. Oh boy was it difficult to stay on....doesn't do much for the hairdo :) Who said this was fun!! Hold on....... Zara and Bethany were champions and took every opportunity to ride the waves Photos courtesy of Glenn Cousley

As many of you know for the last two and half years I have been working in the MAF Cairns Support office in the HR department.  In August of this year our valued HR Manager left to move onto another ministry.  Since then I have been helping to cover some of this role.  We ran a recruitment campaign to find another suitable candidate but to cut a long story short we came up short.  After much consideration and chats with God and my family I applied for the role.  As of 2 December 2019 I will be the new HR Manager for the Asia Pacific Region.  This is a God sized job and am thankful it is a team effort.  I look forward to what God has in store for our department in the weeks and months ahead and what we can achieve together.  I would value your prayers as I embark on this challenge and that God would give me the wisdom and discernment I need.  Thanks to all of you who keep us in your prayers.

As I write this update Simon is in Switzerland for a flying visit.  His Dad turns 80 next week so Simon flew home to surprise him and be part of the celebrations.  The extended family were able to keep it a secret so it was definitely a surprise.  There were multiple family events to celebrate Fritz and his milestone birthday. "Surprise" Happy Birthday Cheers What's a celebration without a glass of wine :) Triple trouble - Therese, Simon and Monika :)

An update from MAF's communication department on MAF’s involvement in responding to the devastation of hurricane Dorian. MAF has deployed staff to support Samaritan’s Purse (SP) and Missionary Flight International (MFI) in their response to Hurricane Dorian that hit the Bahamas on September 1. Reports say there are 70,000 people homeless in Abaco (part of the Bahamas) and the surrounding islands. There are many stateless Haitian refugees who won't evacuate and many Bahamans are staying on the impacted islands as it is all they know and are trying to survive. These areas will need significant resources. SP started tarp deliveries on 9 th Sept and will sling load them by helicopter from their Abaco base to other devastated islands. Search and rescue in Abaco and Grand Bahama islands continues, with search dogs being used for body recovery. The death toll will continue to climb. There have been many people evacuated by the government and some by SP to islands that we...

If you check on the Prayer/Praises section of our blog you will see a big answer to prayer.  Joshua has been applying for part time jobs for a long time now and finally got one two weeks ago.  Pray for him as he now juggles work, school and a social life :) 

Simon headed back to do some training for two students in PNG.  Here are some photos of his time there. Dropping a MAF pilot in Bak to pick up his plane that had to be left their overnight due some maintenance issues. Last GA8 leaving PNG. Lazarus a MAF engineer helping Simon get the plane ready early morning.  Love the smiles :) The beauty of the PNG Highlands from 6-7,000 feet in the air    The mighty Fly River Dropping of a team of doctors for the first time in a village in nearly 30 years.  Time to celebrate.  Joseph Tua, Simon's student (and friend)  in the air Public holiday so all petrol stations were closed.  However, there is always another way. Back in a developing country where weevils are thrown in for free...