Stay the Course

Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

Sometimes this path feels not like a path at all but more like a rollercoaster. As we continue preparations for our move, we have this verse in our heads daily. It is a funny thing, that every time we have an obstacle arise, almost immediately another disappears. It is almost as if God Himself is saying I know it is tough, but keep going - I will take care of it. We have to just keep the faith because time will tell. Oh for a little advance hindsight!

1/5 in the UK, 4/5 in Oz... all working to get back together

Well Mick is now in the UK about to start his Workshop Skills course at South Tyneside College. He is a bit nervous about the level of the course and whether he will be well prepared or not so would ask that you pray for him.
We did receive a small windfall from Suncorp who waived an administration fee when we altered our mortgage – so thank you to Suncorp.
The family is almost fully vaccinated now having had Typhoid, Hep A, Meningitis ACWY, Yellow Fever and three Rabies shots in the last two months. Just the second Hep A and two four year boosters for Harry to go. The boys have all been fantastic with these, especially Jack and Mark who have provided encouragement to Harry who really doesn’t like “jekshuns”.
Mick has finished his ebay crusade for the time being completing 80 sales in 6 weeks. Our house is substantially less cluttered and we are not missing any of it. It has been very liberating to reduce our material possessions so much. He also completed many of the maintenance tasks required to prepare the house and our flat for renting for the next few years.
We also spoke at our church – Bayside Community Church – and shared our plans for the next few years service with Mercy Ships with them. We have received great encouragement from many of our church family and we have already seen the evidence of prayer power as we prepare to serve – witness the red car selling three days after Mick listed it!!

It's all gotta go

Mick is on the ebay treadmill at present. He is trying to get rid of as much stuff as possible whilst gaining some $ for anything of value and I mean anything. I think sometimes if I sit still long enough, he will take a photo of me and put it on ebay - one wife, going cheap, in good used condition....

All our preparations are coming together. We are still waiting to hear back from QANTAS to see if they have decided to sponsor our airfares. It would really make a big difference to our finances and therefore how long we are able to serve on a our current budget, if they can discount our airfares. Where God guides, God provides...

Back from holiday, now down to preps

It was wonderful to travel to Victoria during the school holidays to catch up with Marcus, Susan and the kids. The boys all enjoyed sharing the time with their cousins and the cooler weather. Now that we know for certain that we are heading to West Africa next year, it was great rug up and enjoy one final winter for a while. We were fortunate as well, to then head to Mount Buller for a week in the snow. Whilst the white stuff wasn't exactly abundunt to begin with, a 25cm fall in just over a day was an answer to prayer and a joy to behold. Jack and Mark had a great time at ski school and Harry knocked himself out learning to toboggan. We had a refreshing holiday and now it is full steam ahead with our preparations for the next stage of our journey.

We're approved!

We have had the most amazing week this week. On Wednesday, Mick finished up with the Australian Navy after 23 years. We had applied to Mercy ships to join the MV Africa Mercy for 2011-12 and were waiting to hear back. Just a day later, we received our acceptance letter in the email. We are off to Africa! More soon.