Been & Gone

We can't quite believe that after months of planning and preparing for our UK trip it's now over and we've been back home for a couple of weeks. Life is now back into its usual cycle of school runs etc. but we'll attempt to put a coherent reflection together.

We really did hit the ground running and by the end of the first week we were exhausted but absolutely thrilled with what we'd achieved.

The Final Curtain

Last night saw the conclusion of our Facing The Mountain Roadshows as we gave our final presentation to a select gathering of folk right here in Weald village.

It was a truly great evening with an incredibly diverse mix of people from the vicar who was responsible for Paula getting saved through to a complete stranger and his cousin who had seen the event advertised in the parish magazine.

Fantastic!

London Town

I've just had a quick trip out on to the roof of Susan's house to take in the spectacular views over London.

In this photo the Shard certainly makes it's mark upon the capital.

Below it's interesting to see the view of the All England and to get the close ups of the TV camera crane.

Half Time

We're really enjoying our Roadshow events and are particularly enjoying the variety of different contexts in which we get to present about Tree of Life and our amazing friends in South Africa.

Today we were in the well heeled town of Cobham and had the privilege of sharing our Roadshow with a lovely bunch of folk from St. Andrew's, Oxshott.

"What A Refreshing Change"

Many moons ago there was a certain brand of cider with the sales line: "What a refreshing change".

We reckon that this could be a good way to describe Christians Abroad.

In our recent meeting it was such a pleasure to be asked things like:
"How can we partner together to better serve the church?"
"What are your expectations of us?
"What is Tree of Life hoping to gain from this trip?"
These are refreshing questions to be asked by the leaders of an organisation that really cares about and for us and they are questions we've never once been asked before!

"Strike Three.."

..But we're not out!

Rather we've just finished our third Roadshow and once again it went really well. We were with Tuesday @ 2 a group of older folk who are a powerhouse of prayers.

We've been thrilled by the turnout for each of them so far and it's been great to reconnect with many old friends.

One More Sleep!

It hardly seems possible but it's now less than 24 hours until we get on the plane for Blighty.

I guess we're at that point where things that haven't been done aren't going to get done.

Thankfully our Roadshow presentation is all finished, though that hasn't stopped me from checking it every few minutes to make sure it still works. Must switch tablet off!

FTM Roadshows

We've begun sending out invites for our forthcoming Roadshows in the UK.

If you're near one of the venues on the dates above please drop in, we'd love to see you!

For more details Like us on our Facebook page where more details will be posted.

Scary Thought

Here's a scary thought...one month from today we'll be boarding a plane for our UK trip.

It's not that the UK is scary, though watching Sky News we're often left feeling like strangers in a land that once was home. The scary bit is just how much work we've got to do before we board that plane.

A Tree Has Been Planted

If you managed to catch up with Paula at one of her recent Facing The Mountain Roadshows in Weald or Cheadle you will have seen our latest DVD offering.

If you didn't manage to catch up with Paula, shame on you you can watch the film right here from the comfort of your own computer screen.

We hope you find it helpful as you uphold our ministry here in Macassar in prayer.

So get some popcorn, put your feet up and enjoy the next 16½ minutes.

On My Way Home

By the time you read this I should be well into my flight home, hopefully less than twelve hours from seeing my amazing wife. I'll have to wait 'til school turns out to hug my boys but it'll be worth the wait!

If I've not managed to speak to you during this flying visit to Blighty please don't be offended or take it personally as it's been quite a hectic time with lots of meetings etc.

Dangerous Trees?

This sign immediately appealed to my sense of humour as I could just picture someone getting mugged by a dangerous tree.

As I was scanning loads of old photos recently I came across this one taken in Greenwich Park in 1987.

The sign was erected after the hurricane in '87 and many of the oaks in the park were in a bad way, hence the need for Elf 'n Safety to wade in.

Mission Ed' Videos Part 2

Here's the second video we showed during our mission ed visits. This is our informal photo presentation which is simply set to music with a few captions.

It's a lighter look at our lives at work and play, but mostly at play!

Part 1 is here.

Mission Ed' Videos Part 1

HOPE (Hands On, Prayer & Evangelism) Home Based Care Team video produced for our 2010 mission education trip to the UK. We used this video as part of our main Powerpoint presentation.

This video is a follow up to our previous HOPE video

Wherever You May Wander...

So, we'd only been home for the afternoon and it started raining. What's that all about then?!?

Despite being fleeced of ninety quid by the thieving swines at BA for having bags over 23kgs (despite our almost 300kg allowance!) we had a long, smooth and easy journey. It's good to be back home and really pleased to be in the midst of unpacking and sorting things out.

On Our way Home

We're off to Heathrow in the next few minutes as we get ready for our 12 hour flight home.

We've had a great time in Blighty and it was fantastic to see so many friends again especially those we hadn't seen for nearly 20 years.

Apologies to those of you we didn't get to see, hopefully you might be able to make use of our spare bedroom in Cape Town sometime soon.

Mission Education - Final Sunday

Today was quite a monumental occasion as we did our last mission ed' visit with St. Mary's Cheadle.

What a great way to top off a brilliant week!

It was a very busy morning giving our powerpoint presentation in two services followed by lunch and a brief talk about some of our friends in South Africa and our photo presentation. This was all topped off with a 4 hour drive down South!

Facing The Mountain Roadshow - Sheffield

We had a lovely nostalgic drive over to Sheffield on Friday - re-visiting the place of our University days, early courting places, first house, church etc. etc! We also enjoyed the beauty of the area as we arrived in some beautiful late afternoon sunshine and watched the water cascading over the Ladybower Dam.

It was great to stay with friends, Tim and Liz Rose, from old CYFA venture days, whom we haven't seen for a long time.

Ladybower Dam

On our travels to Sheffield along the magnificent Snake Pass we decided to go on a bit of a nostalgia tour and show the boys a few of the sites. One of the most spectacular is Ladybower Dam and to top it off the dam was overflowing which was a real privilege to see.

The boys enjyed seeing Ladybower but were incredibly disinterested in the few other things we tried to show them. Kids eh!

Facing The Mountain Roadshow - Sheffield

This evening we'll be at 30 Bannerdale Road, S7 2DL in Sheffield for our final Facing The Mountain Roadshow.