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| Mike and Janet at the World Outreach Summit in South Africa in 2007 (the paunch is an illusion) |
We value all our friends and relatives, and hope that we will be able to maintain more contact with many of you as increasing seniority slows our pace of life.
However if our experience since Mike turned 65 is anything to go by, Parkinson’s law - activities expand to occupy all available time - continues to operate.
Mike writing…
Over the last few days we have been trying to reduce the paperwork in the house, and, in the process, have come across copies of letters going back to 1990. It was in January 1993 we went as a young family to Malawi to do whatever the Lord showed us to do. We had felt for some years that it was too easy to carry on as we were, in a lower-middle-class very comfortable existence, and we wanted to ‘up’ our contribution to the spread of the gospel.
Somehow we were accepted by World Outreach, although our background must have been very different from others that they had partnered with, and they must have been aware how naïve we were. But they were willing to run with us and be supportive in whatever way they could, and in January 1995 we unilaterally decided to return to the UK.
The two years in Central Africa were life-changing, and it is even possible that others benefited from having us around in Africa just as we definitely benefited greatly from them. Financially in today’s terms it cost us about a quarter of a million pounds in terms of the smaller house we now have, but it was a good deal, and we would do it again.
It is not possible to evaluate what benefit it was to the
Since then the years have rolled on, and God has continued to talk to us about many things – we don’t imagine that we are any different from you in this respect – and cared for us through redundancy, church splits and varying health, and we are wondering what next we can do to ‘up’ our contribution to the spread of the gospel.
We see opportunities to become involved with charities working in the town – there are so many ways we could help others – but something stops us each time. We are aware that it is so easy to be exclusive – so many people are and we need to consider “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me”.
So we have come to 2010 with me reaching 65 in August with Janet a few years behind. Since 2003 I had worked as Operations Director for World Outreach UK, creating office systems and running the UK office. In November 2009 I relinquished this responsibility and one year later resigned fully from the UK trust to allow me to completely clear my desk.
Since December 2009, Janet has been caring in our home for a lady friend with early-onset Alzheimer’s. Because she has been a friend for almost ten years, Janet felt that it was something that we could do for a time, with my agreement and support. So Janet does most of the caring, and I the paperwork, and both are almost full time jobs.
We enjoy the company of dear friends at Earley Christian Fellowship, but feel that life is ‘on hold’ for the moment. In the mean time we try to ‘shake the house down’ – to discard non-essentials: books, furniture, clothes, without knowing what the next stage is going to be. Will we move? We don’t know. We hang on to the Lord and live a day at a time. Will we go abroad again? We read somewhere "25,000 people come to the Lord in sub-Saharan Africa every day". Is there some way we can help? We are open to doing so.
It’s too easy to settle for being comfortable, but we don’t think it’s what God made us for. We see a heavenly city and want to secure all our futures there.
This comes with all our love to you – thank you for your love and for continuing to be a friend.
Janet writing…
Over the last few years it’s been difficult getting to all the jobs that need to be done to rejuvenate the house, mainly because Mike’s stronger muscles have not been available for these tasks.
So, in answer to prayer, we were very pleased to obtain the service of Polish builders to replace the back fence – the neighbours were delighted – the low front wall – the neighbours were even more delighted – and to repaint soffit and fascias – the bits around the roof overhang. Mike even entered into the spirit of renewal and got a ton of topsoil dumped at the front so that he could re-grass the garden and plant shrubs in soil rather than clay – the neighbours were ecstatic. They are keen gardeners.
The Polish builders turned out to have Russian and Rumanian components, and we discovered that they had to use simplified English to communicate even among themselves!
In our holidays this year we have been unable to chase the sun, but have enjoyed the generous hospitality of friends in the UK. In July we spent a few days with a friend who lives in Babbacombe on Tor Bay and moved on to other friends in Penryn near Falmouth. How clear are the skies and bright the colours in that part of the world! And what a delight to bask in the sun at Kynance Cove; we were last there 30 years ago on our honeymoon!
In October we were able to spend a couple of days discovering Symonds Yat, followed by a few days with friends in Leintwardine. And in December we visited family in Aylsham for the 70th birthday of Mike’s brother, the only other relative Mike has in the UK.
To sum up the year — I have learned more about the faithfulness of God. His strength in my weakness and His incredible kindness to us as a family.
To finish off...
It is three years ago that Tim left Computer 2000 in Basingstoke where they increased targets every time he got near them, and took a job in DEFRA - you know who they are: they used to pay subsidies to farmers with fields that they later discovered to be in the middle of the North Sea. That's all sorted out now!
Ben is working hard for a company in Bracknell, getting close to or achieving targets. For both of them, it’s the business of establishing themselves where the longer-term future is a little bit clearer.
For the future for all of us, it’s a case of ‘watch this space’. According to the astronomers, we live in an expanding universe, and that’s how we see things too.
And lastly, for your entertainment, since we all know that the world is going mad, we offer:
€400,000 for the “Flying Gorillas” dance troupe
The EU’s Culture Programme funded the “Flying Gorillas” with €200,000 in 2007 and 2009. Hornchurch’s Queen’s Theatre described the show in 2005: “Using their own language of rhythm, music and gibberish, The Flying Gorillas explore ideas of friendship, tolerance, argument and understanding. Featuring the exciting Tango, the brilliant Smelly Foot Dance and the incredibly difficult Iguana Four-Step, Tango Argumentino has an all-acoustic score using saxophones, clarinets, steel pans, didgeridoo, musical saw, Chinese percussion, rhythm bananas and some spectacular belching.” The project’s website says, “If there is any message, it’s that serious dance, music and theatre are fun.”
See Top 50 EU Waste 2010
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