World Wide

Last week we were doing our last bit of official MAF training. Something we started 4 years ago when I was 7 months pregnant with Abigail! How time flies!

MAF have been amazing in the amount of preparation and time they put into each of their individuals and families that are going overseas. Our week was full of information and practical advice both about MAF itself and about living in a different culture.

Internet was elusive, as was phone signal ... and in some ways it was nice to be a little bit 'out of touch' with the real world but also ironic that once we get to Dodoma, contact will be much easier and more straight forward!

During the week we had the privilege of spending time with a few others who will also be heading out with MAF over the coming days weeks and months. It was great to be at a similar stage in the process of moving overseas as a few other people ... as we could relate to each other in a much more understanding way, even than those with the best intentions who aren't just starting service with MAF.

Below was our team, from England, Scotland, the Netherlands and Canada ... heading to work for MAF in the UK, Chad, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. No doubt you'll hear from the other two 'Missionary Mum's', over the coming months with a guest post here (if they agree!).

I find it totally mind blowing when I consider all the people that we have spent time with and trained with, either through MAF or before hand at All Nations. The impact of just our circle of friends on the world is staggering when I think about how many countries they are either from and/or are now living in ... working both in everyday jobs and within the missionary world, in every continent (except maybe Antarctica!!). We could probably visit most countries of the world without having to stay in a hotel right now ... and that's no exaggeration! 

It is a real privilege to have such an amazing and widespread group of friends and exciting to hear all their stories, pray for them, receive encouragement from them and from time to time even get to see them ... if we ever get to travel through countries at the same time ... which actually, this visit to the UK we have managed to do a couple of times! 

Last week, it was nice to add a few more friends to that circle and I'm really looking forward to hearing about how they're all getting on in the months to come!

Fashion Police

I have never been one to wear the newest and latest fashions ... to be honest, who is? I have always gone for smart, casual and what I'm comfortable with, not something that I'm told I should be wearing 'this season'. I don't think too much in my wardrobe warrants a visit from the fashion police either ... I guess I'm more a middle of the road kind of girl!

When I met Mark, I was 28 and had returned to the student lifestyle again. With the lifestyle came the fashion ... back in the jeans and t-shirts of my student days. It wasn't really my style but was a lot easier and cheaper when the focus was on the study ... I hadn't set out to hook myself a guy in the process ... thankfully he looked past the outward appearance!

One thing that you will have to look very hard for in my closet/wardrobe are skirts or dresses of any variety. For some reason they have just never been high on my list of priorities when I've been out clothes shopping. The only dress I'd worn since I knew Mark (until a friend got married and I was a bridesmaid) was my own wedding dress.

The last time I really wore skirts on a regular basis was back in 1999-2001 when I was living in Tanzania. Out there fashion wasn't a high priority at all, there were more important things in life and as a missionary teacher being culturally appropriate and accepted was much higher on my list. It's funny to think that soon I'll be back there again ... sporting a wardrobe on a daily basis that I wouldn't even consider here in the States or in the UK but that will feel totally normal, comfortable and not the least bit strange at all when I'm in Dodoma.

I joked with Mark a few weeks ago that the wife he now knows will soon become 'another woman' clothes-wise once we move to Dodoma next year. He won't recognise me walking down the street. To us it's much more important not to offend local people though ... we want to build friendships not drive people away before we've even started.

As the summer has recently come to a close I have made the most of all the clearance sales ready for the new stock in the clothes shops. We will need a more substantial (and appropriate) summer wardrobe and the stores are trying to clear out 'last seasons' stock ready for the jumpers and coats to fill their racks.

It has been perfect! I have bagged swimming costumes for the girls at $3 (£2) a piece and summer dresses for them that were almost $30 (£20) for just $4  (£2.75) or $5 (£3.25) each. Of course, when shopping for myself the item highest on my list of priorities, because there were absolutely none in my wardrobe, where long floaty skirts and I now have myself a little collection of them (see above) at a fraction of the original cost. I don't think I paid more than $15 (£10) for any of them and originally some were $50 (£35). (By the way the price conversions are very rough ... don't quote me on them!!)

I don't think I've ever gone quite so crazy at 'sales time' in my life but it couldn't have been more perfectly timed as we get ready for our new lives in Tanzania. I'm definitely all set skirt-wise anyway ... and if the fashion police want to come and get me, that's their problem!

Blink of an Eye

When we signed up with MAF, we knew that one requirement for us as a family, would be to complete the MMS programme. This meant approximately three more years of training. Having just had two years at All Nations, it seemed like another long stint of preparation time rather than being out 'doing mission'.

Before Mark could qualify as an aircraft maintenance engineer, he would have to complete 4,800 hours in the hangar and then take 3 written tests, one oral and one practical. We still felt this was the right route for us as a family, even with three years in the States. In fact, the majority of the planes Mark has been training on have been mission aircraft, now being used all over the world ... so in reality, he (along with the other guys in the hangar) have had a much farther reaching impact in the world of mission aircraft here at MMS, than he will once we're based in one place with MAF!

Well, guess what? Today, those 4,800 hours are complete ... what a big milestone in our family! In some respects they have flown by in the blink of an eye but so much has happened in the meantime. Including two trips back to the UK, Marks rapid response to PNG and ours as a family to Florida ... as well as gaining an additional member of the family last Easter when Naomi was born here in the States, to name just a few.

4pm today ... 4,800 hours done!

Having met at All Nations, we have always felt that our mission journey has been a joint venture, rather than me following Mark fulfil his calling. I know that when we moved here, Mark felt very responsible to make it work because we had moved for 'his' training but while he's been learning in the hangar, the girls at home have been learning lots too.

This next month or two will include Mark's exams and may feel a little more stressful than normal. I know that the weight of responsibility will weigh heavily on him once again as he takes each part of his examinations but I'm so proud of him and all he has achieved in his 4,800 hours in the hangar. I know that a lot of what he didn't know at the beginning will just be second nature to him now and it will be a lot more straight forward than he is expecting!

Our next phase of transition officially starts now!

Getting to know you ...

Have you ever been at an event where there are ice-breakers at the beginning? I have to admit even the term ice-breaker makes me cringe a little but generally they do their job so I have to admit that for the most part they are extremely beneficial! On Friday night at the quilting evening, I had to describe my life in 6 words ... so after some thought wrote, 'Overseas adventurer ready for new challenges'. I don't think I'm going to be disappointed there!!

Have you played the one where you have to say three statements about yourself, two of which are true and one is false? Tonight I am sharing my testimony at our Apprentice Wives meeting. I did it at the beginning of our 3 years here but the group has now completely changed so it will be fun to share it again. As I've got to know many of the ladies ... some parts of my story won't be unfamiliar to them. So I thought I'd start with a little quiz and then build my story around the answers as they go.

While you won't get to hear the story or see the photos that go with them ... I thought I'd include the questions here to see how well you know me too! For each one, two are true and one is false. Can you work them out? (I will include the answers at the bottom of this post ... but not until later on in the week ... scroll down, they are there now!)

1. Childhood Church ...
a. I was taken to church by my neighbour aged 2
b. I was confirmed aged 11
c. I was baptised aged 13

2. I moved churches aged 16 ...
a. because a good friend also moved there
b. because of a boy
c. because I met load of the youth on holiday

3. At university ...
a. I fell for a big black rugby player
b. I worked three different jobs as well as studying
c. I tried some illegal drugs

4. God’s sense of humour ...
a. I didn’t study a language at university because of the year abroad
b. I swore I’d never study again after university
c. I didn’t want to go into mission until I had a masters degree

5. Short-term mission experience ...
a. I’ve dug a well
b. I have built a house
c. I have worked in a slum

6. Year as a Lay Assistant ...
a. The only time I’ve shared a room with anyone apart from Mark
b. I played my flute in the worship group
c. I had issues with my supervisor (the vicar’s wife)

7. Dodoma ...
a. I taught music
b. I taught swimming
c. I taught french

8. Travel - I have eaten ...
a. Crocodile in Kenya
b. Dog in Vietnam
c. Kangaroo in Australia

9. Animals ...
a. I have walked with chimpanzees
b. I have ridden an elephant
c. I have swum with dolphins

10. Adventures ...
a. I have stood on the top of Kilimanjaro
b. I have jumped out of a plane
c. I have white-water rafted

11. Randoms ...
a. I have heard a bomb explode
b. I have watched a plane crash
c. I have felt an earthquake

12. Working with asylum-seekers ...
a. We had to do self-defense in our basic training
b. I know someone who has met Saddam Hussein
c. I got to use Swahili and French at work

13. All Nations ...
a. I know someone who used to be in the Korean Mafia
b. I know someone who used to work with drug addicts in Australia
c. I know someone who used to be a child soldier in Uganda

14. Mark ...
a. I knew Mark was the one for me after 5 weeks
b. We said those 3 special words after 10 days of dating
c. We were engaged after two months

15. Pregnancy ...
a. I had post-natal depression with both girls
b. I cried over the death of an A-list celebrity while pregnant
c. I have cried over some chicken breasts while pregnant

16. MAF ...
a. I have celebrated my birthday on a MAF compound
b. I have swum in the pool of a MAF compound
c. I have lived on a MAF compound

The false statements are ... 
1b, 2a, 3c, 4c, 5a, 6b, 7a, 8b, 9b, 10c, 11b, 12a, 13c, 14c, 15a, 16b
How did you do? 

History Lesson

Teachers can have a profound effect on their students. Slightly daunting when I know I had a couple of years of teaching last time I was in Tanzania ... hopefully making a positive influence! Many people have been asking me already whether I will teach there again ... who knows?! The girls will go to the school I used to teach in though, which is pretty cool!

One of my least favourite subjects at school was History. I dropped that subject as soon as I possibly could. So, in secondary school I only studied it for three years. I've often wondered what exactly was the big turn off. It may have something to do with the fact that in the first two years I had no less than six different teachers, the equivalent of one a term, all with very varied teaching styles. I would also wonder what the point of learning about a bunch of dead people was rather than things in the here and now!


Yes, I had a very juvenile opinion! I have grown up a lot since then and fully appreciate that our rich history has influenced so much of every day life and wish I had paid a little bit more attention in class. There are so many holes in my knowledge of the past now but over time I hope to fill in some of the gaps!


Almost ten years ago, knowing my love of reading a friend of mine suggested a book that she had just finished. 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory.

My instant reaction was ... great, an historical novel ... right up my street ... NOT!!!! But after a little bit of persuasion I promised I'd give it a go and honestly, I couldn't put it down. While it's only loosely based on fact, it gives a little window into Tudor life, through one persons, well-written interpretation of a short period of Henry VIII's reign and personal life. It had me wanting to know more and sifting through what was true and what wasn't. It intrigued me to know a lot more about history in general! Shocking!


I always have several books on the go and a list of those I would like to read (did I mention I love books?!!!), so it's extremely unusual for me to read a book twice but this is one of the few. It was because the movie was released and I'm definitely in the 'books are better than movies' category of people the majority of the time, so wanted to get the written story straight in my head before watching it. This was no exception at all ... I was SO disappointed by the movie but that's another story!


I've read some of Philippa Gregory's other Tudor based novels, some good, some I could have passed on but this one remains a definite favourite. At the moment I'm in the midst of reading a lot more informational type books than normal about things like parenting, blogging, God, mission etc ... maybe in the midst of them all I should crack open a guaranteed favourite for a third reading? Who knows?!!!

A bit more than I bargained for!!

With a couple of years in Tanzania under my belt 1999-2001 and then 4 months travelling round Australia and New Zealand ... I knew that there were some more adventures out there for me, I just had to get prepared for them!

I worked with newly arrived asylum-seekers in south London for a few years while saving up for some more studies ... another example of God's sense of humour as after my degree I'd promised myself never to study again!! In 2005, I started a 2 year diploma in Biblical & Intercultural Studies at All Nations Christian College where both staff and students are international, with a wealth of worldwide mission experiences.

The setting was gorgeous ... the study was hardcore ... and the other students have become lifelong friends! At All Nations the preparation is all encompassing ... head, hearts and hands ... not just studying the Bible ... and there are courses from 10 weeks to three years at all different levels. It certainly opened my eyes to so much and helped me view all things a little differently.

I also found it quite amusing how so many people found their husbands or wives amongst their fellow students while studying at All Nations! It makes sense that when you put like-minded, mission-focused people together that this would happen ... after all my best friends parents did exactly that over 35 years ago! I, however hadn't even entertained the possibility ... I'd given up the 'boy' thing to focus on preparing for my next adventure! So, sure enough (you've guessed it!) I met the man of my dreams and we got married during the christmas break of our second year of study, December 16th 2006 ... definitely an added bonus I hadn't been counting on!! What was even more amusing was that with students from all over the world, I met someone from my home town!