There's No Place Like it

'Home is where your story begins'

We have a little sign on a book shelf with this written on it. 'Home' is such an important thing, it's where the building or house that you live in becomes something so much more.

Yesterday we arrived home after a very long day of travelling ... and a very long month that didn't go at all as we had planned. We did get to catch up with some of our friends which was great but with my Grandma dying and then a collection of viruses between us in our final week, which got worse rather than better before we were due to fly back, we were so pleased to arrive safely home last night! In fact, although totally and utterly exhausted (and no, that is not an exaggeration), there was a little smile in my heart and lightness in my spirit to know we'd finally made it home.

Our Home in America

After the first week of so of our trip Abigail kept saying 'I want to go home'. Everything was so up in the air, nothing familiar and no routine. Even I was thinking something similar and I didn't have the excuse of being 3 years old. Occasionally my response would be 'So do I sweetheart'!! A friend of mine complimented me when I was sharing what Abigail had been saying. She said that we'd obviously created a really great home atmosphere where Abigail felt secure and happy and that wanting to be there showed a strength in our parenting. A perspective I hadn't considered before but not one that got us back any quicker!

One of the downsides of being a missionary is moving around every few years, often to different countries and cultures and then having to make it home. As a single girl 10 years ago, teaching in Tanzania, it was a lot easier ... all I had to think about was myself and adjusting things for me. Now it is different ... making wherever we live home for us as family and keeping things as familiar as possible for the girls, at the same time as embracing the new culture.


My husband and I don't want to be shipping all our worldly possessions from place to place and we don't want to be overly extravagant in the way we live and what we own. We do think it's important however to have little things that are familiar to us and the girls that make which ever houses we live in 'ours' for the time we are there. For every individual and family these things are going to be different ... but wherever you go they are must take things.


I used to think that the title 'homemaker' was almost a derogatory term. People can often mistake it for someone who sits at home doing whatever takes their fancy. Now, being a mother of two and moving our family from one place to the next, I see the importance of what a 'home maker' really is and what hard work it involves especially when you're fitting into new cultures, creating that safe place to come back to at the end of the day for the whole family. It requires time, thought and effort ... but now I'm proud to be a known as a 'homemaker' and think I do pretty good job of it too!

The Best Laid Plans

Whatever our best intentions ... things don't always work out as they should. Like writing this blog three times a week when me and all my family are suffering from some viral cold/stomach bug infection and can't function let alone keep up with any other commitments ... sorry, you'll notice I'm missing one this week, we're all still recovering!! Scheduling 'home' time ... is ... let's just say, not all that straight forward either!!

We are very lucky that with MAF UK we get to return back to England every year to visit friends and family, talk to churches, renew visas and raise support. During our time in Ohio, we get 2 weeks allocated and later on, when we're on project it will be 4 weeks. We appreciate that we're really lucky in this respect, as other friends with different mission agencies don't get that frequncy. Some don't get to travel home for several years or have to do a long stint each time. With MAF they need the expertise of the pilots and mechanics on the bases so would rather the staff take shorter breaks each year which works out well for our family ... especially the grandparents back in the UK!!

Last year we took an extra week's holiday in the middle of our time at home which worked perfectly ... a week of craziness ... a chance to totally relax and re-energize and have some fun together as a family at my in-laws holiday cottage by the seaside ... followed by another week of craziness.

This year was planned with our previous success in mind. We emailed friends and family several months in advance so we could get organised ... but even then it wasn't til we sent out our final almost packed itinerary that the majority of people contacted about meeting up ... it was a bit late by then ... but a lesson learned for another time!!

We're nearly at the end of our time in the UK now and I can honestly say that almost all of our trip hasn't gone as we arranged it ... from planning funerals to missed holidays to colds and stomach bugs ... it has been almost a month of learning how to adapt, be flexible and in true missionary fashion make the most of how each and every situation turns out. We've learnt more about each other as a family and how we all adjust (or not) and what our limits are ... something we need to know as we continue on our journey together all over the world. So I guess in that respect it has been a complete success!!

Admin Mummy

While we've been home these last few weeks, sharing with supporters what we've been up to with MAF UK and MMS Aviation, it is a given that Mark can talk about planes, repairs, study, exams but I often get asked the question 'So what do you do?'

Sometimes it feels like 'not a lot' ... and those of you with kid(s) know that days can come and days can go when all you seem to be doing is changing bottoms, washing clothes and feeding little munchkins from sunrise to sunset with very little to show for it. I am quite task orientated and love to see a 'to do' list with tasks ticked off ... so days without even a couple of things achieved certainly feel like a failure to me.

About 10 years ago when I spent a few months travelling round Australia and New Zealand I found a fridge magnet which said ...

'If you think you're too small to be effective you've never been in bed with a mosquito'

It always puts a smile on my face to read and gives me a little bit of comfort to know that whatever we do, whether big or small can have an effect on other people. Hopefully a more positive one that a mosquito though!

Part of being a missionary involves raising support and keeping family, friends, churches etc up to date with what you're up to. Mark loves the practical side of his work in the hangar but he'd be the first to admit that admin is definitely not his forte. I on the other hand thrive on it ... yes, some would think it's very sad but I love it, making us the perfect combination as a couple!

In my 'spare time' from being a mummy, I write the newsletters, keep our supporters lists up to date, send out cards, write the family blog and the presentations we do and much more. We know that it is SO important to have the prayer and financial support of all those people who are behind us, in order for us to be effective in what we're doing and we feel a responsibility to those who follow us to keep them as up to date as possible. We don't take that lightly at all and so we see our roles as equally important even though mine goes relatively unseen the majority of the time.

While the admin might sound like the mundane and boring part of the partnership ... I really enjoy it. Keeping in touch with people via the old fashioned snail mail is something I've always loved doing and we've had a lot people comment to us how grateful they are that we take the time to acknowledge them and their support fairly regularly too.

Since Naomi has been born I am still working out just how I fit the admin stuff into family life again so I've got a little behind ... so apologies to all, as I figure out how it works again! I will get there I promise! 

During this trip home I have been encouraged by so many people though who have thanked us for the updates and individual contact we have been able to have and quite a few people have commented on how much they enjoy our quarterly newsletters, the 'Beckwith Blurb' too. It puts a little smile on my face to know that however little my input may appear into the mission side of our lives, I really enjoy it and it actually doesn't go completely unnoticed either!