Gantt Charts and all things logical!

As I write, we have 6 spreadsheets open, 2 word documents, 4 emails, 3 computers and our youngest daughter is busy practicing Facetime with her grandparents!  What did we do before technology!  How did missionaries manage I wonder 50 years ago?

I must admit, I do like a list.  I was once told to always start every list the same way with the first item as follows:

1. Write a list!

This way, I can cross the first item off straight away.  Good tip!

The problem with our gantt chart (fancy name for a list!) is that it has 124 items on it and I keep adding to them every day.  So as soon as I get the satisfaction of crossing something off, I add another 5 things.  Take for example the car (the one we have left!)  As I was taking it to the garage to fix the wing mirror (1 problem) that Ken had broken several months ago, I managed to hit a (very beautiful) Cotswold stone wall and cause a (not so beautiful) scrape and dent (2 problems!) on the back! One step forward and 2 steps back has never been so real in my life.

But this has been an important week so far for crossing off some of our big items on our gantt chart!  We have got the kids into a school which is great and they are excited about their new school life in Nairobi.  We have fixed a day for our garage sale to sell our house contents.  Shipping companies have quoted for moving our belongings. We've organised our filing cabinet.  We have fixed our day to move to Kenya.  Our local church have organised a farewell service.  And we have people coming over tonight to help us clear our loft!

- it's just a shame not all of these were on our gantt chart!

Not just another job

As you might be aware, unlike most jobs, MAF UK requires all of its overseas staff to raise £25,000 a year to help finance their role.  A few of my friends have suggested that this requirement might put off a number of people applying to work for MAF.   I think it is possible that some good potential candidates might be put off applying because of this condition, however I think it is a very useful way of ensuring that the applicants really do have the calling to undertake the role. This is no ordinary role. It requires most individuals to take a huge reduction in income and to move themselves and their families to a country where life might be much tougher and circumstances very different to what they were used to before.  If it was just another job, paying a wage with no requirement to find their own supporters, many people might be tempted to pack in the role either before they start or shortly after arriving in the country.  This would waste a lot of MAF's money and potentially increase the number of job vacancies.  So yes, it's a challenge but this is why I understand why MAF asks its staff to raise £25,000 a year and besides - I like a challenge!  We have around 6 weeks to raise this money, are you willing to help us achieve this?

The gift of time

I wonder whether like me you ever wish you could turn back the clock or increase the length of the day!  With all that has to be done before we move to Kenya with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) we could certainly do with as much time as possible.  The incredible thing is that is effectively what has happened.  I was due to go into hospital for an operation to remove a liver ulcer today but miraculously the ulcer has vanished (see small but irritating! below) and the operation has been cancelled!

Had I had the operation I would have been out of action for at least three weeks and so this miracle has effectively bought me extra time to prepare for Kenya that I hadn't expected.  Praise God!

Back to 'normal'

Ta Dah

A photo of Ken post accident – scars on face healing really well.  He is back to normal (almost!) – well, as normal as he was pre-accident! 

And we’re now really excited about the journey forward with MAF and getting our teeth stuck into the fundraising and planning for moving to Nairobi.  There’s certainly lots to do and armed with our gantt chart I have plans for almost everything I can think of, from cancelling our love film (and wine club – boo hoo!) to finding removal companies and hedge trimmers! 

Just wondering if I could ask for a few more hours into each day!

Small but irritating!

There are some things in life which are small and beautiful and some which are small and irritating!  This was one of those.

After Ken's accident the doctors found a huge ulcer on Ken's liver, caused by a 'dropped' gallstone from a previous operation.  Unknown to Ken, it had been growing secretly on his liver for years.  It was reaching an impressive size that the doctors originally thought it was another organ when they first discovered it!  Something so little as a gall stone was able to create fatal results if it hadn't been discovered and removed.

But removing it wasn't going to be easy. So big was the ulcer and so far its reach, it had attached itself to many other major organs.  Unfortunately I can't tell you which they were as I'm not familiar of the location of the human organs - just that we need them all to be there and all to be working properly!  Therefore the operation was to be a biggy and posed quite a lot of risks for my gorgeous husband.

So what did we do?  Did we believe God's promises for healing or feel our fears?
We did what it say in the bible:

'Is anyone among you sick?  He should call in the church elders ( the spiritual guides).  And they should pray over him, anointing him with oil in the Lord's name.'
                            James 15 v 14

And that's what we did.  We prayed. We waited. Many others prayed and many others waited with us. And we all trusted.
And you know what ................
                                            ............... We now have our very own walking and talking miracle!

Last week when Ken went for his pre-op scan, the doctors and the consultants couldn't find any evidence of an abscess at all!  It had gone!  WOW.  How awesome! How amazing! It's unbelievable and yet really real. I stand amazed!

Did I know that God is a healer?  Yes. Did I know he answers prayers?  Yes. Did I expect He would do this for us in such an amazing fashion?  Probably not. Yet our God has performed a miracle and
   ' ....is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think.....'
                                                                      Ephesians 3 v 20
He surpassed my expectations.

So on this journey of beginning our work for MAF, it is a privilege to serve a God who can do this and more!  and this is just the beginning.  I'm now starting to pray bigger prayers.

Small but irritating ( like me at times!) or small but beautiful?  (Ditto previous brackets!) God can work with both for his good and his glory.

Thank you for everyone who prayed.  Your prayers have been answered.

Maz.