Holidays…

The past week and a bit have been both very busy, and a real blessing as we gear up for 2012.

The first few days of last week contained medical appointments, followed by a two day orientation down in Sydney with SIM (Serving In Mission). Many thanks goes to Grandgreg and Grandma Jill who cared so lovingly for Zeke while we were away. Champions!

SIM office in Sydney

It was great to have the opportunity to spend a couple of days thinking through some of the practical realities of what life will be like for us next year, and to learn from those who have the real-world experience in overseas missions. Another great blessing for us was to be able to meet many of the staff at the SIM national office, who will be working hard for us back here in Australia whilst we are in Zambia next year.

Toby "helping" the finance team at the SIM office

While we were in Sydney, we had the opportunity to do the tourist thing. It happened to be World AIDS Day (December 1), and both the Opera House and Harbour Bridge were in fine form.

Recently we came across the sobering stat that 13.5% of Zambians are HIV positive, with an estimated 45,000 deaths from AIDS in 2009 alone. Currently I can probably count on 1 hand the number of HIV positive patients that I have directly cared for, so I can’t begin fathom the scale of suffering that this terrible disease causes in Zambia.

We are now enjoying a few days on the beautiful Sunshine Cloudy Coast before heading back to Brisbane. It’s a wonderful time to be able to spend together relaxing as a family, and also to ponder overall that is ahead for us over the coming months.  - D

We had a lovely visit from Greg, Jill and Ben today -  

HAPPY 60th BIRTHDAY to the very loved Mum/Grandma!