Hi and welcome to our latest blog and yes we are still here
in the UK.
"Make the most of it" - this has been the over
whelming advice given to us ever since we knew our return date to Chad had been and
gone and certainly the advice I would give to someone in the same situation as
us. So why do I feel as if I am playing hooky. What's the problem with having extra time to spend with family and
friends while watching the vast amount of sport that's been happening here in
the UK? As you know we are great sports fans, Malc in particular. We were sad
to have missed the London Olympics 2012 and Bradley Wiggins winning the tour de
France so we thought great we would not only see England's opening games in the
World cup but be able to see it through to the final.
We could also watch Wimbledon and all of the tour de France. We were fortunate
as Sues mum lives in Chelmsford so we could actually walk out into the
countryside, sit on the roadside to soak up the atmosphere and witness this
great sporting event in person. Even if it did mean sitting and waiting for 4
hours for a 10 second glimpse, but certainly worth it. Unfortunately the
results have not been as we would have liked, England being knocked out in the
group stage, Andy Murray losing at Wimbledon in the quarter finals and Chris
Frome one of the favourites for the tour de France crashing out on day five.
But we were here and we got to see it live.
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| Tour Carnival |
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| The riders finally arrive |
I am sure those of you who are working both here in the UK
and abroad must be thinking "lucky things". The strange thing is that
normally you look forward to a holiday, as the anticipation of it is half the
pleasure of actually taking a break, thinking I have worked hard and earned
this. How strange it feels to have an unplanned holiday. We know that all
things happen for a reason and we are working to Gods plan and timing but as
simple humans, we have found it difficult at times to understand why He would
want us to stay in the UK when we know our colleagues back in Chad are having
to pick up the extra work load. We thought Malc's skin condition would clear
and certainly the acute phase seemed to resolve quickly but he has been left
with a chronic condition which the doctors have been trying to resolve with
less invasive therapy. But it was made clear to us that Malc would not be able
to return to Chad when his condition would flare up for no apparent reason and
never truly go away. It was then that he needed to start new medication that
required careful monitoring in the early stages and things put in place to enable
Malc to stay on the medication while in Chad. This plan is now thankfully coming
together so we can start looking forward again for a departure date. So now we
feel we can have a holiday, we are treating ourselves to 3 nights on the East
coast to take in the bracing North Sea air. We are also trying to improve our
fitness, Malc is riding his bike most days and Sue has bought a hula-hoop and managing
to stick to the recommended 10 minutes each day despite having dropped it on
her toe the second day and requiring strapping to be able to carry on.
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| Bike ride along the Canal |
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| Sue using the Hula-Hoop |
Now it really
will be time to say goodbye to family, some how it feels harder this time
perhaps because we have seen more of them and feel more involved in their lives.
It was lovely to spend time with Thomas and Rosie in London, and to see Jack
and Vickie in Cambridgeshire as they settle into their first home. We feel very
blessed that we could slot back in so easily to being Mum and Dad.
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| A Spring Christmas with the family |
So to all of you who advised us to make the most of it,
thank you as eventually we did. We still don't have a definite return date but
we know it is coming. To those of you who are Christians this sounds familiar
and it is in this knowledge that we have hope and a future to look forward to.
Malc & Sue