Tick boxes galore!

Wish it had been this tidy when I lived there!!

Last Sunday I moved out of my much adored flat. It has been sad moving out as I love that little place and it feels as though it has been a bit of a journey emotionally, finishing up at work over the last few weeks whilst in every spare moment I had I was packing, sorting and storing my worldly goods away for the year.  I have had help from some amazing friends and family who have fed me, encouraged me, done multiple trips to charity shops and the dump, spent hours on end lifting boxes into my loft as well as helping me helping me stay focused & sane and ensured that I got out of my flat in time for my new tenant moving in! 


I am now in 'limbo' waiting to go. It's been great to have the chance to have a couple of weeks between finishing work and moving before my leave date. I've been able to spend time with family & friends and start mentally preparing myself for the next step. It is giving me a chance to look ahead and as best I can to prepare for what is to come which fills me with excitement (& a few nerves!)  


So, I guess that I am finally ready to go! It's a strange feeling to be 'sorted'. I have spent the last months living by an endless list of jobs which just seemed to grow each time I spoke to someone new who would say.....'Don't forget to do this'.....'Have you thought of doing this'....'You'll need to ring and cancel this'....!!!!! It also seemed that I had an unending list of boxes which have slowly been ticked off and completed so that everything is in order for my departure. I have had some last minute glitches which have now been sorted (Woohoo!!) and feel free now that I am not living by a tick box every day! :)  Praise God!!




My fundraising total was met and totally overflowed as I shot over my target months ago! I have a lot of folks to thank in getting me here so "THANK YOU" to all who have smiled, hugged, packed, fed me, donated money, organised events, wiped away tears, stayed in touch, encouraged and helped me along my way.


As I sit here now I have my 8 cases packed and am waiting for Saturday to arrive. British Airways have been amazing an given me a huge charity allowance so I can take everything with me and ensure all donations make it to their destination.  It's now only 5 days till I fly to Uganda and I often wonder what my 'new' home will be like, where I will sleep and what adventures I will see in my house over the next year. My next big challenge will be getting through the "goodbye" at the airport. For those of you praying for me please keep myself and my family in your thoughts and prayers as we travel to Heathrow on Saturday evening that we get through the goodbye and that no-one crumbles into a too big a mess! I'm excited, nervous, scared but overall filled with joy and peace. God has watched over me during these months of worry and everything has worked out just perfectly. 

Luke 12:22-29
And He said to His disciples, "For this reason I say to you, do not worry about your life, as to what you will eat; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing? Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds! And which of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life's span? If then you cannot do even a very little thing, why do you worry about other matters? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; but I tell you, not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass in the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, how much more will He clothe you? You men of little faith! And do not seek what you will eat and what you will drink, and do not keep worrying.