Another week!

Well it has been another busy week with the Swanson's!

Last weekend we spent over in the Peebles area, sharing a bit of what we are up to with Heather's extended family and some family friends - a really encouraging evening and probably the last time we will over-night with Great Grandma and Auntie Christine for quite a while! We had a relaxing Sunday morning (the first for a long time!!) then headed down to Peebles where we spent the afternoon and evening with a fantastic group of friends! Thanks to Emma and Graham for hosting, and thanks to everyone else who came along to hear about what we are up to and what MAF do! It was a great weekend, and we drove home last Sunday night tired, but grateful for so many good friends and family who are so interested in what we are doing.

Thursday had me and Matthew driving up to Pitlochry to collect our washing machine from storage. We felt it was sensible for us to keep a foot on the property ladder when we head overseas, so after selling our home earlier in the summer, we invested in a small flat in Stirling to let out while we are away. It has been exciting for us to get the keys for the new flat on Friday, but a bit strange because we have no intention of ever living in it! It has been a real blessing, getting a flat that has no need of redecorating or upgrading - hopefully the first tennant will have moved in before we leave in November!

Saturday was another good day! I turned 21 (and a bit...), so we all had a great day out with my mum, dad, brother, sister and brother-in-law. It was good to spend some time with them all before we leave Scotland for a while; we went to the Amazonia exhibition at Strathclyde country park. Could this be a taster for what lies ahead?!? Matthew loved seeing the monkeys, and Abi is quite fearless when it comes to tarantulas!!

The day was rounded off with a nice meal out, at a restaurant that had a few other birthday parties in last night! I felt a wee bit old when I realised that the combined birthday ages of the tables on either side of ours was still less than my grand total!!

Today we headed north to be with our friends in Pitlochry for church this morning. It was good to see friends who we hadn't seen for a few weeks, and we were able to spend a bit of time with Eric and Jenny over lunch before heading home again late afternoon. We might make it back up again for a weekend later in October, but it looks like the next weekend we are in Pitlochry will be our last one there for a while!

Thanks so much for your interest in our lives with MAF! It has been really quite humbling seeing how many people have taken an interest in the work of MAF, and our involvement with them.