KBC to... KBC!

Last Sunday was the last day for me in the UK for the foreseeable future, at least until next year. As is normal when we are around the Glasgow area, we spent the morning with our friends at KBC (Kirkintilloch Baptist Church). It was their anniversary weekend, where they were celebrating 127 years since the church was established there. We enjoyed a great service, during which we were prayed for as a family, that all would go well as we separated for the next few months, and that our “Uganda chapter” would be a good one!

Don't think I will need that jumper for quite a while!!

Monday was spent on a plane, flying to Heathrow, then on to Entebbe. I am missing having my family around, and having them experience all the new things that Uganda is bringing me just now, but I have to admit that being able to watch 3 full movies on the plane and snooze whenever I felt like it was pretty nice! 

Tuesday was an easy day; Kampala is quite a bit warmer than Glasgow, so just trundling along at an easy pace for my first day was pretty much a necessity! Mark and Sarah Newnham (who hosted Heather on her visit here back in  October) are our link family, so they have been great at keeping me right with what is what; Sarah took me out for a bit on Tuesday, to give me a quick tour of a few places and a trip out to see the hangar and meet the rest of the guys out there. Then it was back to the guest house to unpack a bit, and catch my breath before going out for dinner.

Kajjansi hangar

I started working in the hangar properly on Wednesday, working through a list of things on my induction training check-sheet, and getting started on some "find my way around"- type jobs. I haven’t worked on a hangar floor since I sat my A&P exams mid-Sept, so it was really good to be back in steel toe caps and working with my hands again! :-) MAF-Uganda is a busy programme with 4 Cessna caravans, 2 Cessna 206’s and MAF’s latest diesel Cessna 182 (the one that toured the UK a few months ago, before making the trip to East Africa) based here. MAF-Congo also use some hangar space here in Kajjansi as well; they fly their planes here to have maintenance work done. MAF-Uganda have 1 Ugandan engineer, and 2 international engineers (3 including me!), so there is no shortage of work to keep everyone busy!

The weekend gave a good opportunity to find my bearings a bit around Kampala. Margaret McLaren (MAF’s finance manager here and a fellow Scot!) took me out on her Saturday morning shopping trip, and pointed out a couple of the regular stops on the shopping circuit. Not quite a 24hr Tesco, or Walmart, but you can get anything you need! It was great to explore the town a bit and see a side of Kampala away from my usual route from home to hangar! Later in the afternoon I went out for my first “Ugandan driving lesson” with Mark. It is definitely a different technique that is required here compared to UK or US! Being assertive is pretty much essential, and you have to have a different interpretation of the term “right of way”!! It’s not the kind of place where falling asleep at the wheel is likely to happen!!

Kampala Baptist Church

And that brings us to today! A week after being in the Scottish KBC, I find myself in the Ugandan one – Kampala Baptist Church! There were some obvious differences between the two churches (the music was more … “African”, and one KBC had considerably more ceiling fans than the other – something I was really grateful for!!) but the welcome was warm, and the worship was sincere and powerful. It is incredible to know that our God, the God we worship in Scotland, is the same God we worship here in the completely different country of Uganda. He created the universe, “He counts the number of the stars; He calls them all by name” (Psalm 147:4), but he cares deeply about us as individuals, “The Lord your God is with you. He’s mighty to deliver. He takes great delight in you. He will quiet you with His love. He rejoices over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17).

Thanks, as always, for all your thoughts, prayers and encouragement!

I'm here!

Just a really quick post before I head for bed! 

I arrived safe and well late last night after a really smooth journey. It was an early start to a long day, but it is amazing how much difference it makes to only cross 3hrs of time zones! (Oh, and not traveling with 3 small kids makes any long journey much easier!!)

Thanks for all your prayers for the journey and also for the family being apart; please keep remembering us all, but Abi and Matthew especially as they get their heads around dad being away for a while.

Today has been a settling in / brief tour / unpacking cases kind of day, and getting my first peek at my new neighborhood- Makindye looks out over the rest of Kampala, so if you look through the trees in the pic below, you will see some of the city in the background.

I will write properly soon, but right now I need to sleep - first day in the hangar tomorrow!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

After almost 3 months of being back in Scotland, things are really picking up pace in the Swanson home!

This week is a crazy mix of last minute shopping, strategic bag packing, final farewells, and as much quality time with Heather and the kids as I can squeeze in before next Monday! After patiently waiting for the last few months, we got word a couple of weeks ago that my work permit approval had come through and that we could book tickets for travelling to Uganda! They have now been booked and I am all set to travel to Uganda next Monday, the 3rd March. ...Monday isn't far away!!

It isn't going to be easy saying goodbye to the family for such a long time. Since I sat my exams last September, my daily work routine has been "unconventional", so I have been about the house much more than usual, sometimes helping, sometimes getting in the way ;-) Either way, it will be hard for Heather not having extra hands about the place, and hard for the kids not having dad there day by day.

We are definitely doing the right thing though, and as well as letting the rest of the family catch up on a few doctor's appointments, and giving the kids the stability of finishing the school year here, it will make the transition into African life a bit easier. I will be starting in the hangar as soon as all my paperwork is in order, but I will also be able to set the ball rolling on finding a car and a house, and generally getting my bearings around town before the rest of the Swanson clan arrive... I can't imagine having my first Ugandan driving experiences with the kids shouting in the back seat!

If I ride the wings of the morning, if I dwell by the farthest oceans, even there your hand will guide me, and your strength will support me. Psalm 139 v 9-10

The week ahead is going to be busy and emotional, and we would appreciate your prayers for everything that is going on with us right now, and as we work through the next few months.

• For all the plans to come together, all the last minute "i's" to be dotted, and "t's" crossed.
• For the kids to be able to understand as much as they need to about what's going on, and where dad is heading.
• For all my travel arrangements to work out.
• For me to settle quickly into our new home town of Kampala.
• For Heather to cope well with running the family on her own while we are apart.
• And for all the doctor's appointments to pass by without need for any more work.

Thank you for continuing to keep us in your thoughts and prayers - it is, as always, appreciated!

I can't imagine having too much of a chance to write again this week, so the next blog post may well be from Uganda!

A

A February update!

We are back home now, having spent last week down in Ashford, Kent on the second week of our "Pre-field Orientation" course. The first week of the course was done before we left for Ohio, and before heading for Uganda we had to complete this training. It was reassuring to see how seriously MAF take our preparation for leaving UK, but a little bit intimidating as we reviewed the many diseases and potential security problems we might find ourselves experiencing!

Now that our PFO course is complete, the only thing that stands between us and our leaving for Uganda is the issue of my work permit. Progress hasn't been too speedy up until now, but we have just heard that the permit application has been passed through the NGO Board, and is now with the Immigration Board. It hasn't been fully approved yet, but is well on its way through the process and we are expecting to be able to get my tickets booked later this week for heading to Uganda! As of next weekend, we will have done all of the speaking engagements that we were scheduled to do and are looking forward to moving onto the next chapter! Thank you for all your prayers over our busy time back in Scotland, and our work permit application - God's timing, as always, is perfect!

We would love to see as many of you as possible before we leave these shores; the last three of our pre-organised get-togethers are scheduled for this week. All are welcome to join us at any (or all!!) of these!

• We will be sharing at a "commissioning evening" organised by the MAF-Scotland guys at Costa Coffee in Cumbernauld on Tuesday 11th at 7pm.
• Wednesday 12th sees us up in Pitlochry, where we will be sharing and catching up with friends from 7pm at Pitlochry Baptist Church.
• We will be joining our good friends in Dunoon on Sunday 16th, where we will be sharing during the morning service (11am) at Dunoon Baptist church.

In preparation for us leaving for Africa, (and in an attempt to get ourselves a bit more up to date!) we have set up a Facebook page where we hope to be able to keep you updated with pictures and news from Uganda. We are still keeping the blog going, but the Facebook page will run beside the blog keeping you updated with more 'bitesize' bits of news! If you want to follow us on Facebook, you can find our page by clicking here. I have also been busy trying to better organise our quarterly email newsletter list and if you would like to be added to our mailing list, you can click on the link on the right hand side of this blog page under the heading "For Updates:"

Thanks again for your continuing interest in what we are doing, and for all your prayers and support as we get ready to move again. We are looking forward to keeping you up to date either in person later this week, via our newsletter or on-line!!

Every blessing

A

Flexibility! (...and some dates for your diary!)

Although I like to say that I am a pretty flexible guy, the truth is that I like to  know what the plan is! The last couple of months, since we arrived back from the States, has seen us having to be pretty flexible with our plans!

We had originally planned on staying in Blair Atholl, up in the Scottish Highlands, for our time in the UK, but after loosing Heather's dad, we felt staying closer to her mum would be the right thing to do. We had to change around some of our original plans, but in reality it has meant we have been much better placed for dealing with the logistics of the many meetings, medicals and vaccinations we need before we all go to Africa.

We have also had a few more churches interested in what we are doing than we are used to for our time back in Scotland. Normally we are only back in the UK for 3 weeks or there abouts. That works well for being able to visit the 3 churches who we have been partnered with since we started in Ohio. (3 weeks means 3 weekends!!) This time home however, we are / have been sharing at 9 different churches! It makes for a busy schedule; in January we are speaking at a different church every Sunday, and at two mid week meetings, as well as trying to catch up with as many friends around the country as we can! It has been great to be able to share our story again though. We have had the pleasure of sharing with people who have never heard of MAF or what we are doing before. We have also shared with people who have been following our news since the beginning of our time with MAF, but who have never heard the whole story of how we ended up where we are now! Even though I can't imagine ever putting "Public Speaking" on my list of things-I-do-for-fun, I am becoming more comfortable with it, and am always amazed at how much encouragement comes from it. All that said, we double booked ourselves last Sunday, and caused a bit of confusion for some people - if you had to change your plans because of our mistake we are sorry!

Queen's view, Loch Tummel - travelling around the country has it's bonuses!

Future Plans
We are still waiting for any news of the approval of my work permit. We can't book flights until the permit is in place, and we had hoped that by mid to late January, we would have tickets booked and dates set for travelling to Uganda. If there is anything we have learned over the last few months though, it is that God's timing is perfect, and we are sure that it will all work out. In the meantime we are adjusting our plans to match the situation. There are a few factors at play, including limited housing that will be available to MAF on our planned arrival date and the kids schooling (and whether they should stick to just 2 continents in one school year!). Taking all this into consideration, we are now planning on me travelling to Uganda myself when the work permit comes through, and then Heather and the kids will follow on once the school's finish for the summer. Maybe not a perfect solution, but probably best considering everything that is happening in our lives just now.

Even though we don't have a definite date for leaving, we have a little send off get together booked for early February. Andy and Kevin at the MAF-Scotland office have been a great support over the years and we appreciate Andy sorting everything out for a send-off / commisioning / social evening at the Costa Coffee shop in Cumbernauld's Antonine Shopping Centre before we leave for Africa. We would love to see as many of you as possible on the evening! Please put the following info on your calender!
Location:   Costa Coffee, Tryst Rd / Antonine Centre, Cumbernauld. (Just beside Tesco's!)
Date:   11th February 2014
Time:   7pm - 9pm

If you stay a little bit further north, we are also planning on having an evening in Pitlochry on 12th February, as an opportunity to say good bye to our friends there. It will most likely be an informal get together with coffee, tea and lots of opportunity to chat, but we haven't ironed out all the details yet - watch this space and we will update the blog when our plans are a bit more solid!

Having learned from last week's faux pas, here is an up to date list of where we will be for the next few weeks. It would be great to see you if you can make it!!

26th January - Crown Terrace Baptist Church - morning service 11am
29th January - Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh - midweek prayer meeting 7pm
11th February - Costa Coffee, Cumbernauld - 7pm - 9pm
12th February - Pitlochry - Details tbc
16th February - Dunoon Baptist Church - morning service 11am

Change of details for tomorrow

Hi folks.  I know we had put on our schedule in December that we would be sharing at KBC tomorrow morning,  we were asked if we could share at the beginning of January instead.  Andy is now sharing at Forfar Letham &Dunnechan church tomorrow morning the 19th.  I will be attending KBC at 9.30 tomorrow morning with the kids so if you would like to please speak to me or contact us and we can hopefully arrange to meet at a different time.  We meant to update the blog before today  but completely forgot.  Sincere apologies.  If you were planning on coming to KBC tomorrow to hear us share,  please redirect the sat nav to Forfar ;0) Thanks
Heather

Happy New year!

We hope you all had a great Christmas and your start to 2014 has been a good one!

We have been enjoying the chance to spend some quality time with all our family after being away from home for the last 3 Christmases. We had Christmas with my family up in Gardenstown on the north-east coast,  and then saw in New Year down in Glasgow with Heather’s family.

Although my parents now live in Dunoon, my mum is originally from Gardenstown, and we were able to spend Christmas in the old family home, which having been in the family for generations is now a holiday let. It was a nice relaxing time, with no mobile phone signal, no internet and weather that stayed dry enough (if a bit cold and windy!) for us to get some walks along the shore and around the village. My mum had been brought up in that house, and for the first couple of years of married life mum and dad stayed there with my Granda and my Great grandmother. Myself, Heather and Eilidh even slept in the same room that I had shared with my parents for the first 10 months of my life! Below is a picture (left) of 3 of the 4 generations who lived there 36 years ago, with my Granda missing as he was behind the camera! The picture on the right is from this Christmas!! I really enjoyed the chance to reflect while we stayed there.

Now that we are back in Scotland for a while, I have been speaking at various churches about the work we are now involved in. One of the pictures I often use in presentations is of a particular DC-3 that Missionary Flights International used right up until very recently. It was a feature in the hangar in Fort Pierce, Florida when I was working there during my apprenticeship, and was a real encouragement to me when I realised that Les Brown had piloted this same plane across to the States back in the 80’s to start it’s missionary ‘career’ at MFI. (Les stays in Pitlochry, and was one of the people whose influence led us to joining MAF.) Even though Les might have looked at flying the plane to Florida as routine work for an experienced pilot, the legacy of that work and Les’s obedience to God, was being felt for decades after by people in Haiti and around the Caribbean who benefited from the support that MFI brought them.

All this reflection, and the fact that we have just finished 2013 has me thinking about the year just gone, and all that has happened. Here are a few of the highs and lows of 2013:

January: Unfortunately last Christmas came with more than its fair share of bugs, and I spent the whole of the Christmas break in bed. January was mostly spent recovering and getting back into a work routine.

February: This month’s highlight was a trip to Dryden Ontario to work with Northern Youth Programmes. My facebook status at the end of the trip said: Our last night in Canada, eh. Looking forward to seeing H and the kids again, but going to miss Dryden. In the last fortnight I have been to an ice hockey match, ridden snowmobiles, dug snowmobiles out of waist deep powder, driven on an ice-road, eaten walleye, deer and moose (all shot or caught on the property here), helped bore holes on the lake for ice fishing, milked a cow and re-skinned a 206 wing! My kind of fortnight!!

March: March in Ohio is generally still a bit on the cool side, so Heather especially was glad of the chance we had at the end of the month to pack the family into the car, lock the house up for a month, and set off south to Florida. As part of MMS’s training, apprentices spend a month or so working in an operational hangar with MFI before they finish the programme. Being gone for so long meant it was a good opportunity for the whole family to go and enjoy the experience!

April: Most of April was spent in Florida. It was great to work with MFI and be involved in everything they do down in that corner of the world. Working on the “flight line” is very different to working on the longer term projects that are normal at MMS, so it was good experience to get. As the whole family came with me this time, we were able to spend some time on holiday down there as well, checking off the usual tourist destinations!

May: At the beginning of May, Heather and I did a little sketch at a church family night (apparently we were the best fit for two Scottish rappers…) After 2 ½ years in America I finally had an excuse to wear my kilt!

June: The kids are on their summer holidays, and in Ohio, that means summer camps! Abi went to  Camp “Invention” where she learned all about how things work, and Matthew had a football (that’s soccer!!) camp which he enjoyed! Both kids enjoyed some swimming lessons, and we tried to squeeze in some family time too!

July: The 4^th of July saw Eilidh celebrate her 1^st birthday (and the rest of America celebrated along with her, if all the fireworks were anything to go by!!).  My weeks were filled with steadily building hours in the hangar and studying (a bit!!) for exams. At the end of July, we had a weekend away in Cincinnati, partly as a treat for our 10^th wedding anniversary, partly as a nice family weekend away before Heather and the kids went back to Scotland for a while, and partly just because we needed a wee break! We didn’t see a huge amount of Cincinnati, but we enjoyed a good look around the Creation Museum!

August: Heather and the kids made the trip back to Scotland for 2 weeks to spend a bit of time with her family. It was a great break for them filled with special memories, which became even more precious later in the year. My time in Ohio was spent on finishing up in the hangar and preparing for my exams. I also managed to make a trip with some of the other MMS staff over to Smoketown, Pennsylvania to take part in their annual Missions festival at the airport. MMS were a featured organisation at this year’s show, and it was a great opportunity to speak to so many people about mission aviation, as well as to meet and catch up with lots of other people from across the mission aviation world.

September: The first half of September saw me completely immersed in exams and study, but thankfully I passed the last of them on 16^th Sept and qualified as an FAA Airframe and Powerplant mechanic. A satisfying end to my 3 years as an apprentice at MMS, but tinged a bit by the thought that my time in the hangar there had come to a close. I really enjoyed working in Ohio, with some incredible guys - we made some lifelong friends there who were hard to say good bye to. The end of September was focused on preparing for Heather’s trip to Uganda. While she was gone, my mum took a trip over to help with looking after the kids, so we were able to enjoy some time with Granny about! We made a few day trips while she was there, and spent a bit of time exploring Amish country for one last time.

MAF-Uganda's hangar

October: This month started with Heather in Uganda for her look-see visit, looking at schools and housing in preparation for us moving over in 2014. It was a good trip with lots of confirmations that God is in charge of the plans! Heather came home certain that we would settle well there and excited about what our future holds. October also brought our last Coshocton County Fair, and with it the opportunity to say farewell to my very tired Toyota van which had been a faithful run-about for the last year. In true Dukes of Hazzard style, I entered it into the rough truck race, complete with custom Scotland flag paint job, finished high enough to win my entry fee back with a little more on top, and then run it until November when it made its last trip to the scrap yard! Win, Win!!

November: The most stressful month we have had in quite a while! Packing up to move house is stressful no matter what. The stress is multiplied when you move to a different continent. We tried to get rid of a lot of stuff before we left America, but there was quite a lot of stuff that we wanted to take with us to Uganda that is much easier to get in Ohio - trying to find the balance wasn’t easy, especially as we were saying emotional good byes to all our friends in the States at the same time!

The end of our time in America came with the sad news that Heather’s dad had passed away. Although he had been ill for some time, his death came as a shock to everyone. Thank you so much to everyone who prayed for us, and Heather especially, at this difficult time.

December: We're back in Scotland and enjoying catching up with friends and family. We are busy speaking at a number of new churches, although we have tried to keep December relatively free so that we can settle the family, and check off a few items on our list of optician, dentist and doctor appointments.

Thank you so much for all your prayers and support during this last year! We are indebted to everyone who supports us in whatever way, and we appreciate you very much.

Watch this space to see what excitement the next 12 months brings!