Back in the Mother Land!

The last few weeks have been among the most challenging yet in our time with MAF, without a doubt. We packed up our belongings and said many emotional goodbyes to our dear friends in Coshocton and other parts of the states. We moved out of our house on Sunday the 24th of November.  The children were passed around various willing people as we juggled all that's involved with packing and cleaning a rental house and moving across the world without your immediate family around to help especially with childcare.  The Wednesday before we moved out of the house I found out my dad had passed away suddenly after being admitted to hospital for only 24 hours.  I had never experienced the loss of an immediate family member before and lets just say,along with my dad passing, moving house and saying goodbye's all around -it has been the most emotionally draining time of my life.  YET..... I have been carried through by the arms of my Father God.  I have felt a great sense of peace and joy that I was able to spend a few weeks with my dad in August in Scotland and made many great memories.

The day after we arrived back it was my dad's funeral.  I stand in awe of God at His amazing Grace and the timing of it all. My dad had cirrhosis and cancer of the liver,  yet was preaching and doing pretty great right up until the day before he died.  He was not in pain and did not have to suffer for long at all.  His pastor David Gordon was able to be by his side reading with him and he tells of how dad started singing a hymn and he joined in with him right at his hospital bed minutes before he died.  We were coming home from the USA anyway and did not have to make any further trips back and forward as a result. Now we can be near my mum for the next few months to help and support her in all that she needs to deal with in these next few months.  I can't tell you how much we have appreciated your prayers, cards, and email messages over this difficult time.  I have not had a chance to reply yet but thank you!

There have been many changes to previous plans we have had to make recently and I appreciate how understanding people have been.   With us no longer going up north in Scotland and remaining more central to Glasgow we have had to put the kids into a bigger school.  They started last Tuesday and have been loving it! Some may wonder why on earth we would start our kids in a new school just for a few months but with all that has been going on around them over the last few weeks they are in need of a focus shift and are benefiting greatly from being in a routine again.  Andy and I have re-planned our travel around the UK over the next few months and are now able to let everyone know where we will be in the hope that you can join us in at least one of the places below.  We have decided to incorporate some rest time in December which I am so glad for as I had forgotten how much stuff there is to do when moving countries - especially near Christmas.  Changing mailing address, hunting for school uniforms, organizing banking, mobile phones,  dentist, doctor,optician visits as well as just unpacking and setting up 'home' again  - just a little flavor of what our week has been like!  This week we will be in Edinburgh twice for medical check ups and some vaccinations, and due to an apparent shortage in Scotland right now for the Yellow Fever Vaccine (which we were meant to get this week) we will have to attend the clinic later in our time in Scotland for this.

Below is how our schedule is looking at present:

December

14/15th - Peebles, visiting with supporters and attending Holyrood Abbey Church in Edinburgh on Sunday.
17th - Sharing at Harper Memorial Baptist Church, Glasgow in the evening.
We are heading up to the North of Scotland for Christmas with Andy's parents and visiting supporters.
29th - Sharing at Alexandria Baptist Church (I believe we are taking the morning service! :0)

January

8th - Sharing at Plains Evangelical Church (7.30pm)

12th - Sharing at Pitlochry Baptist Church (Morning service)

19th - Sharing at Kirkintilloch Baptist Church (Morning service)
26th - Sharing at Crown Terrace Baptist Church, Aberdeen (Morning service)

February

Cross Cultural Course in south England
16th - Sharing at Dunoon Baptist Church

 - And then hopefully.......Uganda!!!

With regard to moving to Uganda.  We are still awaiting news of Andy's work permit and whether it has been approved or not.  We were hoping to have heard about this long before now.  We still do not have a house in Uganda and ask for your prayers for the above.

We are both looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can.  We are based in North Lanarkshire and you can email/text us for our address if you would prefer to visit with us here.  There is a lovely coffee shop nearby that we can meet and chat.  We are often asked to go for a cuppa at many people's homes. Being only human and with three children, we may at times have to decline invitations but please know that we really appreciate the offers and will try to accommodate as much as humanly possible.

Our new mobile numbers are:

Andy - 07745 097 613
Heather - 07745 097 624

God bless x



 

It's moving time again.

 

Since I got back from Uganda my feet have hardly touched the floor!  Abi had her 7th Birthday a week later and we had her party in the Church hall so we could invite lots of her friends for the last time here in Ohio.  Straight after that began the preparation for a rummage sale which I was organizing.  This gave me a big opportunity to try and get rid of the things we will no longer need.  Flannel sheets, thick duvets, and electrical items (US voltage will not work in Africa) all had to go.  The sale although exhausting went really well.  I have discovered that I much prefer buying items than selling :0) Going through all our electrical goods,  pricing, publicizing and delivering is very time consuming but has been worthwhile.  We have almost sold everthing we advertised.  The car still needs sold please pray we can do this soon. It's hard to believe that in three weeks our stuff will be taken away into storage for a month or so until it is shipped to Uganda.

 Our US visa expires at the end of November and we fly back to Scotland on the 29th.  We will spend a few days in Glasgow with my folks getting over jet lag, visiting the opticians and the dentist etc. before we head up north to Blair Atholl.  We have use of a friends house in Blair Atholl that we are able to stay in for the duration of our time in the UK.  Abi and Matthew will be attending the local primary school for the two and a half months we will be there.  Andy will be doing the majority of the traveling and I will be more home based while the kids are at school.  We are still working out the details of where we will be each weekend and soon we will be able to give you a schedule of which churches we will be visiting in the hope that we can meet  with as many of our UK supporters as possible.  

For those of you in Ohio,  we are having a special evening on the 16th of November at 7pm at the Church of the Nazarene, Coshocton.   I will be performing a mix of Scottish music along with my own compositions and we will be sharing about our MAF adventure so far.   Abi and Matthew will also be doing a rendition of "Ye Cannae shove yer Granny aff a bus".  It's a family night for the whole community so please come if you can whether you know us well or not.  It is a chance for us to say goodbye to a large number of people in the place that has been our home for the last three years.

The house is in chaos as we slowly dismantle furniture and go through our lives over the last three years whilst trying not create an atmosphere too disruptive for the children.  I am so thankful that Abi and Matthew are at school during this time and that Eilidh at least naps once during the day.  It seems like only yesterday I was doing all this in Tummel Bridge in Scotland! By the end of this week my aim is to have us all living out of our suitcases  so that we can determine what needs to be shipped,  given away or taken to the UK.   We have lists upon lists stuck on the kitchen cabinets of things we still need to do,  need to buy,  need to remember etc. It's not one of my favorite things to do in life but it has to be done. Once again I have to release all attachments to "things".  God has blessed us so much and I try to focus on this.  I am so glad I serve a God that provides for all our needs. :0)

Andy does not have a work permit yet,  we don't have a house in Uganda, but we do know that God has everything under control.  We are thankful that the needs in the UK for a car and house have all been worked out or are in the process. I am not sure when we will have time to blog next (apart from our UK schedule),  more than likely from Scotland once we are settled in Blair Atholl.  The down side to Mission life is there are many goodbyes to be said.  It is an emotionally draining time but worth it all to have rubbed shoulders with so many amazing people. Friends truly are a gift from God.


Signing out for the last time in the USA  :0(
Heather (Andy, Abi, Matthew and Eilidh)

Look and see visit to Uganda.

I (Heather) have been in Uganda for four days now and have been updating facebook with my adventures! I just thought I would copy and paste my facebook posts into a blog post as I am aware many of you do not use Facebook. Enjoy x

Septermber 28th (Morning)

Safely arrived in Uganda. Just about to crawl under the mosquito net and sleep. African music playing out side. Long but Great flights - AND who do I meet in Amsterdam about to board the 10 hour flight to Uganda?? None other than Dave Barry my Scottish pastor! Not only that - my seat was no. 33, Dave's was 16F Standing in boarding line and they call out my name, issue me with a new boarding saying they are moving my seat to 16G!!!! None of us asked anything!!! Only God! Awesome. In Awe!

September 28th (Evening)

Just spent the day with fellow MAF scot Margaret McLaren from perthshire. She happens to live in a compound with five other scots! All those in kirkie baptist who told me Moira Leng was in Uganda and I thought the odds of meeting her were highly unlikely- well she lives in that compound and she came and had lunch and dinner with us. Been to visit the main food shops - crazy driving here. If my mum ever came to visit I would have to blind fold her! No rules at junctions except if it's bigger than you, get out the way. Enjoyed some great Scottish banter today. Andy Swanson Moira has haggis so you'll be fine ;0)

This was the road to the Newnam's who are hosting me.

Sunday 29th

Today I went to a local church. Had a great time and towards the end of the service the rain came on. It began raining inside due to the spray that was blowing in under the roof and the whole church squeezed into various corners and little rooms to keep dry. Some had umbrellas up in the church building. lol! It was quite an experience. Enjoy a few of my pics so far. Power is out all day and the internet is slow so pics will come later when back in the USA probably.

 

A typical junction. The only rule - If it's bigger than you, get out of the way!

September 29th (evening)

Eventually got to sleep at 2am last night - jet lag! Home from church, leaks from the rain mopped up imside. Busy day, lunch with newmans and then off to another British family the nason's for dinner. Power came back on at 7pm. Haven't seen a cockroach yet so that's good. Apparently they are massive. Josh and Amy are enjoying my video camera taking lots of footage for Abi and Matthew about the house. Josh is 6 and even sung a wee song for Matthew on it. Aww. :0) off to visit two schools tomorrow.

September 30th

Those people who pay for an off road driving experience on a 4x4 vehicle.......it's been an every day experience so far but today, after yesterday's rain came the orange mud bath and serious potholes disguised by puddles. Lovely coffee with the Dutch this morn, then to visit the Christian school. Should have taken my passport for ID but found a RBS bank card in my handbag which the security guards and police seemed happy to hang on to. Then visit to a little mall for lunch, I could see a few kids clothes with NEXT tags on them through a shop window. No time to investigate but had a lovely lunch with a different Dutch lady - the chief engineer's wife. On to the next school. V heightened security everywhere after Kenya. Police and guards at schools, bomb sweeps for cars. ( even at church! ) handbag checks at malls by police. Second school visit went well and then back for an hour. Picked up by an irish man and off to dinner with an Irish family! First time I've heard anyone on the road called a Wally since I've been driving with Andy! Made me chuckle! hoping to get to sleep before 2am tonight but I see it's twenty to midnight already. I have the fan on low and ear plugs ready to drown out the mosque chanting and dogs barking - lots of roaming wild dogs everywhere - cows and goats too. The odd chicken. Havent seen a pig yet Andy Swanson but we could make it a first ;0)

October 1st

Visit to another school this morning. Then lunch with the lovely Scottish Pam Wunderli where i had an almost British breakfast :0) Then off to see an electrical goods store a little like a very basic Costco. Managed to get some African gifts for my bambinos and then fought the rush hour traffic back home. LOVELY face time with my family. Then off out for very nice dinner with a Canadian family and their five children. Then to prayer meeting. I don't think I'll have a problem sleeping tonight! Also pre-booked us an Alsatian puppy for when we arrive (all being well) :0) v excited that we might be able to have a pet soon! Guard dogs are a must here.

A view of Kampala from one of the MAF houses.

I PASSED!!

If you keep a track of our blog, you have probably noticed that it has been quite a while since I wrote a post! The start of the summer seemed to be continually busy, especially with the warm damp weather making the grass grow much faster than it did last year! For the last couple of months however, my “lack of blog” excuse is that I have been pretty much using all my spare time to read textbooks, study guides and thick books full of Federal Aviation Regulations! It was all worthwhile though, as a couple of weeks ago I sat and passed my three written tests, and then earlier this week I sat and passed my oral and practical tests! It all went pretty smoothly, and I was able to recall all that I needed to without too many “wobblies”!!! This was a real answer to prayer as I know that many people around the world were praying for a clear head and good recollection – thank you!

Dwight Jarboe (MMS's CEO and the oral and practical examiner) presenting me
with my temporary cert after passing my exams!

The next few weeks are going to see a bit of a change in focus (but not pace!). I would love to go back to the hangar and help out as a mechanic, but the reality is that we only have 2 months and a few days before we leave Ohio, and between now and then we have a lot to do!

Part of our preparations for moving to Uganda were going to involve a trip there to look at schools, accommodation, and to work out the kind of things you can / can’t easily get there. After thinking it through, and weighing up pro’s and con’s, we decided that it would be best for Heather to go herself and get a feel for things – not having the kids to look after will let her use her time much more effectively, and make the trip more worthwhile. It will also give me a good chance for some quality “dad time” having been buried so deep in books for the last few weeks! Heather is having a rough time with her back just now, and would appreciate your prayers as she gets ready to sit on a plane for 21hrs, as well as for her trip to Kampala!

Once again, thank you so much to all those who were thinking of, and praying for me as I sat all my exams, and thanks to all those who have sent little messages since I passed! Those of you who had a chuckle at my blog post about “language difficulties” (here's the link!) will probably appreciate a message that went round the hangar this morning – I am going to miss working here in Ohio!!

Dear MMS family,

By now you should all be aware of Andy’s passing.  His time with us has come to an end and he has received his due reward.  His hours were numbered and the man upstairs in his wisdom decided that it was time for Andy to leave us.  He was tested and found worthy.  He will be deeply missed in our hangar.  

Congrats to Andy for passing his A&P exams yesterday!

A new school year...

Abi and Matthew with Grandad in Scotland.

It has been a month since our last blog and so much has happened.  July has been filled with fun with friends and swimming in outdoor pools. We enjoyed a weekend away to Cincinnati as a family to visit the creation museum which was amazing.  Myself and all three children were also able to make an unplanned trip to Scotland to visit my family for a few weeks.  This was such a blessing to be in Scotland in Summer time and be in the same location for a whole two weeks!  Over the last three years on our visa trip home we are lucky if we get to spend a few days with our family so it was a very special time.  Flying with three children myself was an adventure but they were all very well behaved.  The worst part was arriving home jet lagged and Andy being away at a missions festival in Pennsylvania.  

Andy making little airplanes
with kids in Pennsylvania
 

He flew with a friend and others drove and as flying was much quicker we thought he would be home before the rest of the group.   Unfortunately small planes are very dependant on good weather and he returned two days later than planned!  Meanwhile the children were up at 3am, 4am and 5am and we regularly had breakfast before the sun had risen.  Glad to say we are all back on the correct time zone and enjoying being a family of five again :0)  




Abi's first day in 2nd Grade (P3)

Since we have come back, Andy is now on full time study leave and is working hard on preparing for his exams.   Abigail started 2nd Grade this week and Matthew had his first day at school today.  Matthew LOVED his first day at school. He was excited to see his sister in the passing and other's he recognized throughout the day.   I have opted out of the yellow school bus this school year as their time table has changed meaning Abi and Matthew would be picked up 20mins earlier and be on the bus for over forty minutes before and after school.  We only live five minutes drive from the school so I felt this was not in their best interest.  We are walking to school in the mornings - my attempt to get fit.  This is a quite a workout for myself pushing Eilidh in the stroller and two school bags up a very long and steep hill.  As we climb the hill we have a rest once we reach each mail box. That and a Haribo helps us stay focused!!  I am loving the exercise and the mornings are nice and cool.  We have seen rabbits, chipmunks, frogs, squirrels,  yellow birds and red birds so far on our walks.



Matthew's first day in Kindergarten (P1)

Time is moving fast and by the end of November we will be packed up and ready to leave the USA for good.  I have started the process of sorting through our stuff into things we will try and sell and things to give away.  We have received our "Welcome to Uganda" pack and are enjoying reading through and understanding more about what our lives might be like for the next eight years.  We are discussing options with MAF regarding a look and see visit to Uganda in October and will let you know as plans progress.  

 

Eilidh took her first few steps while we were in Scotland and is getting more confident every day.  She is not running yet but I know it won't be long.  She is keeping me very busy ripping any paper or tissues she finds into thousands of microscopic pieces.  She continually clears any surface she can reach of all my paperwork, books,  fruit bowl - what ever is on a flat surface apparently has to be launched onto the floor.  Her favorite pastime of all is emptying the complete contents of the nappy bag out onto the floor which I let her do frequently as it lets me get on with a task for five minutes :0) I have to hide the step stools in the house as she can now climb onto them and can reach even higher - nightmare! She is such a happy baby and I wish I could freeze her age right now.

Andy would appreciate your prayers this month as he studies and sits his exams.  Thank you so much to those who send us cards and letters.  We love to hear from you can't tell you enough how much we value your support and prayers. 
Lots of love
Heather x

Last Summer in Coshocton - Part 1

Early morning surprise!

The month of June has flown past.  School finished at the end of May and Abi and Matthew have been having a great time so far.  They have enjoyed Vacation Bible school,  a week long camp at Kids America Sports Complex,  swimming with friends and the odd sleep over here and there.  For Abi's birthday she got some water colours and oil pastels and has been able to get some coaching from a local art teacher.  Matthew has enjoyed getting some soccer lessons and meeting some new friends his own age.   The Coshocton foundation also funded a week long Science camp at the start of June which Abi was able to take part in - completely free! We like those kind of camps : 0) 
Coshocton had it's annual Hot-Air balloon festival in June and we had the privilege of seeing three balloons lifting off from our street early one Saturday morning. 





Andy has just finished an annual inspection on a Piper Aztec and is beginning to get into a weekly routine of study.  In his spare time he is kept very busy with his newly dug garden or "veggie patch" as we say in Scotland -  We are growing sweet-corn for the first time,  peppers, tomatoes, lettuce and we are having a go at sun-flowers also. 

So far I am enjoying the summer holiday's although I have only managed to sit outside on the decking once so far and I can't say I have started reading any books - I use the word "holiday" very loosely as I think it only really applies to the children. lol!   We did manage to get a night away ourselves recently which was a real treat.  Not having any relatives or grandparents nearby means nights away require a huge amount of planning and organizing and we are so blessed to have wonderful friends who were willing to take our three precious bundles for the night. 

We have enjoyed two 'out of state' visitors this month.  My brother Kenny lives in Israel now and was in America for a few weeks. He was able to spend a night with us.  Then later in the same week our friend Scott Baisley from South Carolina was working nearby and stopped past for the weekend.   Abi and Matthew just LOVE having people to stay over and talk about them for weeks after they have gone.

This time last year the month of June saw record high temperatures and we had the huge storm on June 29th which knocked our power out and resulted in us travelling to North Carolina for me to give birth to Eilidh. This June the temperature as been wonderful for Andy and I, and I think pretty miserable to the American's who have been going about in jeans, boots and long sleeves while we have been in the shorts and sandals.  It has been cloudy,  frequent rain showers,  nice and breezy and in the seventy's  - pretty much like a British summer in a good year! We have been able to get outdoors almost every day and take advantage of the cooler temperatures.  There have been a lot of scattered thunderstorms and a few tornado warnings that had us hiding in our basement.  All in all though we secretly wish it would stay like this for the next few months but I seriously doubt that. The highlight of my week at present is getting to watch Andy Murray at Wimbledon,  knowing that myself and at least half of the British nation are watching it with me is really exciting!  The men's final always seems to conflict with the grand-prix but I am doing my best to convert Andy to his first ball game! lol!

Eilidh has enjoyed her first birthday on the 4th of July.  We were invited to another MMS family's house to celebrate her birthday (and independence day).


4th of July Dinner 2013.

  I have always loved meeting new people and there just so happened to be another family there with six children we had never met before! They were more than happy to celebrate Eilidh's birthday with us. The Weavers have two children of their own, two adopted,  and another two they are fostering at present - wow! Hats off to them! Just a flavor of what is to come as we move to Uganda next year and settle quickly into new relationships - we hope. :0)  We have officially confirmed Uganda as our placement I am starting to do my research.   We thought we would start with a general travel guide to Uganda and get to know as much as we can about the place,  the people and the culture.  We are really excited but trying not to get too far ahead of our selves.  Andy will be taking his exams in September and this is our focus as present.  Trying to keep the balance between study, work and demands of being a dad and husband are a big challenge and we would appreciate your prayers in this area.

Thank you so much for your interest.  If you would like to receive our newsletters and are not already doing so then send us an email at andyswansonmaf@gmail.com and I will add you to our list.

Inspections!!!

It’s been a busy month in the hangar here in Ohio. The Cessna 210 that we had in for an annual was returned to service and it’s owner flew back it to Minnesota last month. Since then I have spent a couple of weeks working with Mike on an avionics installation of Gospel Carrier’s International’s Cessna 172. It is being upgraded with a new audio panel (intercom) and an engine monitoring system which will give much more accurate information to the pilot and help him operate the plane in a much more efficient way. I don’t have much experience with electrics and electronics, so being involved in the installation of a whole variety of sensors and wiring, in preparation for the installation of the processor and display unit, was good experience. I also had the experience of putting together the wiring harness for the audio panel. We tailored the harness exactly to the plane we are working on, running all the cables from the connector at the back of the audio panel, in the stack in the centre of the instrument panel, to the various headset jacks, and speakers around the cabin.

The following week saw me working with Tim on an annual inspection on a Diamond DA40. This plane is owned by a local guy, and although it is not a “mission aircraft”, we agreed to doing it’s annual inspection. The valuable inspection experience that we can get from doing annual inspections, means that MMS will take on a few annual inspections on local aeroplanes that aren’t operated by mission organisations. It has been good experience, and a good preparation for the practical exam which will be coming in a few months’ time. The Diamond was collected by its owner today, and has now been tucked up, back in its own hangar.  The space it left in hangar A has already been filled by Pfeiffer Evangelical’s Piper Aztec. Yesterday we started on it’s annual inspection, and the next few weeks will probably see me working on this plane again.

I have also spent a bit of time in the last few evenings putting together our latest newsletter. We took the time to update our email list a bit, and if you would like to be added to that list we would love to keep you up to date! Drop me an email at andyswansonmaf@gmail.com, and I will add you to our mailing list!

One of the things I enjoyed most when we moved to Ohio, was showing our visitors round the hangar and explaining to them a bit about how planes can be used as missionary tools, and let them actually sit in the planes that are used all around the world. Unfortunately I can’t give hangar tours here in Ohio to all of our supporters, but if you can make it to Cumbernauld airport on June 29^th, you will be able to see the new Cessna 182 that MAF are sending to South Sudan. Cumbernauld airport is also where Revival Radio have their studios, and as a wee bonus, if you come and see the 182 you can get a tour of the Revival Radio studio as well!

Thanks again for checking in and keeping up to date with what we are doing over here in Ohio!