Living in Nigeria taught me lots of things. The most important was that God can be relied upon. There were so many occasions when we had no idea what to do; we didn't know the systems (often there weren't any), the systems could well be dysfunctional and some events were just out of anyone's control. I learned to turn to God first, not after all other options had been tried, but as the only one who could see me through. And he did. Always.
The solution usually didn't come instantly (though sometimes it did); sometimes it could be marked down as coincidence (although it was noticeable how often coincidences happened after we'd sent out the weekly prayer notes) but every time, God showed his love and care in simple, amazing and original ways.
That's still my experience in the UK as we move towards the work in South Africa. The process can be a bit of a rollercoaster but mountains appear and move aside, walls are broken through and, whatever the challenge, I am assured that in his time, God will take us through it.
I wrote the previous paragraphs a few weeks ago and never got round to publishing them. They are still very relevant, especially as yesterday our passports arrived, complete with multiple entry visas for South Africa, valid for three years. The plane tickets have been purchased and we fly from Manchester on November 1st.
When we realised in July that we'd have to go independently if we wanted to follow God's call (although is any follower of Christ really going independently if he/she is walking in faith?) we wondered if God was offering us the opportunity to demonstrate how he can get things done. He's certainly demonstrated it so far, despite the times when, constant deep waters of peace not withstanding, the waves on my surface got rather choppy. Now we look forward to serving him in South Africa with work that will bring benefits to nearly forty colleges in fourteen different African countries. What a privilege.
