We are finally back Zambia after 5 weeks of travelling in the U.K. (including a beach trip!) and this morning I’m feeling very thankful. While still tired, just waking up this morning in our new house and making a cup of tea, knowing we don’t have to pack or travel anywhere today is such a good feeling.
I actually woke up at sunrise, so about 5.45am, which is earlier than I’d hoped, but it’s been nice just to sit and think back on our U.K. visit and some of the other good things from the end of last year.
The main purpose of our visit was to see people and we certainly did a lot of that. We were hosted and cared for by so many different people, enjoying good food and hospitality everywhere we went. Being the run up to Christmas I guess it was inevitable we would be feasting quite a lot of the time (and my waistline certainly shows it) but one thing I was especially pleased about was that we actually shared communion 4 times in that short period of time. I can’t remember that happening before in my life! It’s been far more normal to share Communion once a fortnight, once a month or in Zambia often even less frequently than that.
In mid November, at the end of our DTS outreach in Nsanje, Malawi, we shared communion with Pastor Rodgers and his extended family. I’d agreed with Him a few days before that it would be a nice way to conclude our time together but hadn’t realised until during the Pastor’s introduction to the evening that I was speaking and leading the time! What came to mind were simply Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 10:17 that ‘Though we are many, we are one body because we all share in the one loaf’.
There we were, people from Zambia, Canada, Sweden, England and of course Malawi, gathered in the semi-dark with small fires lit around us to keep away mosquitos, about to share communion because the Lord had brought us together. If it weren’t for Jesus we would never have met one another nor have had much at all in common or to celebrate. But God has united His people through the death of His son and it was so good to share in that. And I was grateful that Pastor Rodgers (below) had actually prepared a loaf of bread to distribute!
When we arrived in the U.K. on the Sunday 1st December it was early in the morning and the kids without question needed sleep. Gemma and I though, seemed to get a second wind and so headed to our sending church for their morning service. We were scheduled to attend a week later so people were quite surprised (pleasantly) to see us. It was so good to see people again and when we broke bread together it seemed particularly poignant - Though we’d been away, we were still one body. We then visited St. Boniface church in Birmingham, who sent us to Zambia back in 2010 for 6 years, and again we found ourselves sharing communion. In fact, despite not being around long, we actually shared the bread and wine with them on 2 occasions during the Christmas period.
On our final day in the U.K. and the first Sunday of 2025 we again shared communion at Hockliffe Street. We would be heading to Gatwick later that day but with hearts assured of God’s love for us and His body. To know Him and unity with His people across the world is no small thing! It’s the kind of feasting and fellowship our hearts continually need.
As I’m reflecting on all we fitted into our 5 week stay in England, I’m also very pleased to report that we managed to fit into our car, our 8 x 23kg bags plus hand luggage! We needed 2 cars to get it all to Gatwick, 3 full trolleys to get to check in and a minibus to collect us at 1.30am when we landed in Lusaka! How the next day I managed to pack all of it into the back of our car to drive back to Mkushi I’m not exactly sure! I keep thinking we must have left something behind (but no, it’s all here - kitchen blinds, bathroom shelves, cook books and nerf guns(!) - it all made it!!
So yes, praising God for today, for all He’s done and for all of you who show us your love and support in so many ways. 🙌🏻🙏🏻
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