change of plans

We are back in Bedford again, and will be here probably until next May. We haven’t got 100% of our monthly support raised yet (we’re currently at 55%) and anyway have been advised by SIM Benin-Togo to wait until after our baby’s birth before leaving. They are concerned about the stress of moving abroad at the end of my pregnancy, and warned us that there is currently a shortage of doctors at the Evangelical hospital. The slightly frustrating thing is that by the time we get a passport for the baby (due mid-Jan), the hot season will have begun in Benin, and we’ve been told not even to consider moving out there before the end of it, in May.

We do believe that this is God’s will, and not just “chance”. It was good to be aiming to leave in November, as it made us get on well with preparations for leaving and with our support raising. But we believe that while it is right for us to make plans, we also need to allow God to guide our steps, and that does seem to have happened in a very clear way.

So what this means for now is that we have at least six months in the UK which we weren’t expecting to have. It is a bit of a limbo time, not having our own family home (though very grateful to be able to stay at my parents’) and not having a real sense of purpose. However, Marc is looking for temporary work, and Simon and I are starting to build up a social life! At least now that we’ve stopped moving around every week or so it becomes more possible to have a weekly routine and to build up friendships.

We are very happy to be able to get more involved with our church here, Christ Church Bedford. They have always welcomed us when we visited in the past and were very helpful supplying beds when we got married and had friends and family over from France. They are going to be supporting us in our work in Benin, so this is a good opportunity to get to know people better before we leave.