Even though Agum (almost 8 years) was not able to travel with us to the UK she did stay with our very dear and precious friends, Bob and Patricia Nyanja in Kenya. There she had a massive 2 week sleepover with their 3 daughters Rahel (8), Akini (5) and Ushi (2)! Loads of fun. Here’s a picture of the gang (minus Ushi) on one of their rare get-togethers when we meet up in Nairobi.
From Top: Hannah; Rahel; Agum; Akini; Jed
Agum was very OK with us going and she had the option for Daddy to stay behind with her but wanted to stay with the Nyanja’s. She said she only cried once at night when she missed us so much. Seeing her after that long time just brought such a joy to my heart. Next step…adoption!
Sabet, Suzy, Hannah and Jed watching the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace
What a blast we had in England visiting my family and churches for 2 weeks after six long years away. My sister Emily collected us from Heathrow airport. I have only seen her with her kids one time in the last 6 years for only an hour during a flight stopover. She lives only 40 minutes North of Heathrow and 20 minutes from the center of London on the train, so we were very well situated for our visiting and site seeing.
One thing I needed to do was renew mine and Hannah’s UK passports, so Emily had arranged for us to do that in one day during a trip to London. So much easier than flying from Sudan to Kenya where they send the application to Pretoria, SA and it takes up to 6 weeks!!
One of the joys of serving on the mission field is the other missionaries we meet and the churches that want to hear about our work. Both weekends while we were in UK we shared our ministry with churches.
10 years ago when I was pregnant with Hannah we attended Mildenhall Baptist Church. During that time we were only there a few months but the congregation loved on us and prayed over us making us feel so special. We have so many fond memories of our time fellowshipping there. Going back and seeing old friends was wonderful and refreshing. Thank you especially to Jessica who hosted us and cared for the kids while I tried to get over the remnants of my malaria. We thoroughly enjoyed her spoiling us with fabulous home cooked food.
I also got to visit a couple of friends I went to school with, one I’ve known since I was 12! It was a bit odd not having my Mum there as she moved to Florida 5 years ago.
My dear Auntie Pat was a fabulous ‘mum’ substitute though, hosting our family so we could catch up with family, cousins and celebrate my birthday. We walked along Southend promenade, a favorite spot when we were kids, ate icecream and proper English Fish and Chips!! My dad traveled from the The Isle of Man to spend a few days with us, it really was the perfect birthday for me after being gone for six years. My kids got to try all my British favorite treats.
Believe it or not we also have a Legoland in UK, which we have in California. My sister treated us to a family day of fun and Jed was elated as Lego is his favorite toy. The weather cooperated, we had high 20’s for most of our time in UK, which was the warmest September since 1865! It was great to have Hannah and Jed spend quality time with their cousins Dylan and Harry.
Another church that we shared with is a Calvary Chapel church plant called Servants Church. It was planted by US missionaries John and Sarah Brown. My cousins that live close to the church came and heard us share, it was a brilliant weekend catching up with family and friends. We had a wonderful time fellowshipping and praying with Pastor John and Sarah and seeing how the Lord is leading their ministry. They blessed us with a Bed and Breakfast to unwind and relax in, it was fabulous. We hope to host a team from their church in Sudan next year.
We had the perfect end to a perfect trip by taking the kids to London for 2 days to experience some English culture. First day we visited the museums, which were free and something our kids never do and eating dinner at the Rainforest Café in Piccadilly Circus! What a treat. The second day we went for more touristy stuff: Changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace (made me cry), walked to Westminster Abbey and saw where prince William and Princess Catherine got married (which really impressed Hannah), saw Houses of Parliament and Big Ben (the one thing on Jed’s to-do list) took a boat trip down the River Thames to the Tower of London, saw Tower bridge actually open and let a massive boat through (apparently it only happens about 5 times a month), visited a beefeater at the Tower of London, rode the underground and saw a west end musical for half price. It was brilliant – Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Wizard of Oz starring Michael Crawford!! The kids were mesmerized; it truly was a memorable and fantastic time. We ended our day in London having dinner with friends from Kenya, David and Monica Hill.
So that was our holiday in a nutshell. The hardest part was saying goodbye to daddy (Sabet) at the airport as he went to the USA for the prayer walk and we went back to Kenya to get Agum and return to Sudan.
First I want to say that God is so faithful, He pressed it upon my heart to travel with malaria tests and treatment from Sudan, so I was well prepared when the malaria hit. Thank you to all that prayed for me. I had a confirmed positive malaria test the night before I was supposed to fly from Kenya to UK. Many of you prayed and there was a significant improvement by the morning so I traveled as planned. Malaria is a bit tricky as the symptoms are up and down, one minute you feel OK and then you can’t function again. I believe the combination of prayer and early treatment prevented the malaria from taking over my body. On the flight I had a relapse, where Sabet had to sit Jed on his lap for most of the flight so I could lay across 2 seats. What a great hubby I have! On arrival at Heathrow, we were allowed to clear together as a family through the UK citizen channel, which meant Sabet did not have to stand for hours in an immigration line and I got to sit down again quickly. A nice man came up to me at the baggage claim and said how glad he was to see me walking as he was so concerned about me on the flight. I guess I looked a lot sicker than I realized even though I thought I was containing it very well. Probably having two sweaters on and three airline blankets over me, shivering uncontrollably as I sweat profusely was an indication things were not good!
Thank you for praying, the malaria continued to come and go for a few days after arrival, mainly late afternoons and evenings until the following Monday morning (yesterday) and now I feel fine.
Thanks so much for praying, we have really felt your prayers these last 24 hours. Suzy went to bed early and slept really well. She woke up and took her second dose of medication before we headed to the airport. She is still aching and having fever but the Lord gave her strength and we traveled as planned. By the time you receive this we will be in the UK and preparing for visiting family, friends and our church family there.
I will be in USA from October 1st- November 6th, and I’m available for speaking at churches and small groups. If you are in the San Diego/Orange County area I would love to see you while I am there.
Suzy will return to Kenya in 2 weeks and collect our daughter Agum before returning to Sudan.
Please keep Agum in your prayers and our staff and compound in Sudan.
Please pray for my wife Suzy as we are preparing to fly to the UK in less than 12 hours and she just tested positive for malaria. Malaria often comes when the body is compromised and tired and Suzy has done so much in the past few weeks with the ambulance and cataract clinic team. We arrived in Nairobi on Monday night and then spent the last 2 days in Nairobi moving our belongings from the mission house we use when in Kenya to storage at a friends house. Suzy’s been packing the house, packing for Agum (who is staying with friends in Nairobi) and packing the family to go to UK where we plan to visit her family and church family after 6 years of absence. Today she felt tired and said her body ached and we thought it was due to the stress of moving and working around the clock. But as the day went on she said she felt she was having malaria. As the malaria has been so high in Tonj this season we carried tests and treatment for the family in case we get sick in UK. So I tested her tonight and yes it is positive. She will take her first dose of 6 treatments tonight and the second in the morning. We have been waiting for this trip for a long time so please pray she is well enough to travel.
