Happy New Year from London, England!

Hello all,
It's not actually the new year yet, still 2 and 1/4 hrs to go but I though I'd send out a quick update. After a very LOOOONG and not so great flight I arrived in London. I had a bit of trouble at customs, but they decided to 'graciously' allow me to enter the country for 2 days. After customs it was smooth sailing, although I don't remember much as I was rather sleep deprived. I managed to connect with my ride and after a pleasant drive arrived at my "aunt's" house. After a quick catch up, I went to bed for some much needed sleep. 2 hours later I got up (have to beat the jet-leg!) and went out shopping. Although still very tired, it was a nice way to catch up with family whom I haven't seen in years, and meet the new little ones. I was invited out to a New Years bash, but decided that 3 nights with no sleep was a bit much for me. So after I sign off I will have a celebratory cup of tea and then hit the sack. I fly tomorrow at 6pm, prayers would be greatly appreciate. It might get kinda sticky trying to get a temporary work visa.
I will try to write again once I have arrived at Sakeji.

Happy New Year one and all! God bless in 2010!

And so it begins...

Hey All,
I haven't actually left Canada, but this is probably the last chance I'll get to go online before I do leave. I can't believe how quickly time has flown by this past week! Technically (as i'm writing this in the wee hours of Tuesday morning) i'll be boarding the plane for London tomorrow night! I just realized I'm not ready for that yet! Tomorrow will be a very busy day! Packing up and driving back to Guelph, unpacking from Christmas holiday trip and packing up for Zambia trip. Somewhere in there i have a million little errands to run and things to finish before i leave. Good thing my family is around to help! ;)

Thank you all for your continued prayers, I will especially appreciate them as I travel. I'm not worried about my saftey so much as the fact that I'm a bit "directionally challenged" at times and can get lost or turned around quite easily... not a good thing when travelling alone. So hopefully I'll catch all the right flights and not end up somewhere I shouldn't!

well I should sign off and get some sleep.
hope to hear from you,
Beth

PS. one more thing, while i'm thinking about it: please pray for my brother Chris, his wife Laura and her family as they deal with the death of Laura's brother. The family just found out about this tragedy just before Christmas. I can't give you very many details as I don't know myself, but it was a sudden loss and not caused by an illness.

Heading to Sudbury

I spent the majority of today sorting and packing and cleaning and sorting... not my favourite stuff to do but it needs to be done. As I said in my last post, I have far too much stuff, and it's so hard to pare it down to the bare essentials! The other confusing part is that I'm packing for my Christmas trip to Sudbury (winter clothing) and for my missions trip to Zambia (summer clothing) at the same time. A few times the clothes got into the wrong piles etc. but I think it's all sorted out now :)



This week I have been desparately trying to find a place for my cat to stay while I am away. Although this may seem like a small thing, it is not so easy to do! I have to thank the Lord for some great friends though as they put the word out and now it looks like I won't have to take Pitouq to the Pound after all! God is good :)

Well, I leave Guelph for Sudbury tomorrow around noon. I am truly sorry to my friends whom I haven't been able to say good-bye to, but I'd like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas!

Last week in Guelph

A quick update. As of today i have finished with my vaccines (yay!) and seem to have all the paperwork in order with the exception of my work visa. My travel plans have been confirmed and I even have somewhere to stay for the 2 days I will be in London. Things seem to be falling into place all on their own, however I know God has His hand in all of this.

I want to thank everyone who has given me little things to take to my students and the village children in the area. The kids are going to love all the fun toys and stickers etc. Thank you for your generosity! Sadly I must ask that if you have anything else to send that you please mail it to my at Sakeji. I have just spent the last hour and 1/2 sorting through my 'take to Africa' pile of boxes and bags and realized I'm going to have to sit and figure out what I NEED and what I can live without for 8 months. As my family knows well, I have always had trouble packing 'lightly' so I have a big job ahead of me! I figure if i get started now, maybe i'll have it cut down to a managable weight by Saturday, which is my 'packing day'.

This is my last week in Guelph before I leave. I will be heading up to Sudbury next Sunday to spend some time with my parents over Christmas and then heading to Kingston for a visit with Meredith, Dan and Aeryck before catching my flight on the 30th. I can't believe how quickly time is flying by!

Getting started

I though I should start with a brief update of what I will be doing in Zambia and what has to be done before I go.

I have been commended from my church, Arkell Road Bible Chapel, through MSC Canada to Sakeji Mission School for 8 mths. I will be teaching Grades 1&2 at Sakeji in the North Western Province of Zambia. There will be other duties I will be assigned, but I don't know what they are at this time. As Sakeji is a boarding school, some of the duties may include dorm life and after school/weekend activities. If you want to check out Sakeji, their website is www.sakeji.org .

My flights have been booked, so I leave Canada on Dec. 30th. I will have a short layover in London and will arrive in Lusaka in the early hours of the morning of Jan 2nd. From there I will be traveling (most likely by car) to Sakeji (this obviously still needs to be worked out).

My biggest concern was getting my Work Permit on time. As it turns out, this will not be happening. I will have to get a temporary work visa when i arrive, then I will need to return to Lusaka once my permit is processed. Please pray that this works out ok!

I was supposed to have already got my vaccines for my trip, but do to a misunderstanding at the Doctors office, this did not happen. Also because of the H1N1 scare with everyone trying to get vaccinated for that, it has been difficult finding a clinic that can squeeze me in. I did however manage to make an appointment for Friday, so I'm praying things will work out better this time.

Thanks for your prayers and best wishes!

If you wish to make donations for my trip, this can be done through MSC Canada. ww.msccanada.org