Reflecting on the year...
As we look back over our first year with MAF we have so many things to be grateful for. We have had a year full of exciting changes with a lot of surprises, and through it all we have a constant hope that lies before us. Each new day we are given the opportunity to lift up our hands in praise, giving thanks to a creative God that guides us with his Spirit each day. Learning to rest in His presence and be restored by his peace has been vital to survival so far from home.
The year hasn't been without trials, there has been bouts of sickness both in body and in heart when missing home. Our settling into the community has meant we have faced loneliness and often felt fatigued in an environment that has challenged us and helped us grow.
In all of this we have grown as a couple, closer together and stronger as a unit; and now we have grown into a family as we adapt to our newest addition. Sadie is a joy and also has brought new lessons to be learned, which have helped us lean on God, as well as priceless moments that have been a joy indescribable.
New friendships have been made over the last year, and also some friends have gone. Family has visited to encourage us, and we have also bid farewell to some, not to meet again until eternity. Each moment slipping into the past as grains of sand out of our hands, we have learned to appreciate the here and now, leaning into each moment with a spirit of thankfulness and gratitude for the bountiful life that we have, because we love and are loved.
We look to the next year ahead, and are excited to see what is on the horizon as we continue to journey into a future full of excitement, unpredictable and refreshing as we go forward.
David, Kimberley and Sadie
