And so the adventure begins

So its been a hectic week. My friends and family gave me a great send off at home. Somebody said to me recently that there is always a cost of everything you do for God. Wise words!!! The lives of my family and friends will be moving forward, as will mine. I'm sure there will be quite a few things that I will miss out on.

I finally rented the flat out at the 11th hour. On Wednesday at 4pm i recived the confirmation that a girl would take it. I was leaving for the airport 2 hours later. Why does God always work like that? Ansers on a postcard

Anyway Im in Kampala now. Its been a great few days meeting the Medair staff here and geting to know the city. On Friday I recieved my visa for the DR Congo, so on Monday I will fly to Bunia and then on to Isiro.

It feels good to be here. For now this is the right place for me to be. There is nothing quite like walking in the will of God, even when you consider the costs that might be involved.

Boring admin details

A few people have asked me how they can send parcels etc out to me in the DR Congo. As you'd suspect the postal system in the Congo ain't the best so Medair have suggested sending anything to Uganda and it will get to me in the DRC. Ther address details are

Medair, PO box 33333, Kampala, Uganda

For giving financially I'd suggest using this site http://www.stewardship.org.uk/christian_workers.htm
That way I will recieve the gift aid. I won't be posting my bank details on here but if you want them either leave a comment on here, drop me an e-mail or look for the details of the mission partners on the Ivy website. Thanks

What im doing???

Ive just come back frm 4 days in Switzerland with Medair. I was there for my HQ briefing. It was pretty much information overload, but all very interesting. Specifically i learnt a lot more about my role as a Logistics and Finance Manager for the projects in Isiro. I guess my role is really a support role fot projectds which are mostly medical related, delivering mobile clinics, HIV projects etc.

So what am i looking forward to and what am i getting nervous about. The idea of working for Medair is very attractive I have no doubt God is calling me to a career in relief work. I think i really connected with the orgnaisation and the people there, it seems to be the right fit, hopefully for them and me. I am excited about the role, about renewing my French, about being part of the Medair family but most of all, about serving the most vulnerable people in the DR Congo.

Knowing what im like though, i need to be caerful about managing exectations, and thats twofold. Managing my expectations of of the other guys on my team, the local staff (i think i will have about 20-30 reporting to me) but also trying to understand their expectations of me. By nature, im a pleaser - I hate letting people down and don't like making mistakes. Ok, lets be realistic for a minute - in the first few months i expect to make a few mistakes but i guess im a little nervous about this aspect of being a relief worker for Medair.

Where am i going

You can see the town of Isiro in the far North East of the DR Congo, towards the Sudan and Ugandan borders. Isiro is the capital of Haut-Uele Province. A bit more about the situation in the DR Congo below (i took this info from Reliefweb). Its often described as a chronic conflict and the first civil and regional war began in 1996

A recent mortality survey carried out by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) claims that war, disease, and malnutrition area are killing 45,000 Congolese every month in this conflict-driven humanitarian crisis, which has claimed 5.4 million victims in nearly a decade. Most of these deaths are due to easily treatable and preventable diseases through the collapse of health systems

If you are interested to read more about the DR Congo, I'd recommend looking at various sites on the net, Medair, Releief Web, Alertnet.org are all good starting points.

Why Im going

For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? "He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

Isiro, DR Congo

Im back in Manchester now after after my week in the Netherlands with Medair. It is very difficult to know how to summarise such an intense week, but i can certainly say i've learnt a lot about humanitarian work, about living and working in a team and about myself. I've been back at home for 10 days and im still processing all that happened. It was great to be in that environment though, surrounded by so many passionate, committed and professional people from all over the world

during the week i was spoken to about a Finance and logistics role in the DR Congo, in a town called Isiro. There was so much to take in during the ROC that i didn't want to make any decisons there and then. I've since had contact with Medair and feel there is where God is leading me. Its looking like I will be heading out there in June. Excitement, awe, fear, some degree of panic - these are some of the emotions im feeling right now, all normal im told. I will post more details about my role in the near future. Thanks for everybodys encouragement and prayers - you're all amazing!!!

The ROC

Its arrived finally!!! Very early on Saturday morning I fly to Amsterdam for the ROC, which is Medair's training week. I expect to be learning lots about relief work, this will be my introduction humanitraian aid and Medair's mandate within that context. I thought that I would be feeling nervous and apprehensive as this moment approached, but i've got to say im really looking forward to it. Not sure if thats because i've been so busy recently ...I think its more to do with my outook on life though. I always get excited by a new adventure!!!

It promises to be an intense week as I start to understand what it means to be living the life of a relief worker. I believe this is where God wants me, I have a real peace about that. I hope things come together as the week unfolds, that a role and place within the organisation becomes clear for me. Thats where i will really need your prayers I think.

I really believe in Medair's programmes. They literally work amongst the most vulnerable people on earth, in some of the most forgotten crises across Africa and Asia. It will be interesting, no doubt about that.