Chris writes: Today is Wednesday and time is racing past. tomorrow is my last shift with bcha in Bournemouth. Lorraine has not been working this week which in a sense is a relief as we have to get everything packed, some stuff back to the flat, last few emails, and catching up with one or two people. We plan to leave for the north early on Friday morning, seeing friends and family before heading back south mid-next week then Kent next weekend for the Smile reunion and leave on the Monday. we are both writing lists after lists and trying to stay focused!!

Lorraine writes- Today saw our church family and friends get together after the service for a bring and share lunch. It was great to spend time with friends who are dear to us; to chat and laugh together. The final sorting and packing for our big off is underway and we have been so blessed by many words of encouragements.

Chris writes: the day went really well and it was good to see so many of our friends and family there to support us. During the service we shared a little - i spoke about the three things which had encouraged me 1) all the many people who had supported and encouraged us and it felt like they were going with us in a sense 2) was the ripple effect what we are doing seems to be having on other people and the many people Christian and non who have been inspired and motivated by what we are doing - it is quite humbling and something we would never have imagined 3) I don't know much about timescales when you are starting off in missionary work but three months from the date we got accepted to the date we actually fly seems pretty good - doing things like renting the flat which happened almost straight away (with a gulp at the time!) plus packing all our stuff into boxes and suitcases and storing some in the loft; moving in with families around Bournemouth; setting up new accounts; starting a new old job for me; besides getting the newsletters out and raising the money - we had to have at least three months in the back with the rest pledged (this seemed a mountain in itself!) - when we go next week we should have virtually all the money we need until July 2009!! Now i don't want to get super spiritual here or anything but to me, with or without the theology degree(!) that all kind of implies that God is firmly in what we are doing and He has not only opened a door for us but OPENED THE FLOODGATES!!!

The journey to actually living in Kosova started for us in what seemed a relatively simple way. Lorraine had grown tired with her career and needed a change. she moved to Kent and worked for Smile International organising their aid, this included several visits to kosova, part of the former Yugoslavia which had been ravaged by the war during the late 1990s. When marriage plans took over she left Kent and Smile behind and moved briefly back home to Reading and finally Christchurch to settle into married life with Chris. The move enabled Chris to complete his time at Moorlands Bible College as a college based rather than placement based student. Things were moving into place. This enabled Chris to have a period of five week block placement and the offhand comment was made about Kosova which Lorraine thought was a great idea - Chris was not so sure! As the time grew closer Lorraine was not so sure either! Five weeks in Kosova was a great test of our marriage - still less than a year old. We both Struggled - Chris was homesick and Lorraine found the flat large and lonely. Chris returned home with a great sense of relief and never expected to return. However it seemed that God had other plans for us concerning the country and in June of 2008 we returned as a couple this time able to share experiences.

On our last day with our bags all packed we visited Krushe, a place Chris had visited on his own and which had made quite an impact on him. While there we found out about a vacancy for a couple as volunteer managers. Chris had been searching all over for employment and no doors had opened so we persued this new opportunity very gingerly - rejecting at first owing to the lack of money involved! Eventually however we could reject it no longer so we started the application process. The constraints of email made this process a little uncertain at times but finally on the 10th of August we received an email to say we had been accepted! A mixture of elation and panic followed! The next three months became a blur but a great testimony to the goodness of God and of His hand being upon our journey to Kosova all along! We rented the flat almost straight away and moved in with various people in the Bournemouth area, sorting bank accounts, setting up giving accounts, set up newsletters, continuing or finishing and starting new jobs as roles switched around but thankfully we both ended up with full time employment, and waiting on God as we watched Him moving people to give - and give they did! We needed to have three months behind us in the bank and the rest of the year pledged before we could start life in Kosova. We set a target of being in Kosova before the end of November - which seemed very soon for our managers - ultimately we knew there was a vacancy and wanted to fill it asap. We looked at booking the flight and settled for 10th November - though we did not realise at the time precisely three months to the day after we had been accepted!! We can only but give the credit to our amazing God! Though we might have lacked the faith at first and have planned other ways if there was a shortfall - we need not have worried. To date (25/10/08) we have more than covered our first three months and are well over halfway towards the remainder with other gifts still promised! We move forward in our journey to Kosova in the grace and strength of our awesome God!!