We started in Tanzania, but had no idea back then of the adventure God would lead us on ...
Onward to Kenya, next to South Sudan, back to Kenya and now Uganda. Phew!
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November 2009- January 2014
On November 2nd, 2009, we arrived fresh from England, from the cold onset of winter, to the heat of Dodoma, Tanzania.
What a world away from London. And what a world away even from Kampala, where we find ourselves today.
Esther and Ben were just 3 and 1 years old as we began our Mission Aviation Fellowship adventure.
Here they are, so tiny and cute, standing in our Dodoma garden just a few days after their arrival on East African soil!
We were so excited for the work that Andrew would be doing with MAF! The Dodoma MAF hangar was right next door to our home, so it was easy for Esther and Ben to visit Dad at the start or finish of his flying days.
Andrew flew the smaller Cessna 206 aeroplane into the isolated, dusty airstrips of Tanzania, bringing missionaries, doctors, medical workers or church teams to share God's love:
We celebrated Esther's first day at "real" school early on during our time in Dodoma:
A year later, I led Ben across our hot and dusty MAF compound towards the school bus, for his first day at nursery school:
Two and a half years after arriving in Tanzania, Joel joined our family!
He learnt by early experience some of the more African traditions, such as how a baby should be carried:
We now had three little ones, keeping me out of mischief! I loved caring for these tiny tots at home while Andrew took to the Tanzanian skies.
On visits to the doctor or clinic, I learnt how to drive through Dodoma traffic (!!):
Towards the end of four years in Dodoma, we started plans to move to South Sudan. It was time for our family to bid farewell to dusty, dry Dodoma!
January 2014-July 2014
We didn't get to South Sudan as soon as we expected. Due to the South Sudan fighting of 2013, we had a 6-month detour in Nairobi. Six months where Andrew built up experience flying the larger Cessna 208 aeroplane. This was all helpful experience for South Sudan...
Nairobi for those interim six months was a tough life lesson. Lessons in patience, learning more about trusting God's plan for us when we couldn't see the way ahead. It was a new challenge, living unexpectedly in a different country, working with a different MAF team, with Esther and Ben at a new and very different school.
Nobody knew when, or even if, the fighting in South Sudan would abate. They didn't even know whether we could move there.
With all of our household goods packed up and stuck in far off Tanzania, we lived in a kind of limbo.
Looking back, it was a limbo which showed us that life goes on; that kind people can be found everywhere; that there are always blessings, despite the struggle of the unknown.
Our temporary Nairobi home, 2014:
August 2014- July 2016
Finally, in August 2014, we arrived at our next MAF home! Juba, South Sudan.
Andrew's flying was busy, but truly amazing.
Day after day, MAF planes in South Sudan carry food, supplies, medical help and pastoral care to impact the people of this war-torn land. A MAF plane can also bring a strong message of hope: that people care, but most of all, that their Creator cares and loves them.
This was a flight where I joined Andrew, transporting supplies and staff to remote Kuron. Here, a wonderful centre of training and education was established by the church:
All in a day's work.... snapshots of Andrew's work days:
(photo credit: LuAnne Cadd)
(photo credit: LuAnne Cadd)
Medical evacuation flight:
While Dad was busy, Joel joined the brand new, tiny JCA (Juba Christian Academy)- a pre-school set up by MAF and SIL missionary staff.
Joel's first day at school, surrounded by all of his school-mates:
Esther, Ben and their mum did home-school for the first few months in the front room of our house:
Thanks to a hugely generous gift from a supporting UK church, we soon moved into this fabulous classroom! It was set up a few minute's walk across our MAF compound:
South Sudan was intense. Rewarding. Exciting. Frightening. Hot. Exhausting. Eye-opening.
An incredible place, where I set out thinking I was going to work for God but instead found that He was working on me. Teaching me lessons about His goodness and constant love in the midst of hard work, struggles and conflict.
We saw miracles and transformation in the lives of people we met. We are especially grateful for the miracle of healing that God brought for our precious Joel, when he somehow contracted the extremely dangerous periorbital cellulitis. From this:
To this- our little boy is restored to full health:
I was so grateful that God sent us a brilliant doctor from England, just when we needed her and enabled me to find the correct medicine. We were in a city without good medical facilities; yet we are never in a city without our good Father God.
Two years of tight-knit compound living, deep friendships and a marvellously eclectic church community. Two years of sowing into my children's education, of late nights and weekends preparing lessons. Two years of deeply fulfilling work for Andrew, of getting to know beautifully resilient South Sudanese friends and colleagues. Two years of deep family bonding.
When we suddenly evacuated from South Sudan with the onset of the 2016 fighting, it was with heavy hearts.
Our hasty retreat, the sound of heavy gun-fire still ringing in our ears, was a difficult wrench from the place we called home. We carried with us rich and joyful memories, along with some more difficult memories. We look back now, smile at the photos of the happy times, the birthday parties, the people we met and are thankful for the happy memories AND for the harder lessons which we learnt on this part of our MAF adventure.
July- December 2016
Back to Kenya!
Andrew was thankfully able to continue flights in and out of South Sudan during its time of crisis and post-fighting. He often spent a week up in South Sudan, then a week with us in Kenya. Many aid organisations were able to continue their help to the people directly affected by the trauma and chaos of war.
Andrew also flew within Kenya, an extra pilot for the MAF Kenya team, so his days were busy.
Home-school continued, but in our new Nairobi home. We moved into the ground floor flat at Black Rose Appartments.
Peek through the open door at ground level, into our latest temporary home:
Here in Nairobi, Joel actually joined Esther and Ben for home-school. We bought him a little desk of his own:
Home-school in our Nairobi flat:
Ben celebrated his 9th birthday in this appartment. We felt so blessed, because God put an amazing community around us. Despite ending up in Nairobi unexpectedly again, there were two other MAF families temporarily placed at Black Rose at the same time, plus some lovely neighbours who came to celebrate special events with us:
When we organised Ben's birthday outing to Naiorbi's Quad Biking Track, there was no lack of friends to come and join him!
I am indebted to these two lovely MAF ladies who ended up living at Black Rose the same time as us: Ruth and Kathie:
December 2016- present-day November 2019
So here we are in Uganda!
Flying for MAF Uganda has a very different feel, according to my MAF pilot husband. For one thing, Uganda has a generally more pleasant climate.
In addition, the kinds of places he flies to and the organisations and passengers using MAF have a very distinct "Uganda" flavour compared to Tanzania, Kenya or South Sudan.
Two weeks ago, Andrew had a long day of flying, which involved two stops at neighbouring South Sudan airstrips. When he came home, he commented that flying in Uganda can cause him to forget how hot and how politically intense it can be flying in South Sudan.
For these past ten years of flying for Mission Aviation Fellowship, both Andrew and I consider it a huge privilege to have played a very small part in seeing hope and healing reach many through the MAF flights.
And whichever country Andrew is piloting his MAF plane in, there is extra joy on the flights where this pilot gets a chance to grab a welcome cup of tea from his thermos:
(photo credit Tim Parker)
As for our children, we are now the proud parents of a teenager! Despite growing up in East Africa, she was able to keep alive a little of her British heritage at a recent Bonfire Night event in Kampala. Time for Esther to sparkle!
Our boys embrace their east African childhood. With his typical enthusiasm, Ben tucked into a snack of fried grasshoppers on our drive across town last Saturday:
His younger brother shared the "tasty" (!!) treat and delighted to show his mum the graphic detail of this edible insect, before popping it into his mouth and swallowing it down:
For all its western development, the roads we drive on in Kampala can be of varied standards:
Even on the paved roads, there are stark reminders that this is definitely east Africa, with this rather angry looking bovine bearing down on my car last week as I attempted a drive to school:
A little throw-back to those early days, ten years ago, of learning to drive in dusty, undeveloped Dodoma!
It has been an amazing ten years. Ten years I am grateful to have lived and ten years I never could have made up if you had asked me, early in 2009, where I thought I might raise my children and see my husband work.
Through it all, I have seen over and over and over the faithfulness of a God who doesn't just call us to places we never could have dreamed of, but teaches us, equips us, protects us and provides for us along the way.
What an adventure! An African adventure, with God at the helm: I am so thankful for these last ten years with MAF!
