Too many goodbyes!!!

January is one of those months when the goodbyes come uncomfortably thick and fast :-(  It's a month when we lose many of our Masters students. People from far and wide who have become good friends; people who, God willing, I dearly hope to see again some day.

So, to all my Egyptian friends - Omar, Heba, Shaimaa and others ... To my Brazilian friends - Raphaela, Livia, Luiza, Andrea, Cibele and all those wonderful girls who were so faithful at TABLEtalk ... To my Turkish girls - Sinem, Ozge & Selin ... To Lieke, Flavia and all those leaving in this coming month ... PLEASE keep in touch and let me know how and where life leads you.

Emma, Anu, Flavia, Lieke, Eadom, Alex, Sinem, Ozge, Prem, Wisnu
"Anu, thank you so very much for this wonderful print. Please don't leave without saying a proper goodbye."

Tashfeen, Joyce, Shaimaa, me, Omar
"Omar, I hope you've had a good journey back to Egypt! I wish you all God's blessings for your future."

Heba, Omnia, me, Shaimaa
"Heba & Shaimaa, thank you so much for coming to say goodbye. It has been such a blessing to get to know you both and I thank you for all your support and encouragement. Who knows, maybe one day I'll get to visit Egypt :-)
Heba, I trust you had a safe journey home? Shaimaa, let's have lunch
before you leave :-)
Omnia, it's great to welcome you to Medway. Do come along to some of our events
and make some new friends."

Flavia, me, Lieke
"Flavia & Lieke, so great to have lunch with you today. It's been lovely to meet you both and have lots of laughs. Do please keep in touch and come visit again sometime!"

Our World Cafe is back!!!

Do come and join us  ...  every Wednesday between 12-2pm in Blake building.  A great place to make friends and have a break from your studies, whilst enjoying some FREE coffee and cake :-)

Our first TABLEtalk of 2015

With a good number of our Masters students heading back home this month, we weren't sure how many would come to our first TABLEtalk of this term.  It was a great evening though ... 37 students came, including at least 15 newcomers.
Thanks Nishyank for all your great photos :-)

Hedbanz was a new game for many ...
it really is harder than it looks!!

Hmmmmm ... I think someone is cheating!!!

 

Welcome to Medway

One thing I sooooooooooooooo enjoy is working alongside my university colleagues to welcome new students to the UK and to help, in the smallest of ways, prepare them for their time here.

Throughout the day a variety of people presented information on cultural issues, visas, health care, safety, finding work, etc.



We had 37 new Masters students in attendance, many of whom are in the UK for the very first time.  

Here the students look a little overwhelmed and nervous but our desire is that they will soon be happy at their choice of university and course; and that they will find ways of overcoming all aspects of culture shock and homesickness.

Thanks Katie for letting me be part of these great days!! Thanks too to Saka, Tashfeen and Juhi who took part in our student panel; and to Aiste & Vincent to gave tours of the campus.

Happy New Year!

The New Year stands before us,

like a chapter in a book,

waiting to be written.

I wish you all a very Happy New Year, one filled with new opportunities and experiences, much laughter and joy, and the chance to grow in faith and love and character.
The start of a new year is one of my favourite times - I can look back with a thank-filled heart on all that has been and look forward with excitement about what's ahead.  As I look at the blank pages of the year ahead I know that there are adventures to be had, people to meet who will enrich my life, and challenges ahead that will help shape who I am. 
As many will know my faith, as a Christian, is central to all that I am and all that I do; and I thought I would share with you one of my favourite passages from our Holy Bible. This is the essence of my faith ...

Ephesians 1:3-14

^3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.

^7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
^11-12 It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.
^13-14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first instalment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life.

May Light always surround you;

Hope kindle and rebound you.

May your Hurts turn to Healing;

Your Heart embrace Feeling.

May Wounds become Wisdom;

Every Kindness a Prism.

May Laughter infect you;

Your Passion resurrect you.

May Goodness inspire 

your Deepest Desires.

Through all that you Reach For, 

May your arms Never Tire.

On a personal note ...

Christmas is a time to be with family.  As much as I love my job and miss all my lovely students (my international family), it was great to have two weeks holiday to just chill and do very little :-)

My Dad is the epitome of minimalist when it comes to Christmas decorations ... so the first thing I did when I arrived home was go to the garden to find a suitable something to represent a Christmas tree :-)

However, before Christmas Day came there were other celebrations to be had ... 

On Christmas Eve (Dec 24th) my Dad celebrated his 80th birthday :-)  Or in Basel's words, he turned 20 for the fourth time!!!

The evening before the big day Tony & Sarah (my brother and sis-in-law) and I took Dad out for a scrumptious Indian feast. None of us are great party people so Dad's birthday itself was also simply enjoyed with the family ...

Tony (my brother)  -  Heather (my niece)  -  Sarah (sis-in-law)  -  Birthday Boy Bill
Me  -  James (my nephew) with baby Jonah & his wife Lydia

Amongst other gifts, Tony and I gave Dad a photograph book of his life entitled 'EIGHTY and counting'.  Here's Dad showing some of the pictures to His great-grandon Jonah.

Christmas Day itself was again enjoyed at Tony & Sarah's, along with Heather and Sarah's parents.  We ate a scumptious meal, opened lovely presents and enjoyed each others company.

All in all it was just far too much excitement for some people!!!

Wear Red for Ruby ... re-visited

Whilst I didn't win anything in the raffle :-(  I was thrilled to be part of this great fundraising event which raised £2400 for Ruby.

Well done to Kate, Lynn and others who worked so hard in all the planning and preparation, and especially on the day itself!!

Aiste and I got ourselves in the local paper, along with various other staff members and volunteers.