birthdays from a distance

Our first grandchild turned 5 today and we had to settle for a phone call via video skype and joined with the family through technology. The wonders of internet banking allow for pressies the 'modern way' rather than trusting russian post.
He is a mad keen 'fire man' - and so his cake today was of 'Elvis' the fire fighting helicopter - check out the pic as the chopper lands and fills the tanks from the lake in the corner - ready for takoff - there is a big job to be done in victoria this week.

Yesterday my baby brother turned 52 and again a phone call was all we could manage - wait a minute - that's all he normally gets from me - but then again, this one was from Russia.

It is the special celebrations that cause you to miss home just a bit more - and with a big family there will be a few more of them before we come home. It is nice to know that we can at least say - we will be home this year - albeit for a few weeks as we return for Amey & Putts wedding scheduled for october.

We are blessed with technology and have a good internet connection and so this helps in staying in touch with our friends and family. It must have been tough on early day missionaries, travelling months on a ship and waiting for snail mail - if and when it came. We also at least draw a salary that alows us to live in relative comfort and in a more than comfortable furnished apartment a short walk from work. So there is nothing to complain about.

And whilst we acknowledge that we are are a long way away - the invitation stands if you want to come over - up or which ever way it is we are looking forward to who will be our first visitor. We have a spare bed but have not yet had to roll it out for anyone.
Please stay in touch - it helps us survive these days apart and for us then to do the job we came here to do.
Lyn

Our hearts go out to home

I am writing this from Moscow, one week after devastating bushfires have decimated parts of Victoria. These fires that have left over 1,800 people homeless, many people sustaining serious burns to their body as they fled the fires and the final death toll not yet known.( could be up to 300 dead) Victoria is the home of my birth and for all bar 6 years - where I have lived. Over 25 years of my Officer service have been in Victoria and over half of these years in the country. So it is a place I know well. My last appointment before coming to Moscow was to work as a drought officer in Northern Victoria - working in the very same areas most affected by these fires. In fact it is possible I have spoken to some of these people now facing the loss of their homes, their livlihoods with lost animals and feed - their farms destroyed. So in this area of Australia in its 10+ years of drought and now the worst fire in Australia's history one can only get a small sense of the devastation that these people now feel. For some who escaped with their lives left wondering why and how it all happened.

And so from this distance we watch the internet daily, we listen to live streaming of radio and we hear some of the stories from our friends in Aus that have been called on to work in the recovery centres.

Our hearts go out to home - we answer the many questions that are being asked about Australia as the Moscow news covers the story and the local people enquire. From this distance there is not much we can do. But we offer our prayers , believing in a God who is in control even when the world appears to have gone mad. We offer our prayers and best wishes to those who suffer and face a difficult recovery. We offer our prayers for those working in support roles. The police, the fire brigade, the medical people, the support people in disaster recovery centres, to family and friends - so many people affected in so many ways.

To our Salvation Army friends who are bearing extra burden and responsibility in these days we want to encourage you to stay safe, accept all the support you need to get the job done and may God give you the energy to keep at it for as long as is needed.
Blessings
Lyn