Christmas Greetings from John, Carol, Charlotte & David

Happy Christmas from John, Carol, Charlotte and David

Each year, at Christmas, we look forward so very much to receiving news of what you have been doing and it is a real pleasure to read the mail that we receive. Thank you for keeping in touch. We do hope that you will have a very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year. May God bless you richly at this special time of the year. Carol and I feel that we have entered into another phase of our lives together this year. David and Charlotte have not quite left us – yet! – but for much of the year we really were home alone.

David did leave us in mid January to take a round the world trip and this was the highlight of his “gap year” before starting at Staffordshire University, this Autumn. As you can imagine, we missed him very much indeed but he had a great time in Thailand, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, the Cook Islands and the west coast of the USA. Just before David left us, we celebrated Carol's Dad's 70th birthday with a family meal in the New Forest: Mum also celebrated her 70th birthday this year in April with another family celebration and, in August, Mum and Dad marked their Golden Wedding Anniversary with two garden parties and a surprise trip in a black Bentley back to the village and church where they were married. In fact it's been quite a year of family celebrations as Charlotte reached the grand old age of 21 in May and she's had a pretty eventful year too ....

As part of her course in International Relations at Lincoln, Charlotte was encouraged to consider using all or part of her summer holiday volunteering or travelling. Recognising that she would like her final year dissertation to have a South East Asian focus, Charlotte approached a number of NGOs and finally found the opportunity she was seeking with Global Volunteer Network – a New Zealand based charity. After making all the necessary arrangements (including having an interview via the Internet!), Charlotte left us in August to travel to Tam Ky in Central Vietnam via Singapore and Saigon. After a number of adventures involving over-booked planes and consequently mislaid bags, Charlotte began work on the four GVN projects that she was attached to. These were in a baby orphanage, a home for slightly older children, a local village project and an English language programme for both staff and their children at the local hospital. 

Just before Charlotte began there was a typhoon off the coast and around 85 fishermen from the local village died. Many of the children in the Home Of Affection had actually arrived just before Charlotte because the widows of the fishermen were no longer able to care for them. At the weekends, Charlotte was often able to travel away from Tam Ky. She spent some time in Hoi An, about an hour and a half north of Tam Ky, describing it as “a really picturesque town and famous for it's many tailors. The tailors can pretty much make anything you like and if you take a magazine cutting..even better! Everything is made to measure so you know it will fit and if it doesn't they alter it straight away! It's amazing and very addictive!” So much for Charlotte quitting her 'shopping habit'!!

Not to be outdone Carol and John have also done their fair share of travelling again this year starting with a trip to the west coast of Africa in January. After a short stay in Nairobi we visited Mount Kenya, Aberdares, the Masai Mara and the spice island of Zanzibar. An African friend here in the UK arranged for us to enjoy a rather special meal one evening in Kenya and, during our time in the vast open spaces of the Mara, we met and formed close friendships with a young American, a UNESCO aid leader and a delightful couple from the west of England. With the help of our safari driver/guide whose name was Evans(!) we also had some extraordinary close encounters with fantastic animals which rather squashed John's earlier view that “it would have been cheaper to go to Longleat!” In June we enjoyed a week on the Amalfi Coast with 'old' friends Fiona and Richard (Richard and John were best men for each other back in '82!) and then we returned to Fuerteventura for some sun, sea and sand in October.

The Autumn has seen Carol busy with Cliff's UK tour – still two more dates to go in Dublin at the time of writing! Look out for her on the tour DVD due to be released on 27th November as she was in the front row at Wembley the night it was recorded – the white cowboy hat is a bit of a give away!! Work continues to be uncertain for both Carol and John but we trust that God holds our future in His hands and will provide for us whatever our employers decide! Church-life is ever busy and exciting as we see growth both in faith and numbers. We are in the process of purchasing a large warehouse in the town for our church centre as the local theatre where we currently meet is getting too small. Other family news: John's Mum keeps relatively well though has had a few problems with her blood pressure lately which her GP is working on.

Carol's sister, Rachel, and her husband Lee are looking forward to the arrival of a baby brother for Naoma (11) and Louis (20 months), due just before Christmas. We are looking forward to having Charlotte and David home with us and catching up with various friends and family members over the Christmas period. We send you our love and hope to see some of you in 2007?!

5 San Feliu Court, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3TR T: 01342 326730 E:jfivesanfeliu@tiscali.co.uk