Welcome to our Flat!

First I should let everyone know that for the next few days there will be a lot of posts that are back tracking the events that have taken place in Newcastle thus far...I know I apologize for all the reading. I promise I will not be bombarding you all with hundreds of posts each day!!! Just bare with me, while I catch everyone up to speed.

Our Flat:

We finally moved in to our flat on Sept. 1st! We found this flat when we first arrived in Newcastle, but unfortunately found out that it would not be available until the beginning of Sept.

Outside our flat in August after finding out we got it!

However, it was a perfect distance for Dave to get to school, and close access to the Metro for me for work, and when we saw it, we loved it! So our letting agent (kind of like a real estate agent) made some phone calls and found us a flat to rent for the month of august until we could move into the flat we wanted!

Eating our first traditional "Bangers and Mash" in our first flat.

Although we only brought 4 hockey bags with us (at the time we thought that was a lot) we seemed to have accumulated quite a bit of material in one months time. So I called a taxi (asking specifically for a van) and I set out on a mission of trying to fit everything in. (Unfortunately we do not have photo evidence of this).

Dave is at school almost everyday (all day) and at first was a huge adjustment.

Dave with his Med. School Books!

Where Dave spends most of his time!

Dave's first day of Medical School

I can't say that I enjoy how little I see him now haha, but I have certainly had to grow and simply learn how to take over many of the tasks that he took care of. To be honest, I have come to appreciate Dave so much in these last few months. I have seen just how MANY things he took care of and it's a lot to keep up with lol!

But one thing that I have been so thankful for is the time I have been spending with new friends. The school Dave attends had a Significan Other's (SO's) group on facebook that I joined when we arrived in Newcastle. Through this site, I have meet and connected with some amazing people; there is this bond that we all seem to share because we are all going through the same battles, struggles and leaps trying to get through medical school. I am so thankful to have other SO's to share and explore with!

Kimmy and Jules (Two of the most amazing girls I know)  enjoying a pint at the Priory in Tynemouth

Kim helped move all of our stuff into our new place. As previously mentioned, we packed the taxi (who was none-too-pleased with the amount of things we had) and we arrived at our new flat. Thankfully on this day there were men fixing our roof and painting our building and in true Geordie (what people from Newcastle are called) fashion they helped us bring everything up to our flat!

To be honest, our flat isn't the largest of flats (but then again nothing in the UK seems to be large) but we have made it our own and feel at home here.

So "Welcome to our home" and we hope you enjoy the tour!!! Perhaps next week you can stop by for tea (Dinner time here in England).

Our Living Room

What we look out to (and Our Kids on the wall).

Dave's study Corner and the cabinet with all his "Prized Possessions" ie. Medical Books

Safari Kubwa: The Long "Post"

In 2005 Dave and I, along with some of our dearest and closest friends, had the privilege of traveling to Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. For one month we visited schools, and orphanages, worked on building and landscaping projects, and spent some time living and sharing with the Maasai people in a small remote village.

Kenya 2005

In that one-month we shared and encountered some of the greatest experiences; both good and bad.  We saw leaders emerge, life long friendships established (We will always share a bond with Team Kenya) and lives changed. But everywhere we went we also experienced the true depths of poverty, of disease and famine, and we were challenged, daily, by some of the vast and crucial choices that families in Kenya were faced with; things that at the age of twenty one my North American mind could never have imagined.

But through all of this, Dave and I both felt our hearts melt and we were some how drawn to this beautiful continent. Through all of the ‘pain and suffering’ we saw, we saw a world of people full of resilience and hope and a group of people that had a true zest for life; African culture truly captured our souls. It was through this trip that Dave’s dream of becoming a Physician was solidified and my desire to teach was ignited.

And so our journey began.

Since 2005, Dave and I have been on a journey with the notion that one day we will return to a country in Africa and establish our home. We do not know how this will happen, what it looks like or even how long we will be there, we just know that in everything we do, and the choices that we make as a family, we are always working towards that goal of making Africa a place we rest.

Since 2005 Dave and I have both returned to the continent of Africa on two separate occasions:

 In May of 2009 (the same year that our Medical School Journey began) Dave had the opportunity to return to Nairobi, Kenya and work in a Children’s hospital along- side a Pediatric Surgeon; this was simply an opportunity that Dave could not miss and certainly a door that God had opened for us. 

Kenya 2009

In April 2011 , while finishing teachers college, I was asked to join a research team  (Team Singida 2) from the University of Windsor and to work on a research project examining the effects that cultural norms and practices have on vulnerable children.  I remember emailing Dave a few days before returning home to Canada and all I wrote was this: “It is weird to be coming home, and yet at the same time feel as though I am leaving home”. As I look at the faces of the students we worked with (there pictures are on our wall), I can only smile because of the joy and happiness they have brought us!

Tanzania 2011

So why Safari Kubwa?  And what the heck does it mean?

Literally translated in Swahili  (the dominate language in many African Countries) Safara Kubwa means long journey (Safari = journey and Kubwa = long).  But rather, Safari Kubwa is often said in the context of meaning a great journey; or the journey of getting to some place.

And so, this blog is to showcase our “Safari Kubwa”. Not only the journey of getting to Medical School , of me beginning occasional teaching and the events that unfold in between, but to keep us accountable: to our friends and family, to the children and people from Kenya and Tanzania who have captured our hearts and to God. To know that no matter what hurtle (there have been many) or ‘mountain ‘ that may be in our way, God has a plan and purpose for our lives.

This blog is a way for us to have a voice, to share the ups and downs, and a way of keeping a record of ‘where we are going and how we are going to get there’; our road map per say! (Also so we don’t have to write a thousand emails a week to update everyone).  And we hope that one day, if we are blessed with our own children, that they would be encouraged by the contents of our blog, to seek the desires of their heart….no matter how far fetched they may seem.  ( I am sure by this time, blogs will be outdated, and our kids will be too embarrassed to acknowledge the fact that ‘mom and dad’ had a blog!!!).

So, may you run after your “Safari Kuwba” no matter how impossible it may seem. And may you find hope and encouragement in this blog as you watch our journey unfold (both the good and the bad) and you get a glimpse into our new life in Newcastle Upon Tyne. 

Jeremiah 29:11-13: “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you a hope and a future”. 

In Newcastle on the Millennium Bridge