Going back to Australia

After finishing the training course 2 weeks ago Phoebe and I took some time out to see a bit more of the UK before flying over to Holland to catch up with friends and family. Peter, one of the men on the course, was so kind to take us to his retreat in the middle of the Welsh mountains, before taking us to Treardur Bay on the west coast of Wales. The landscape was absolutely stunning.... and refreshing (1 degree Celsius). We even had some light snow! We only stayed a day at Peter's place, but we definitely plan to go back there for a longer period of time in the future.

The drive from his place to the coast through the mountains was amazing! We tried to capture some of the beauty with the camera, but it's something that needs to be seen in real life to experience the majesty and awe of what God created.

We felt very small compared to these majestic mountains, but our God felt very big, which is a good thing!

Our time in Treardur Bay with our friend Todd and his family was inspiring. They made us feel like we were part of their family, with such warmth and generosity. It was a beautiful time of sharing what God has done in all of our lives.

We would have loved to stay a bit longer in Wales, but we had to return to Pierrepont for a hospital appointment in Guildford for our 20 week scan.

The 20 week scan was even more breathtaking than the Welsh landscape, we thoroughly enjoyed a half hour scan looking at our baby's wonderful anatomy, the face, the eyes, the lips, the brains, the chambers of the heart, the hands and feet, and even the baby's stomach. Our beautiful and healthy little son or daughter.

The day after the scan we said our goodbyes-for-now to Pierrepont, our home for the last 6 months, and flew out to Amsterdam. It was a challenge for us to fit all our belongings into the baggage and sticking to all the restrictions of weight, size, and what you're allowed to take on the plane out of London- they got even stricter while we were there- but we prayed for God to cover us and made it through customs with an extra 7 kg of weight without extra charges...phew! And that was with leaving a lot behind! New and dear friends, Samar and Sarah Riaz dropped us off at the airport, and it was one of those bittersweet moments where you want to go and want to stay as well. Its been an amazing, life changing season at Ellel, and its hard to believe its over! While challenging at times, it has been a very rewarding 6 months, and we are better for it.


Ahead of us is the bigger challenge. We're leaving for Sydney on Friday and are looking for a temporary place to stay while hunting for jobs and a more permanent place of residence in the Hills area. If you can help us out in any way we would really appreciate it. A big thank you for those of you who have already offered to help us out so far.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our friends and family when we are back, we have missed you and would like to introduce you to little Bakker. Of course, we would like to meet him/her ourselves!!!