Can time speed up?

Can time speed up?  I've got lots of theories about the nature of time which I won't bore you with here but one thing seems certain; time is not a definite quantity.  Every schoolchild knows how time slows down during a maths lesson (sorry Fraser) but for me at the moment it's decidedly speeding up.  Less than a week to go before we have to move out of our house for our tenants to move in and we're not only surrounded by boxes but also by a selection of huge suitcases.  Thank you very much to everyone who responded to my appeal for cases - you've been a big help and if health and safety allowed obstacle races at school sports days then my children would win.  I am now fairly hopeful that everything will fit into our allocation of cases and weight limits, even most of James' books, but what's frustrating at the moment is my desire to get everything packed up and ready now.  Unfortunately my family is rather inconsiderate and actually still want to use a few of their things but thankfully my stock of patience has grown considerably during this mission process so I shall just glide serenely on (like a swan, paddling furiously underneath the water).

This time next week the worst of the sorting out and packing will be over and we'll be staying in our friends' beautiful house on the Black Isle.  That's going to be my holiday as once we're there there won't be much for me to arrange.  I'm really hoping for good weather for our last two weeks in Scotland.  That could well make it harder to leave but it's a risk I'm willing to take.

Thinking of accommodation, we would really appreciate it if people would pray about where we should live in Nigeria.  We had thought we'd just get a house on the TCNN compound and drive James and Ruth in and out of school (not a journey I was looking forward to) but recently there's been the possibility of a place in Jos itself, just a few minutes away from Hillcrest School.  That would make life a lot easier regarding the school run and getting in to afterschool activities but there are advantages to living out of the city at the college.  It's not a decision we can make so we ask for wisdom and discernment for those who will make it.

You know things are getting real when you have to send off yet more hideous photos for a visa application.  Our package of passports and certificates has arrived safely at the Mission Africa office in Belfast ready to be taken to the Nigerian Embassy in Dublin.  We're praying that all the relevant information, signed by the appropriate people, will soon arrive from Nigeria and all will go smoothly in the granting of our visa.  Actually, it's Fraser's visa, James, Ruth and I are just attachments.  Despite howls from feminists, I'm quite happy with that arrangement.  It means he has to do the specific job on his visa whilst I have more freedom which suits me fine.

We are moving ahead rapidly with our thoughts on the future but we still have to be here now.  There are churches that we're going to speak at in the next couple of weeks and it's still a privilege to be able to invite them to be a part of the exciting things God is doing.  We haven't yet reached the support target which will give us the green light for going overseas but from the evidence of the many and diverse people who have already started supporting us financially we trust that we will get there soon.