Leaving Gitega, and an exciting announcement!

This is going to be a brief one, as we are trying to take this week 'off' to relax in Bujumbura, as we transition into the next phase of our time in Africa. 

Last week, we left Gitega where we had been since March 26th this year. It was a very strange feeling, and we were able to share memories, hugs and tears with friends and colleagues at a party organised for us, and the new volunteers Josh & Abi. We had also seen the children grow significantly in confidence (and size) whilst we were there, and were very sad to have to say goodbye to them - they were always sure to put a smile on our faces when we were down or having a bad day!

We have formed close, long lasting relationships with the staff at Shammah also, and had seen them grow in confidence, skill and professionalism over the 6 months we spent in Gitega so it was hard to say goodbye to them. We know though, that there is always a plan and we really are excited about what is next.

We know our roles and responsibilities at Lina will be much different than at Shammah, but feel prepared to take the next step and use skills we have learned in the UK and Burundi to help Hellen and the team at Lina launch the slum outreach programme, and introduce the Lina Ambulance Service. We will also be setting up a VHF radio network for Lina which will enable secure, professional, cheap, and reliable communications for all the branches of Lina.

We would like to share some amazing news….and announce that our date for returning to the UK has changed. In early July, we discovered that Hannah is pregnant! This is a huge answer to prayer for us, because we had been questioning when exactly to start a family so we left it in His hands! So here we are, Hannah is around 12 weeks pregnant now. We are SO happy, and the due date is around March 18th 2015, only a couple of days before Hannah’s Birthday.

Due to this, we will be flying back to England on Feb 2nd 2015 and will arrive back in Fair Oak on Feb 3rd - Hannah will be quite large by then! We have been dying to tell you since we found out. Thank you to all of you who prayed so hard for Hannah when she had malaria, you did not just pray her through the illness but the baby too. It was a crazy week for us…..at the beginning of that week we found out Hannah had malaria and at the end of the week we found out she is pregnant. The amazing bit of the story is that when Hannah was really sick with Malaria she was asking God why have you let this happen, but the response she got was not an expected one. She felt God remind her that knowing Him does not mean you are exempt from the difficulties life may present, but it does mean that he can help her be the Victor over the situation! That is exactly what God did, because at the time Hannah was diagnosed there was no Coarsacum available, which is the best treatment in regards to minimal side effects, and duration of treatment. Therefore Hannah had to take Quinine for seven days, which has horrible side effects, some of which are vomiting, diarrhoea, tinnitus and insomnia (all exacerbated in early pregnancy). However, believe it, or not this is the only drug that is safe to take in pregnancy. Every time Hannah tried to change medication someone stopped her, which at the time really upset her. Then when the treatment had ended she realised God had not just protected her but our child, with the timing, because had she not missed her period the week she was sick she would have restarted the malarone anti-malarials and potentially have damaged our baby. God is so good!

Our plans over the coming months are as follows;

We will be in Nairobi working at Lina until Feb 2nd 2015. On Feb 3rd 2015 we move back to the UK, and are currently exploring job options for Andy as we make decisions about wether or not we will return to Africa or remain in the UK. 

We will soon be taking down our website, as it is costly, and time consuming to maintain but this blog will remain. Andy is currently in the process of editing the Lina website, which will be online later on in September/Early October (www.lina.co.ke)

Love Andy & Hannah xx