Newsletter (December 3, 2015)

Thanks for all your prayers and the comforting and encouraging messages for our recent bereavement. We arrived Hong Kong on Wednesday lunchtime and rushed to the hospital from the airport and Mum was already in coma. However she seemed to be aware of our presence as she breathed slower when we spoke to her. Timothy’s sister also arrived in the evening the same day.

Mum was quite ok on Thursday but then in the early hours of Friday the hospital called and asked us to go immediately. We arrived at her bedside and after 15 minutes she gradually stopped breathing and went to be with the Lord very peacefully. She was four months short of reaching 98.

Most people in Hong Kong are cremated as there is no longer land for burial. Normally relatives have to wait for more than three weeks before the deceased can be cremated. However we came to know that there is an express lane for people like us who can only spend a short time in Hong Kong. So we applied for one and after the government office called South African Airways and confirmed our tickets were genuine they gave us a slot on Monday 16 November.

God is indeed gracious and we just had enough time to compile and print a memorial booklet. The funeral service was held in the chapel of a hospital and it was a blessed time. Mum enjoyed playing the piano and singing hymns so during the service my eldest brother and sister played some of my mum’s favourite hymns. Unlike me, my siblings are very musical and they can all play the piano very well.

It is heartening to know that even though we were far away in Hong Kong, you all have been and are still praying for us. Your support and encouragement during this time of mourning and sadness are crucial to us. Thank you once again.

We also would like to take this opportunity to inform you all that we will go on home assignment on 24 December. We will return home to New Zealand and also will spend some time in Hong Kong. Originally we intended to spend some time with Timothy’s mum and Zara’s parents as they are all very elderly. We also would have liked to celebrate Mum’s 98th birthday in March but now she is no longer around, we will still go back and spend some time with Zara’s parents.

Our home assignment is about five months and after that we are not sure what we will do next. We may return to Zambia for some short-term ministries but we will not return to work at the office. We are still trying to decide what we should do and consider various options. However right now nothing is definite, so please pray for us that we will be able to discern God’s will and know what we should do in our next phase of life. Yours in Christ.