What do you do?

One of the most common questions I'm answering at present is, what are you going to be doing during your year in Australia. It is not an easy question to answer, at least not in three words. Here are a selection of "things" we'll be doing:

• speaking at churches, small groups and other events. Speaking about Japan and our experiences, thanking supporters and encouraging others to be involved in mission.
• being involved in our local church(es) however we can. This looks like might include attending a ladies Bible study, joining into craft evenings, kids club,
• (my husband) starting his Masters in Education
• updating my knowledge in my much-neglected profession, Occupational Therapy
• attending to medical-type issues (like eye checks, immunisation etc.)
• catching up with friends and family
• learning a new skill - magazine editing
• attending and helping at mission conferences
• refreshing ourselves - spiritually, socially, emotionally and even physically

Does this sound like enough? Hopefully! But hard to explain quickly in a fly-by conversation at a social event. Even harder when you believe someone has received your prayer letters, but still seems to have no clue. After being a mum for so long I don't have too much of a problem with such an unstructured life. I do know that men can struggle with a lack of structure during home assignment. I hope my husband is okay after such a prescribed life of a school teacher. I'm "letting" him do things like washing, dish duty and school book covering, just to make sure he doesn't feel too much at a loose end ;-)