“Take a long walk off a short pier!”

 This was the line I asked John to kindly pass on to to our friend, Paul Hudson, Regional leader of the North East and West Midlands region, when he asked us to consider a move to take over the leadership of Newcastle Elim Church.

The year was 2018, the month, December and we were in Llangranog, West Wales. We’d spent the last 6 years in Tanzania and we were contemplating our future.  Should we do part time in Tanzania, 3 months about? Should we move back to Wales and plant a church? As with our journey of ministry, we have often hit impasses where the unknown is before us!

It was during such contemplation, that the phone call came  from Paul  – out of the blue!

“John, would you consider the lead pastor role at Newcastle?”

I will be eternally grateful for that call even though my initial response to our soon to be boss, was a tad cheeky! We have become great friends during the last 6 years and we have laughed a lot. Serving Paul has been a true delight for John and I.

But, back to 2018! Our life was still in Tanzania, we were home for Christmas, and suddenly we had something tangible to pray about.

Initially, we were due back in Tanzania at the end of January 2019, but we decided to go back earlier as there was plenty to do especially if we were making our way back to the UK. We re-booked our flight for Boxing Day.

What followed were months of not knowing! John had taken early retirement from Elim and so the question arose as to whether he could come back in! Things were changed at Elim’s head office which allowed him to come back as an Elim minister. I write that sentence with ease now, but at the time, it felt like an age as days went by without us hearing anything from the UK. With this in place, a date for interview was set up! We decided to pack Africa up for good not knowing if Newcastle would be a definite green light.

We made some friends for life during our 6 years in Tanzania and saying goodbye to them was very hard! But, as I once wrote in a previous blog, ‘don’t let the thought of goodbye, stop your hello!’

We had loads of stuff to get rid of and house/garage sales ensued! Our 6 years of furniture, clothes and stuff ‘disappeared’ before our eyes! We brought back just 2 suitcases and a set of golf clubs! That summed up our life’s possessions!

John’s interview was February 2019. He hadn’t had an interview for over 30 years! We were confident in God and had both prayed that if it wasn’t to be, the door would close.

A LONG 24 hours followed and at 5.00pm we were just going to take a nap to pass a hour or so when Paul called us to say they wanted us! We were extremely happy and immediately got on with looking for somewhere to live.

I’ll interject at this point that we had the full backing of our family for this decision. One of the reasons my initial response was as it was was because I thought our kids and my parents would think it was still too far away. We’d been away from them for 6 years in Africa. Their response surprised us and they helped us say yes!

It is impossible for me to put into words what the last 6 years have been for John and I. We have learned and grown so much ourselves, I’d go as far as to say we are different people to the ones who landed in the North East all those years ago.

We have made hundreds of fabulous memories with the amazing people of Kingdom Life Church. Let me name a few: the fun stuff first –  Lock down videos: Dancing Queen, Reach, it’s in his kiss to name a few; Christmas parties, Pantomimes and shows; kid’s and youth sleep overs; On the spiritual side –  BRAVE: (womens’ ministry) STRONGER: (mens’) Mission trips to Wales; Prayer – all-nights, half-nights, weekly; Autumn, Winter, Spring and Summer nights. Kingdom, Agape and Prayer.

We’ve built a new foundation at KLC out of those three words and we trust that the church and all it’s beautiful people will continue to build on it as it and we all go on to a new season.

The end of 2024 and the beginning of 2025, it’s safe to say was an agonising time for John and I as we felt the nudge from God that it was time to move on from KLC.

Telling our elders and leaders the news was heart breaking. Telling our beloved church family in January 2025  was heart breaking. Some probably think that we told our church too soon as we don’t actually go until August 31^st. But, we wanted to make sure we have a wonderful few months together. Reminiscing and making more memories. We all (mostly all! Some may have cheered? Haha) cried in January, we’ve shed some since too, but on the whole we are celebrating the last 6 years and we’re able to pray together for the church’s and our future.

Agape, Prayer and the Kingdom are our foundation for what we are going into next. What is that? You may ask! Guess what, we’re not sure! Impasse no. 3 or maybe 4! We have some ideas, but nothing is set as yet.

The date is May 31^st 2025 and I’m writing to you on board the P & O ship,  Aurora in Iceland! It is a beautiful day and we’re sat outside in the sunshine believe it or not!

Back in January, I felt God give us three words, ‘Wait, Watch and Wonder’ when it gets ‘scary’ and we wonder where we’re going to live, how we’re going to earn those words come flooding back. God is our source and we trust him completely.

Tears come as I write this – Kingdom Life Church, you will ALWAYS hold a huge place in our hearts, I don’t think our relationship will end as we head South! We’ll never be strangers!

Happy tears now – the flip side of this emotional coin? We are going home to Wales, to Chris and Justine (son and daughter in law) Beth, Sam (daughter and son-in-law) Ari, Tali and Noa – our beautiful grandchildren, lots of friends, and closer to my parents. We’ve been away for a total of twelve years and we’re grateful to our Father that He is making away for us to be together again.

So, as I close, if you’re a friend of ours and you’re a pray-er, say one for us! We’re off on another adventure eternally grateful for a wonderful time in the Toon!