So
Kenya here we come. To anyone living in Nairobi Get used to being asked “WHY?” by an inquisitive wee boy and
Neve-proof your houses! The Bradburys are on their way!
It
looks like 4 weeks today we set out for a new experience and adventure and take
up our roles with The Salvation Army Kenya East Territory. Heidie is going to
be the Heatlh Co-ordinator and I am going to be the Project Officer for the
Territory.
This
time brings a mix of emotions; sad to be saying goodbye to family and friends
but excited about the prospect of return to overseas mission and living in Africa. During my time in Zambia, I
enjoyed the challenge of writing a blog (www.charliechikankata.blogspot.com)
and now I am going to give it go again. It might take me a while to work it out
but here goes…..
Here’s
a bit of my story and how ended up at this juncture;
In 2002 I travelled to Latvia for on a mission trip
with my good friend Garry Smith. Here, I met the lovely Heidie. I also met
Jesus in a very real way and a scene at one of the Corps in Riga where I
believe God called me to full time ministry within The SA and a specifically a
ministry amongst the poor. The fact that that Heidie and I met in this set of circumstance,
both searching out a similar calling is immensely significant to me. Heidie and
I married just over a year later, knowing that we shared the same vocation and
purpose in life.
This eventually led to us to Zambia. In May 2005, I
was appointed the Hospital Manager / Administrator for Chikankata Mission
Hospital. Here I was responsible for the day to day running of the Hospital,
Nurses Training School, (where Heidie worked), and College of Biomedical
Sciences. The faith and
hope of the people of Chikankata was a real inspiration to me, particularly
during their times of difficulties and sorrow. Sharing in poverty, suffering
and friendship was my privilege and has deeply enriched my life and my faith
and has given me a new perspective on Christian community. Managing an
institution of this size under such pressure of lack of resources also
increased my dependency on God and brought me a far great understanding of what
faith is all about.
I feel very blessed to have such a lovely and loving
family. We have a lively household and our children are a real joy to be around,
most of the time. As well as being a great fun, they are teaching us lots above
love, gentleness, discipline, trust and lots more. Together as a family, we are
about to embark in a new adventure in our life as we move to Nairobi Kenya to
work for The Salvation Army there. We go
with a lot of uncertainty, sadness at leaving family and friends and many many anxieties
(mostly financial!) but also with a strong sense of calling and the hope. Above
all we go in the knowledge that God has proved himself a faithful father to us
many times in the past and we need to remain trusting children.
