This is me!
It’s true; we often wonder who is behind the words. ‘Who does she think she is, writing as though she’s an expert on every matter under the sun?’ Well, maybe not quite that extreme, but you get the drift!
So to satisfy curiosity, let me offer you a brief recap of nearly six decades of living!
Born in Australia to an English father and Australian mother, we moved as a family (I have two sisters) to England when I was seven years of age. Growing up in a conservative Christian household had its pros and cons but one of the aspects for which I will forever be grateful is that from a very young age I knew that after this life there was more and the decisions I make in this life would resound in eternity. So, yes, I chose to follow Jesus when I was 11 and at the age of 15 I was praying and had the overwhelming knowledge that I would not live in a ‘developed’ country for the rest of my life.
After high school and a Montessori teaching-training diploma, I found myself at Africa School of Missions in South Africa (this was in 1987). Here I met a Mauritian couple (you may want to check out the location of Mauritius before continuing) and, through them started writing (you know, ‘snail-mail’) to the brother of the guy I had met. He, Vishnu, was at Bible College in Australia at that point. Between letters and phone calls we both knew that this was a divine encounter and in 1990 we were married (by which point my parents had returned to Australia!)
As you no doubt have gathered, many details have been glossed over between the letter-writing
and the wedding rings… we may come back to them at a later stage.
A year after saying our ‘I dos’, we were in Mauritius, and I started to tackle cross-cultural living 24/7. Needless to say, it was a struggle – different language, different mindset, different behavioural norms. For the first four years we lived in the family house (thank God I had my own kitchen!) Washing clothes on a rock and squatting over an Asian toilet were a couple of the extreme adjustments that had to be made. And then it was time to go job-hunting!
I must admit, God was very kind to me. I landed a position as a teacher’s assistant in an English-speaking international primary school, Alexandra House School. (And guess what I bought with my first pay cheque? Yep! A washing machine! ) Two decades past in which music teacher, Class R, 2 and 3 teacher, secretary and Science teacher for Class 6 were added to my resume.
During this time three children were born, we opened a home for needy girls, started a literacy course for young people, ran Fun Days for impoverished children from around the island, started a church and just lived life on this tiny tropical island.
Because I said I would be brief I will stop there but I would just like to conclude this introduction with the suggestion that cross-cultural living, married life, parenthood, community services, pastoring and so many other life experiences have given me a small platform from which to share thoughts, reflections, advice, lessons learnt and Biblical encouragement with anyone who stops by! My hope is that this time together will be mutually beneficial.