It is now six months since we came back from Kenya, and we are beginning to settle into being at home in Germany, although we haven’t actually been at home much since we got back from Kenya.

We began by acting as tour guides for two US friends from RVA who were also finishing their term of service at RVA. We visited several European capitals and various other cities with them on their way back to the US.

This was followed by a trip to the UK for a family wedding and a chance to spend time with Adam’s father, now aged 94.

We were back in Germany less than two weeks before going on holiday with our four children, their partners, two grandchildren and the dog! It was a brilliant week where we were able to reconnect with them and enjoy us all being together.

September saw us celebrating our grandson’s second birthday. Then another trip to the UK, for a family funeral, and to attend a poetry and music recital organised by Adam’s father. In November the whole family got together at our house in Germany to celebrate our grand-daughter’s third birthday.

We went to the UK again at the end of November to spend time with our daughter in Durham. The whole family were with us again on Christmas Day.

As you can tell, we have been focusing on spending time with our children and grandchildren.

We miss RVA, in particular the many friends we made and the fellowship we had. We also miss the beautiful scenery, the climate and the students. We don’t miss the monkeys invading our house, or the plagues of insects!

Moving forward, since the beginning of January, Adam has been volunteering part-time in the management team of All4Aid, a Christian charity based in Frankfurt working with refugees in the Mediterranean. Currently he oversees the operations at their three centres in Cyprus, Greece and Romania. He will be based in Germany, with some travel from time to time. When in Germany he will go to the office in Frankfurt once a week, the rest will be done remotely from wherever he happens to be.

You can find out more about All4Aid here: http://www.all4aid.org

Lesley is in full grandmother support mode, collecting our grandson from nursery every Friday, and helping our daughter when her husband is away.

Adam has also started preparation for his long-dreamt of garden railway. In fact, this blog is going to be repurposed to share progress on this new project.

I will not be at all offended if you decide that you are not interested in G-scale model trains. In this case, just delete the posts, or unsubscribe. However, if you want to keep in touch as I move to a new phase of retirement, you will be very welcome.