Visiting Home

For the third time in two and a half years, the fourth for Avril, we’ll be headed to Blighty for four weeks beginning on June 4.

We’re flying to Newcastle Airport via Schipol, avoiding London altogether. We’ll be at Newcastle District Convention. Starting on June 22, we’ll be spending a week or so in Dunoon with the congregation there. Otherwise we’ll mostly be in Northallerton and perhaps briefly in Stockton-on-Tees.

Apart from spending time with family (I haven’t been home myself since Dad died in August 2007) we have a further motive for returning.

We’ve been quite focused on applying for Gilead Missionary School since we got married, and our desire to attend has become stronger as the years have passed. We see Gilead as a chance to perpetuate our circumstances here in Africa, serving Jehovah our God in the fullest way possible. It would also be a privilege to gain such a wonderful training over there at Paterson, USA.

However it is not presently possible to apply for Gilead from countries that accept Gilead missionaries. Why take people away from useful assignments only to send them back again? So it’s necessary for us to go home for a little while and fill out our applications as UK residents.

Our Gilead application will be more significant on this fourth occasion because generally the brothers invited are elders (almost without exception) and this will be the first time that we’ll apply whilst satisfying that criterion.