The end of 2023 finished unexpectedly for us! We were living in France at the time & expected that my French spouse visa, (an obligatory requirement after Brexit), would be renewed fairly easily. All the required documents were provided well ahead of time, but the authorities failed to process them before my current visa ran out, (probably overloaded?), so we suddenly had to close up our house, sell the car & leave France in a hurry, like refugees!

After briefly visiting & saying goodbye to our friends & relatives we took a plane to Malaysia, where it is likely that we will stay for the next few years, God willing. It’s a country that we have stayed in before & also conducted free programs in orphanages, schools & other institutions.

At the time of writing, we are on a one-month visa trip in Indonesia. Visiting friends in Jakarta led to an invitation to participate in a children’s Ramadan vacation camp. There were 180 children, most of whom were orphans or they came from one-parent families. The event took place in a beautiful national park, surrounded by nature.

children arriving & registering for the days’ activities

One of the scheduled activities was helping with a drawing competition. The children were divided into 3 groups, according to their age & our job was to judge the 3 best drawings for each age group. Prizes were then awarded accordingly. Afterwards, packages of food & stationary were handed out so that nobody went away empty-handed. The event was well organized & it was easy to see that the children & staff all had a great time!

As you can see in the photos below, Sue unfortunately broke her arm a few weeks ago & needs to wear a plaster cast on her right arm for 6 weeks. Please pray that the 2 fractured bones & ligaments heal properly & that she will make a full recovery!

judging all the beautiful pictures!

prize giving time!

the winners for the senior group showing their artwork.