The future for Tim and Maz ......

Below is a copy of an email that we've sent to friends, family and supporters, if you weren't included on the list it's probably because we didn't have a recent up to date email address for you so we hope you don't feel left out.....if you'd like to find out more about what our future is going to look like, as far as we currently know, then please read on and get in touch via email if you'd like to know more!

The future for Tim and Maz 'Extra Mile Walkers'

Dear Friends, family and supporters, No doubt you’ve been following our progress via various different social media applications over the last few months and will have seen that we have been able to take some sabbatical time which has enabled us to reflect on our six years at the village of hope, reconnect with family and friends around the world, and to seek God over his plans for our next steps. This has been a total blessing and one that we feel truly grateful to have been given the chance to enjoy. Having reflected at great length, however, we are now convinced that our time with Thembalitsha, on the ground in South Africa, has come to a natural end. Although we love the work they are doing and continue to see lives changed, we do now know that we will not be going back to our old roles in Grabouw. We will continue to lend our support to the UK side of the charity, but we do know that God is calling us on to something new, and so we've tried to capture what we believe that is, in the short paragraphs below. Throughout this time God really placed the word ‘fluid’ onto our hearts and we sensed that this next season would be one of serving the Kingdom in various different places rather than serving one specific people group in one town and at one base. Some flesh has now started to emerge on those bones! Late last year we made contact with the directors of an incredible organisation called Emerging Leaders who provide practical life skills training to many thousands of people in sub-Saharan Africa via their links with the British High Street retailer Marks and Spencers (M&S). Emerging Leaders were keen to expand their programme beyond the farms that supply M&S so we hosted a three day workshop of enthusiastic local people who live in some of the poorest informal settlements of Grabouw who attended their life changing ‘Leadership for Hope’ course. We were so inspired by the way in which Emerging Leaders are able to communicate practical, effective and new ways of thinking to those who live in what we would see as hopeless situations and after further discussion with them we have agreed to a 'personal partnership' which will allow us to use their materials to bring hope to some of the people and organisations that we are already connected with around the world. Between now and the end of January we will be developing our skills to become effective trainers for Emerging Leaders, bringing together their programmes with the other skills that we have developed in the various seasons of our busy lives and then using that to bring hope be that in the third world or right here in England. The next season will see us being based in our home town of Aylesbury and from there venturing out for shorter effective trips to people groups near and far. The leaders of our local Aylesbury Vineyard church are also excited about this new opportunity which will give us an opening to support them on some local missions via their various compassion ministries. Please pray for us, as we have lots to do, to get to a position where we can start this ministry early in the New Year. So, this is really exciting! But, there are some practical challenges that we’d like to share with you. The main one is that the financial support that we received whilst we volunteered for the Thembalitsha Foundation stopped in July. We are so grateful for all of the support you have provided over the years – thank you! It would be wonderful if you felt able to prayerfully consider the possibility of offering us some financial support in our new ministry, in which we’ll be trying to fulfill what we feel is a God-given mandate to bring hope and transformation to those most in need, be they families living in tin shanty towns in Africa or young adults trying to find their identity here in the UK.  We’ve been consulting widely among the godly men and women who have journeyed with us to this point and they have expressed their support and willingness to create an accountability structure for us, within a UK charity framework, which was an important first step. They will continue to be our ‘council of reference’ and provide us with pastoral and financial oversight.  If you would like to find out more about how you can help us then please get in touch via email by return or click on the link below and we’ll let you know more. God bless and we hope to hear from you soon! Tim and Maz  Bringing hope though life-skills and leadership training programmes. Partnering with existing organisations throughout the world.

Our mailing address are: extramilewalkertim@gmail.com or extramilewalkermaz@gmail.com

another poem.....'sit,see, engage, do?'

over the last few months I (Tim) have taken to writing some poetry, see previous posts beds beds and more beds and sea, I have also tried to still myself, daily, even hourly and become present in the here and now rather than in the rush from here to there as has been my norm for many years. whilst sitting alone in the beautiful garden on Sunday morning, others had left to attend church or enjoy a scooterthon, so I had some very private time to ponder, as I was sitting the following thoughts came into my mind and I have put them together to form this 'poem'.

Sit, see, engage, do?

We all sit under the same stars and sky, we all sit upon the same earth and breath in the same air in some place or another on this vast planet of ours. As we sit in contemplation have we ever taken the time to still ourselves so much that we feel the chill of realisation that the place where we sit right now could be in some place on earth with different sights and outcomes, away from the current safety and the silence we enjoy.

Sit in an airport or a station, humanity moves with one accord, busy minds with fixed agendas on onward journeys, some fleeing from awkward situations, others beginning an adventure towards a long time dream.

Sit in a dark jungle or forest where creatures great and insects small gather all around, eery sounds confuse the senses, fear grips of the untold dangers lurking in the shadows near, maybe far or maybe even in the mind.

Sit in a theme park or at a fun fair among the excitement, hearts pumping, stomachs churning, joy and exhilaration in the eyes, what will the next minute bring on the journey riding on tracks through the skies.

Sit in the desert on in the arctic, sand or snow blind the eye, the heat, the cold all around overwhelming the comfort of life, breath so pained with air so hot, so cold.

Sit in a city or a town people making their living, buy and sell then sell then buy, in the cafe conversation gathers around drinks that bring stress relief to those who gain and those that lose.

Sit by a river or near a stream the endless motion of water moving, willows and reeds surround with fowl and their tiny offspring fluffy with their new found down.

Sit in the middle of a township, homes of cardboard tin and nails, children playing in the gutter, stench so strong with little hope of food that day, third world problems of health and poverty maybe today the first world eyes will see?

Sit on a beach or at the ocean tan lined bodies all around, taking their annual vacation far from work and the daily grind, pleasures abet are fleeting, dream of next years trip do abide.

Sit in the classroom, teacher standing with wisdom and knowledge to exchange, students their heads astounded at all they're hearing, eager minds do engage, but too soon the bell rings, 'schools out', now what career to fulfill.

Sit in the stadium or in a crowd, the team, the band, set the stage alight with passion energy, lost in wonder of hero's performance bring forth the cheers receive the applause.

Sit in the operating theater where life ebbs away a way, doctors scurry with procedures designed to keep death at bay, death that has been always coming, none knowing the time or day, but unhindered it will come at its god given hour that can be certain.

Sit in the prison or in a cell, inmates count the hours, the days, how long before their freedom brings them home to loved ones dear, how long before they'll end up back inside?

Sit in a camp or on a boat overloaded with frightened families fleeing the war that has torn homes and lives apart, trying to find a place of safety, born in the wrong place at the wrong time......

Now we're back and find you sitting, overwhelmed by peace and silence, but this time with a sense that someones watching from on high, His eyes and hands upon you imploring you to engage, with all you've seen, the question He sets before you at what cost compassion and lives of grace?

there you go, I hope you enjoyed my penning.

busy boys busy days...

picking beans with Noni

as i sit here in the serene silence of our host home having enjoyed a restful nights sleep and woken to a peaceful morning its somewhat hard to believe that this time last week this room was a riot of colour with boys toys strewn across the floor, the sounds of battle echoing through the house and our minds filled with ideas to keep our two little grandson's busy until the still times of the day could rescue us again.

ok i know all that sounds harsh but over the last few days we have been able to reflect and take stock of the whirlwind of a week that we enjoyed as we had our two grandson's come and stay with us, please read on to find out what amazing things we got up to with these two wonderful little souls.

we'd made our way down to Bristol to pick up Alfie and Eli (aged five and four respectively) on Sunday afternoon and after spending a night with Chris, Claire (their parents, our eldest and his wife) and their little sister Honor we packed up the car with a wide array of possessions that would remind them of home and keep them entertained during the week that they were to spend with us.

play day lego!

the journey home was uneventful, Eli had a little moment asking for his mummy as we set off but this was quickly dissipated as we caught his attention with a game of 'spot the yellow car', a game that we have played for many years, originally starting as the 'yellow mini punching game' introduced by our younger son's, Josh and Arron, and continuing on through to the village of hope and the school aged children on the morning and afternoon runs to collect them from their various places of education.

anyways, Eli soon got bored of spotting yellow cars and introduced his own version where we all picked various coloured cars and scored individual points for those, to be honest the game didn't capture the imagination like 'yellow car' and we were soon playing another well known travel favourite 'eye spy with my little eye'......

wet entry into Legoland

the boys were super excited, not only were they going to be spending a week with Noni (yes that's Maz' grand name!) and Granddad (me!) but they would also have chance to see Trefor and Mandy, the host of animals including Bella and Pimms (the dogs) and the most famous Cara (their youngest daughter, Tref and Mandy' daughter that is!). Chris and Claire make regular visits to spend time in the Aylesbury area so the boys were very familiar with their surroundings, the crazy thing was that Noni and Granddad were there too.

waiting for our first 4D movie!

after a quick lunch we were in full flow, making a visit to see Maz' parents in Whitchurch, about five minutes up the hill, the boys were very well behaved and it was great to see Maz' mum's hair staring to grow back after her bout of chemotherapy.

i don't want this post to become a timetabled list so you'll have to presume some things whilst we'll go into detail on other stuff.  anyways after what felt like an incredibly short sleep Eli came into our room complaining of a 'bad dream' so Maz' got up and spent the night in his room, calming his fears and providing the comfort that he sought. this would be a pattern that was repeated throughout the week, I took my turn the next night and came away being kicked black and blue as Eli is such a wriggle bottom, sleeping any which way in the bed, often upside down and sideways across the pillows.

Lego Firemen

our mornings started early with little attention being paid by Eli to the clock that we had bought up with us from Bristol, that said the boys were more than happy to play with their 'sticker books' or take some 'screen time' watching their favourite programmes on their pads. (try writing that twenty years ago, how would that have sounded!)

the weather for the week didn't offer much hope of long summer days playing in the garden but we did lower the trampoline to accommodate the boys and made the most of the second day by visiting a 'fun day' hosted by the local council in one of the beautiful villages near by, the boys enjoyed bouncing on the inflatable castle, had their faces painted and made animal masks. the enthusiasm of the young team was somewhat lacking and what with the inclement weather the event was poorly attended.

Leog Boats!

our afternoons were made up of completing some of the work sheets that Claire had sent for the boys, Eli is starting school next week and Maz worked with him on his number skills, whilst I took Alfie for some in depth  spelling work!

living around so many animals there were lots of opportunities for the boys to get involved with their care, one special task that took top prize was to collect the eggs from the three chickens, this event would obviously only happen once a day but Eli hoovered around the egg box on numerous occasions throughout the day hoping to be surprised by another egg to add to his collection.

Noni and Eli

the highlight of our week was to come on Wednesday as we made the hour long journey to Windsor, no we weren't invited to go see the Queen for tea, I'm not sure I would have gone even if she had have asked, that's right we were on our way to visit Legoland!, Lego is a big part of the boys lives, and what with all the various mutations based on well know themes, like Star Wars or Batman the theme park certainly lends itself to entertaining the minds of boys and girls who have grown up playing with these well know bricks!

preparing to drive the Lego cars

once again the weather didn't promise much but even by English standards we were to be surprised by the amount of rain that fell from the leaden skies within the first three hours of our visit. hope was only found by venturing inside to the Star Wars exhibition which was to provide the first whoops of excitement from the boys who had recently been introduced to this incredible story.

with little expectation of the weather brightening we made the best of a bad day, taking the somewhat mad choice of a race down a water slide with all of our clothes on, thankfully the boys were dressed in their all in one rain suits plus waterproof jackets, myself and Maz were a little less well clad and spent the rest of the day completely soaked from head to foot.

Alfie taking his driving very seriously 

they boys had an absolute blast, piloting little Lego boats, driving little Lego cars and as a family we took to a Lego fire engine to tackle an imaginary fire at a Lego house. one of my highlights was enjoying my first 4D movie where we watched Eli's favourite 'Legends of Chima' characters fly through their imaginary land, the effects were incredible with the whole audience feeling as through they were really there. 

C3PO and friends!

weather aside it was a truly brilliant day, we didn't leave until well after six and made our wet and weary way back home via the local McDonald's which was a real treat for the boys (and us, I know I know but come on just once in a while)!

Thursday came and went and although there was the prospect of visiting the Bucks County Show we'd blown the budget on getting into the theme park so we had a restful if not a little stressful day at home, the boys were so tired from their adventure that even the simplest game or activity was a bit of a mission. its sometimes hard to remember that the boys are only four and five years old and with so much expectation placed on little ones these days its hard for them just to be kids.

London in Lego

further visits from my mum and dad who came for tea, it was great to see her up and about after her hip operation. time spent picking blackberries ready for a crumble Maz was making for tea, and watching the farrier re-shoe one of the horses were other highlights as was time playing with their toy bow's and arrows which fired tiny darts at windows which I had adorned with targets made up most of the remaining time before Mummy and Daddy arrived back to save Noni and Granddad on Friday morning.

clearing the horse yard with Cara

it had been a great to spend such one to one time with the boys but one really forgets the amount of attention that children need, we're so glad we had our children at such a young age, we can't imagine starting a family in your forties, but hats off to those who do.

unfortunately Chris and Claire were both poorly over the weekend but with Cara, Beth and Trefor around we made the most of the time, helping with cutting down trees , riding on the quad bike and filling up the trailer with the remains of the green giants that had fallen foul of Trefor's chainsaw.

new shoes anyone?

the Bank Holiday weekend was a little wet but we all enjoyed spending time hanging out together and before we knew it the boys had gone home, little Honor in tow and our lives had returned back to normal, at least normal in what is a very none normal year.

as we finish writing this it's a weird sensation thinking that we should be readying ourselves for the planned flight back to Cape Town this evening but as we announced on Facebook last week we have delayed our return until the end of December when we shall be returning to sort a few things before moving on to the next chapter in our lives.

P.S we've updated our books list, found on the right hand side of this page, you might be surprised by a couple of the titles but hey we really are exploring who we are and where we fit in this crazy world.