Mitis on the move!

"It is not fame that I desire, nor stature in my brother's eye.
I pray it said about my life, that I lived more to build your name than mine." -
Kari Jobe, "The Cause of Christ".

This will come as a surprise to a lot of people but, as the title suggests, we are on the move.

We have spent seven and a half years living in Gibby and if you had told me when we first moved here that I would be gutted to leave one day, I honestly would not have believed you. So much has changed in this community over that time. We have certainly had our eyes opened in numerous ways but I suspect that my enduring memories will be that we met wonderful people, had neighbours who truly were our friends and benefited over and over from being part of a genuine community, something which I think is increasingly being lost these days. Living here has grown us as people. Most of all, it has been our home - the house we brought both boys home to. We are on quite the emotional rollercoaster about leaving it behind.

So why are we moving? Back in 2014 we began to feel a real sense that God was starting to prepare us for big changes; I don't think back then we could have anticipated all that was around the corner. Reuben for a start - and then the small matter of the life-changing impact his actual delivery would have on each of us, and on our family unit. These have been two of the most painful, challenging years for us but at the same time two of the most wonderful as Noah gained a brother and we gained a little ray of sunshine. The pain continues every day, with more complications now than at the start but through it all, God has been faithful to us and shown Himself worth trusting. We still believe in healing; we also believe He has bigger plans than our own and that His timing is perfect.

I digress! Back to August 2014. We had had a passion slowly growing within us both over the previous couple of years, particularly for the trafficked and the homeless, especially refugees. My times spent in Kosovo showed me the immediate aftermath of war and ethnic cleansing and Vianney's childhood included the tail end of the Ugandan civil war and of his father being caught up in the Rwandan genocide. Perhaps it isn't altogether surprising then that we both feel deep heartache - even heartbreak - as we see the broken people of many warring nations trying desperately to get to a place they see as a "land of hope." What's broken our hearts further this past year is seeing such little compassion for those people amongst our own. The increasing narrative in Britain, fuelled further by the EU referendum campaign, is that we need to "protect" our country, let fewer people in, put "our" people first. This is not supposed to be a political post so I'm going to leave it at that. Suffice it to say, our hearts were awakened again to the need for individuals to step up and do what they can with what they have to show love, compassion and welcome to those who have so little.

We started to sense God saying that we needed to be the answer to our own prayers for such people.

One week in particular in the summer of 2014 we decided to really spend time praying and asking God if we were just dreaming things up or if He really was beginning to show us something of what He wanted us to do. There's a much longer backstory, which goes back to 2012 really and if anyone is interested in that please ask us. It's pretty incredible how God speaks and moves things and people and situations in order for His plans to be fulfilled. However I don't want to lose you and you've already read enough of my rambling. So please just get in touch if you want to know quite where this has come from. What I will say is that our God has left us absolutely no room for doubt now. God spoke about exactly the same move to very good friends of ours around the exact same time in 2014 and last August, they moved their family of six and are now beginning the very early stages of planting a church in the inner city. We have had so much to contend with lately that if I'm honest, I was too afraid to even let myself think about the things we believed God was saying two or three years ago until Autumn 2016. It was all just too scary. I don't like change, I've been working through emotional stuff, we have wonderful and supportive friends where we live and a fab school for Noah. There were plenty of reasons to just push those thoughts and convictions down and hope that maybe we heard wrong! But God is so gracious, so patient and He knows our frames. He knew I could not have coped with even the thought of such a move during the past 20 months since Reuben arrived. However, as we got stronger, that still small voice of the Holy Spirit grew ever more insistent, gentle but firm. Through His Word (the bible), through pictures and dreams and prophetic words from others who know and love Jesus and who know and love us, through miraculous "coincidences", one after another, He has made His will for us undeniably clear.

So off we go!

Where are we going? Well, really it's just twenty minutes down the road. Geographically it's not a big move but culturally and emotionally it really is. One significant factor in the timing of this is that since we first began to think and pray about this move, Cardiff has become one of the UK hubs for receiving refugees. The refugee and asylum-seeker community in large part are being placed in the very area that God laid on our hearts years ago. When we think of all we have and take for granted, and all that they don't have, all we want to do is show love. What that will look like practically we don't know yet but we know that Jesus loves those people just as much as He loves us, and He has a plan for each and every one. We need to just go and be available, as individuals and as the church.

In terms of the practical, this is our first house move with little people in tow; we last moved seven and a half years ago. It's also a big jump financially but one we trust God has organised. Oh and I'm in constant pain! The way that God has sold our house and led us to the one we are now in the process of buying is nothing short of miraculous. There are far too many "coincidences" and amazing things joining up at just the right time for this to be something we have made happen.

Part of me is petrified and very sad to be moving on; the other part feels so excited and alive at the thought of all that God might do. He has spoken over and over about not being afraid....almost as if He knows me inside and out!! ;)

Please pray for us, if you know Jesus. My biggest concern is for the boys, that they would not only cope with the changes but even thrive as a result of them. So often I've thought, "what are we doing to them, especially Noah?" God responds gently every time by reminding me that He made both boys, He knows exactly what is best for them and He loves them more than we ever could. We just need to be obedient to what He has asked us to do, and He will take care of these precious boys because this is His plan for them as much as it is for us.


““O storm-battered city, troubled and desolate! I will rebuild you with precious jewels and make your foundations from sapphire. I will make your towers of sparkling rubies, your gates of shining gems, and your walls of precious stones. I will teach all your children, and they will enjoy great peace.”
Isaiah 54:11-13 NLT

““No, this is the kind of fasting I want: Free those who are wrongly imprisoned; lighten the burden of those who work for you. Let the oppressed go free, and remove the chains that bind people. Share your food with the hungry, and give shelter to the homeless. Give clothes to those who need them, and do not hide from relatives who need your help. “Then your salvation will come like the dawn, and your wounds will quickly heal. Your godliness will lead you forward, and the glory of the LORD will protect you from behind.

Feed the hungry, and help those in trouble. Then your light will shine out from the darkness, and the darkness around you will be as bright as noon. The LORD will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength. You will be like a well-watered garden, like an ever-flowing spring. Some of you will rebuild the deserted ruins of your cities. Then you will be known as a rebuilder of walls and a restorer of homes.”
Isaiah 58:6-8, 10-12 NLT

“This is what the LORD says: Be fair-minded and just. Do what is right! Help those who have been robbed; rescue them from their oppressors. Quit your evil deeds! Do not mistreat foreigners, orphans, and widows."
Jeremiah 22:3 NLT

"Everyone's telling you
To let go of what you're holding to.
It's too late, too far,
You're too small, it's too hard.
Throwing water on that spark
Living deep inside your heart,
With oceans of reasons,
The things you're not seeing.
But oh, maybe they don't
Know what you know,
That you're not alone

Don't you be afraid
Of giants in your way;
With God you know that anything's possible.
So step into the fight,
He's right there by your side.
The stones inside your hand might be small
But watch the giants fall.

We could really live like this,
Can't you imagine it?
So bold, so brave,
With childlike faith.
Miracles could happen,
Mountains would start moving.
So whatever you may face,

Don't you be afraid
Of giants in your way;
With God you know that anything's possible.
So step into the fight,
He's right there by your side.
The stones inside your hand might be small
But watch the giants fall."

Francesca Battistelli, "Giants Fall"