Firstly we hope this letter finds you well. Apologies that we have been somewhat quiet this year, in truth a lot has been going on for us! So here is the summary of our latest happenings:
Leap Design taking off
We are delighted to share with you that after a very tough 20 months, Leap design is finally taking off. Efraim and Kelvin are recruiting some staff and are about to move into an office space in Wheatley. They have several projects on the go and more in the pipeline. Please continue to pray for them to have wisdom and stamina as they negotiate the delicate process of expanding the company. Please also pray for wisdom in each of the projects they work on. It is almost two years ago that we chose to set up this business and stay in Thame, at the time faith wise, it felt like we had taken a step out into a ravine without a visible bridge to cross over. God has provided us stepping stones to cross and finally we feel like we can see the other side. If you would like to learn more about this work, take a look at the website Efraim has designed for the company: www.leap.design
A change from babies to teenagers for Ruth
In April, Ruth made a job change and took up a role as a School Health Nurse for Oxfordshire Health NHS Trust. This is proving to be an exciting and very challenging role which uses a lot of the skills she developed whilst working in Brazil. She is based in a secondary school which is in a residential area with a lot of challenges such as drugs and childhood sexual exploitation. Ruth continues to do some voluntary work as a breastfeeding counsellor and Lactation Consultant. Through her links with Parish Nursing Minitries Uk she is excited to be putting some of the theory from her MA dissertation into practical use with an new intitiative to help the UK church support nursing mothers, at the moment she is helping put a project proposal together for this.
A house and lifestyle change
Recently we were approached by CMS to apply for the voluntary role of wardens to their community house in Oxford. We will be starting this new voluntary role in August. This is a large house in central Oxford which can house around 12 people. CMS now provide inhouse training for their new mission partners, who come to Oxford for three months to study. This voluntary role will involve leading and facilitating the day to day functioning of the community house. We feel very excited by this opportunity and feel it is the right move for us as a family at this time. We both have a particular vision to make the house a welcoming relaxed home for all those who pass through, and feel that the role fits our skills, personalities and experience very well. We are very fond of CMS as an organsiation and are delighted to be able to become closer involved again with this missional community.
Max is growing so fast, he has been enjoying school with what feels like a never ending stream of birthday party invites. We feel very blessed that a school place has opened up for us at a good local school situated behind our new home, with the added bonus that he is in the same class as a little girl he used to play with regularly when we first came to Oxford.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
With love Efraim, Ruth and Max
Prayer points:
Prayer for
Leap Design taking off
We are delighted to share with you that after a very tough 20 months, Leap design is finally taking off. Efraim and Kelvin are recruiting some staff and are about to move into an office space in Wheatley. They have several projects on the go and more in the pipeline. Please continue to pray for them to have wisdom and stamina as they negotiate the delicate process of expanding the company. Please also pray for wisdom in each of the projects they work on. It is almost two years ago that we chose to set up this business and stay in Thame, at the time faith wise, it felt like we had taken a step out into a ravine without a visible bridge to cross over. God has provided us stepping stones to cross and finally we feel like we can see the other side. If you would like to learn more about this work, take a look at the website Efraim has designed for the company: www.leap.design
A change from babies to teenagers for Ruth
In April, Ruth made a job change and took up a role as a School Health Nurse for Oxfordshire Health NHS Trust. This is proving to be an exciting and very challenging role which uses a lot of the skills she developed whilst working in Brazil. She is based in a secondary school which is in a residential area with a lot of challenges such as drugs and childhood sexual exploitation. Ruth continues to do some voluntary work as a breastfeeding counsellor and Lactation Consultant. Through her links with Parish Nursing Minitries Uk she is excited to be putting some of the theory from her MA dissertation into practical use with an new intitiative to help the UK church support nursing mothers, at the moment she is helping put a project proposal together for this.
A house and lifestyle change
Recently we were approached by CMS to apply for the voluntary role of wardens to their community house in Oxford. We will be starting this new voluntary role in August. This is a large house in central Oxford which can house around 12 people. CMS now provide inhouse training for their new mission partners, who come to Oxford for three months to study. This voluntary role will involve leading and facilitating the day to day functioning of the community house. We feel very excited by this opportunity and feel it is the right move for us as a family at this time. We both have a particular vision to make the house a welcoming relaxed home for all those who pass through, and feel that the role fits our skills, personalities and experience very well. We are very fond of CMS as an organsiation and are delighted to be able to become closer involved again with this missional community.
Max is growing so fast, he has been enjoying school with what feels like a never ending stream of birthday party invites. We feel very blessed that a school place has opened up for us at a good local school situated behind our new home, with the added bonus that he is in the same class as a little girl he used to play with regularly when we first came to Oxford.
Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.
With love Efraim, Ruth and Max
Prayer points:
- Praise that work is coming in for Leap Design.
- Max has a good school place for September.
Prayer for
- Wisdom and stamina as Efraim and Kelvin expand the company.
- Wisdom for Ruth in her new job role as School Health Nurse.
- A smooth move to our new home and transition into community life.
- That Max makes settles quickly into his new school.
- A tenant for our flat in Brazil which has been empty for several months now.