Return to Newbury

Not long after breakfast we touched down at Heathrow. The usual problem with wheelchairs occurred and so David and Jack ended up walking. I stayed with the group until I noticed that transferring passengers were proceeding down a parallel but unconnected corridor to those who were picking up their baggage. At that point, I therefore had to bid farewell to my travelling companions. Conscious that I was holding the wheelchair man back, we kept the farewells brief. It had been fantastic to meet up with old friends and throughout the trip I had felt blessed to be surrounded by them. We each came from slightly different backgrounds, were of different age groups and had different skills, yet God had used these talents throughout the trip and the people were certainly a main ingredient in what had made the trip so enjoyable.

Farewells completed as best as possible in the circumstances, I headed through immigration and down to the baggage hall. I located my rucksack but was devastated to discover that Lucky Bunny, my travelling companion of several years, had fallen from his harness on the back of my rucksack. I spent some time watching the conveyor belt on the off-chance that he might turn up unaccompanied, but sadly it was not to be. After passing through customs, I launched into the madness that is Terminal 3 Arrivals in Heathrow.

I decided that as the rest of the group were departing for Belfast from Terminal 1, that I would try heading over there to see if I could catch sight of them from a viewing gallery or such like. Unfortunately not - Terminal 1 lacks such a facility and so instead I had a sandwich from O’Briens and read the newspaper and my Bible.

Half an hour before I was due to get the bus to Reading train station, I returned to Terminal 3 and headed out to the bus stop. Another First bus driver from the ‘The Customer is an Unnecessary Nuisance’ school of customer service ensured that, when he pulled in at a bay that I wasn’t expecting in his bus that has no visible markings at the front and I asked if he was headed for Reading Train Station, I received a pained look of exasperation. Still, I arrived at Reading Station in one piece, if a little chilly (perhaps travelling home in shorts had been an ill conceived idea after all...). From there it was a quick trip on a busy train to Newbury and then a short walk back to the house.

Overall? A good trip which was well worth undertaking. Less of a holiday than I had expected, but gaining more in terms of faith, friendship and understanding of the work of missionaries in Londrina than I had hoped. I hope and pray that the work there will continue to be richly blessed and that it will encourage all those who went on their faith journey and that some of those benefits can be transferred to others at home, at work, in our church congregations and in our lives.

To God be the glory, great things he has done, is doing and will do in the future!