Let the games begin...

Yesterday was a full and colourful day. I feel as though the integration of my different worlds is beginning. Do you remember those diagrams where three circles of different colours are superimposed so that the middle, curvy triangle section is a combination of all three colours. It has felt to me as if the circles in my life have been almost completely separate, with the overlapping triangle in the middle a tiny dot. But I can see now how the integrated middle section can and will grow bigger and bigger, as the separate sections, almost untouched by each other before, slowly but surely overlap more and more. I am still thinking through why this integration is so important. I know it is making me feel better. Maybe partly just not having to explain everything to everyone. But more than that it is going to help me in making the transition from my missionary life in Africa without having just to put it behind me, as something that happened before and is not happening now... I have been operating with two main circles of bright and vibrant yellow and red: Uganda life with its friends, English life with family and friends - and for the sake of the diagram illustration, the new life in Gloucester as a, so far, rather pale blue.

Yesterday the three circles began to creep over each other.

In the morning I was surprised in my kitchen by the bubbly Skype ringing tone: Peace Kwikiriza, skyping in from the Foundations Studies office!  I loved just looking at her beaming face. We asked about each other's children, about work, she commented on things in our house she could see, so then I tried to show her round our house by webcam... Then two other of the  tutors came along and crammed their faces into the frame as well - Kevin Kezabu and Faith, and then Dan arrived - and we were five faces just laughing into the camera, chatting. "Did you know I had a baby boy?" "When are you coming to see us?" "How are the Abigails?" It was like being beamed back into UCU for twenty minutes. Or having friends from Uganda drop right into our kitchen.

Soon after that a school friend of mine came for lunch. Jo and I used to sit together on the school bus when we were thirteen years old, ride our ponies together, go trying on crazy clothes in the shops, and our families went on all kinds of trips together. She is the first of my old friends (of the red circle) to come to our new house (in the blue circle), and also, to say, "Can I see some pictures of Uganda?" (red blue yellow!!!!) As you can imagine I could hardly contain myself.

In the evening we had our first new Gloucester friends in for a meal - and... drum roll... our first game of Settlers since leaving Uganda! As one friend has already pointed out, you can see in the picture below only one unfamiliar element... everything else down to the cake tin is as it always was. So fun.

 
Colin and Chris were missionary doctors in Bangladesh, Chris is an obstetrician and does fistula surgeries, and has been in touch with Jean Chamberlain in the past about her work. Colin now teaches part time at Redcliffe.

I think I can see it all beginning to come together.