we had such a lovely send off at church this morning.  but also quite emotional after our full day of goodbyes yesterday.  we might see many of them again on the morning of our departure at church, but this was our proper 'goodbye'

this saying goodbye to people is really hard you know.  we've realised how many fantastic friends we have here in the UK who we're leaving behind.  And saying goodbye is really painful. there have been much tears inside and outside this weekend.

here's one of our closest friends.  it's old fish-face ian  He said some lovely words about us after church.  And so did Heather in a talk about our children. And then they presented us with an incredibly generous present which we shall use wisely

Church feels so much like home.  it's where we got married, where our children came to faith and got baptised, and where we were privileged enough to be part of the music group.  we'll miss the place and miss the people even more.



At the same time, we're incredibly excited about getting stuck in to a new church over in NZ.  but these last few days are all about goodbyes.