Welcome to Birmingham

We finally left our house in Leicester last Saturday. Despite the last minute panics that always seem to make moving house complicated, we got everything where it needed to be. Some to friends who are storing it for us for the next three years (we're trusting you not to move house too, folks!) Some was given away. Some came with us and is stored temporarily in a garage awaiting shipment to Belize. And some is the stuff we need here in Queen's for the next three months.

So where are we? The Queen's Foundation is in the Edgbaston district of Birmingham,on the south side of the city, near to the University. One complicating factor has been that the flat the College will be providing for us wasn't ready to move into.

Thankfully, they have found us temporary accommodation for this week.It is about a mile away from the College Campus, in a small 10 room conference centre run by the Methodist Diaconal Order.



It's a lovely place, but we are looking forward to moving into the College flat this coming weekend. Our Address will be:

Flat 12, The Queen's Foundation, Somerset Road, Birmingham B15 2QH.

Our first week here has been a mixture: the usual process of registering for libraries and passwords; trying to find things that were definitely packed into one of the boxes - but which one? And meeting fellow students from around the world. It has been a real joy to meet people from Churches on every continent - some training for ministry, some doing advanced study, some (like us) either preparing for, or returning from, mission service. And in the middle of all of that, we also have to get on with writing our own dissertations, and perhaps find a little bit of time to prepare for Christmas.

Birmingham certainly looks festive. We wandered into the city centre, and enjoyed wandering round the German Market and looking at the illuminations. But most of our time here, at least for the next few weeks, is going to be spent in libraries, as we try to finish the projects we have been working on, and begin to think about how best to prepare for Belize.

The fundraising continues to go well, and we are immensely grateful for the many promises of support. And just as we arrive in Birmingham, we've been given our leaving date. We expect to fly from Birmingham on Wed 26th March, and arrive in Belize on Thursday March 27th.

Have a happy and peaceful Christmas!