Hwyl fawr Gogledd Cymru / Goodbye North Wales

It is our last day in Caernarfon and as I sit writing this, I am surrounded by packing boxes and chaos! We certainly have mixed feelings about leaving this special place but we know that God has laid Zambia on our hearts and we are looking forward to new challenges at Kalene Hospital.

There is so much to do when you move house, especially it seems when it is abroad. I don't know how anyone could manage to flee the country unnoticed, even if they wanted to! I once found £500 in cash in an old glasses case of Chris's and gently suggested that the bank might be a suitable place for such a large amount of money. He told me that it should remain where it was in case we ever needed to escape the country and leave no trace of whereabouts...I have since confiscated Adventure Stories for Boys as that fine line between fantasy and reality seemed a tad too blurred!

I am very pleased, not to mention relieved, to have qualified as a midwife! I am still awaiting confirmation from the Nursing and Midwifery Council of my registration but hope to have this by the time we leave.

There are many people we wish to thank:
- All the staff in maternity, general surgery and anaesthetics (Christoph had a whistle-stop tour of anaesthetics and obstetrics and, so he tells me, learnt all there is to know in a week, rather than the usual 5 year training programmes?!?) Nadine, Marie and Pat - thank you for being fantastic mentors. Thank you Karen and Gwen for donating your stethoscopes - Chris will have to relearn how to use one! Karen, Kizzy, Carol, Kelly and Lynda, trainee baby catchers united!! It has been a privilege to train with you all - you are going to be fantastic midwives.
- The wonderful Segontium Terrace Crew - we have so enjoyed living on 'Y Terrace' and have had a fab time. We loved our party and will wear our T-Shirts with pride!
- All those at Hope who have encouraged us with words and prayers and in practical ways. We will miss you very much.
- All those at the NEC who have shown such interest in our plans and the work at Kalene.
- The folk at Street Baptist who have also supported us.
- Our parents who have done all manner of things from packing boxes to knitting cases for Kindles - we love you.
- Thank you for the many cards, emails, texts and phone calls of encouragement - we feel very loved.

We are getting our van tomorrow and will be heading down to Somerset/Dorset to see Chris's family. We leave for Lusaka on Wednesday and our next blog will be live from Zambia! We will be in Lusaka for about a week. We hope to have sorted out visas and registrations during that time in order to fly up to Kalene on or before 23rd Feb. We understand internet access is pretty reliable so we will soon be in touch. We are excited to hear from Becs, one of the nurses at Kalene, that she is putting together an orientation programme for us. We will have a lot to learn but are eager to get cracking.

Diolch yn fawr iawn / thank you very much.

Cariad / Love from Emma and Christopher x