Bags packed, ready to go.


Not me, but both daughters. Only problem is that they have to be at Glasgow airport before 4am tomorrow, so it’s a case of grabbing a few hours rest and heading off very early and putting up with the inevitable overnight roadworks.

And where are they off to? Malawi, via Amsterdam and Nairobi, for a 2 week visit to a school that Falkirk High School has links with. You can keep tabs on it all on their website. There’s a group of 12 pupils and 4 teachers going for what, I suspect, will be an eye-opening, life-changing adventure. I’m a little jealous – I’d love to be going but that’s maybe a trip for the future.

The school they are visiting, an all-girls secondary, was established on a mission station by the schoolteacher wife of the missionary. She, Mamie Martin, just happens to be the grandmother of one of the teachers who is going. The school has a very Christian ethos with many meetings often opening with prayers. The group will be expected to attend church on Sunday as well. Not a problem for my two and a few others but it may be interesting to see how the others in the group react to an African church.

Anyway, this is just me killing time. I really should go and do another ‘kit inspection’ and grab some rest.


6 responses to “Bags packed, ready to go.”

  1. What an exciting opportunity for the pupils and staff at the ither Falkirk school! Good luck to them and may they be richly blessed. A church I was at for my CFA was heavily involved in Malawi, and we had connections with the Mamie Martin organisation – so I have been interested to follow FHS’s involvement. I believe the grandaughter of Mamie Martin was in my class at school – something I only realised when I looked at the FHS blog. Best wishes to them all!

  2. That would be Mariot, I guess?
    The group should be bedding down at Nairobi airport at the moment. Their next flight is early tomorrow morning and the teachers decided it would be more sensible (and safer) to stay in the airport albeit that it wouldn’t be very comfy.
    It turns out that tomorrow’s flight goes via Zambia and has a very brief stopover to shuffle passengers around.
    Haven’t had any contact from them yet but I’m assuming that mobile coverage in Nairobi may not be the best. Either that or it’s too much of an adventure to be bothered txt-ing home.

  3. “That would be Mariot, I guess?” – spot on!

    I think that tiredness coupled with excitement at the strangeness and novelty of it all may preclude texting to “anxious”/”excited” parents! Even the best and most considerate offspring from the best regulated households forget us oldies when they are involved in a group doing their “thing”!

    It’s great they have a blog – at the very least we can follow their itinerary!

  4. The blog’s being updated by me at the moment and it’s a best guess at what they’re doing. I’m hoping that when texts start filtering through I’ll be able to give better info. Unfortunately internet access is very limited where they’re going but we may get the odd message coming through.

  5. Great opportunity, and it will be life changing. Folks from Grangemouth BUSKIT groups come back with eyes opened and new attitudes to life. Possibly same with your daughters…
    It would be good to hear about their experiences. Take it that the blog is on the FHS website ?

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