April 2007: Welcome to the World, Jackson Henry Powell!

Joelle and I were delighted to become aunt and uncle for the first time on 3rd April 2007. Rachel gave birth to a 4 kilogram baby and, when I asked her "how was it?", told me all about it! It's at times like these that the vast distance between the UK and Taiwan is the most frustrating... Still, we got the chance to see little Jack(son) in July, along with the rest of the family. Seeing Jack just served to convince me that I wanted to be a Dad too!

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2010: What Kind of Church is the 'Right' Church for Us?

Some Christians are very protective about their church denomination, be that Anglican, Baptist or any other label. The USA has 100 different denominations and one type of cheese; France has one denomination and 100 types of cheese. Church in Taiwan was Baptist-flavoured, but it was the friendships we formed there that kept us going. I loved and respected our first pastor because of his character and example; it didn't matter to me if he was Baptist or anything else. When choosing our first UK church, I hoped for another friendly church but one which was much less predictable in its services. In the main, the preaching and worship at Grace Baptist Church were good; the services just didn't allow for any variety or contributions from the congregation. Having experienced a different style of worship in Newfrontiers churches - great music, but the room for prayer, prophecy, testimony and spontaneous singing - I longed to experience that in my own church. Joelle had visited a cou...

August 2003: Enter Joelle!

As I blogged previously, the May retreat was the first time I chatted to Joelle. I knew her by sight, and that she was involved in the church's children's ministry on Sundays, taught kindergarten, and helped with the Powerpoint presentations during our Sunday evening meetings. Following on from the retreat, we had various other opportunities to chat, and also began to talk on MSN Messenger from time to time. I had also provisionally agreed to be a foreign teacher at her kindergarten a few days a week. By the time July came along, I was starting to really like her. Nothing much happened, though - I was terrified of saying anything at that point. I did, however, treat her to a meal on 25th July, her birthday. At the time, I thought I was being subtle; seen from her eyes, it probably looked like a pretty serious statement... She was real fun to be with - bright, optimistic, liked to laugh... and I really enjoyed her company. It was obvious how much she enjoyed working with child...

2009/2010: To the UK!

'Go back to your country and your relatives, and I will make you prosper' (Genesis 32:9) Joelle and I had been considering a possible move to the UK for a while when I read this verse. Was this guidance? My family tried to discourage us - the UK economy was a mess and the job market was very sluggish - but we wanted to make the move if we could get the finances and Joelle's visa together. Despite a few hurdles, we moved to Gravesend, Kent in October 2009; although I had no guarantee of work, we had enough savings to support us while I jobhunted. Our first UK home was a 2-bedroom flat overlooking the town's park. In the winter, once the leaves had fallen from the trees, it was even possible to see container ships passing on the Thames. We settled in quickly, helped by the amazing love and support we received from our new church NKCC. The winter months were a hard slog; (largely) fruitless jobhunting was made all the more frustrating as the days got shorter and shorte...

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