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Issue 64
Dear friends and family,
Thank you for your continued support of us and our work over the last few months. Time has flown since we last wrote, and while it's been a settled period in Gloucester, my (Matt’s) work with colleagues around the world has continued to shift and adapt to changing team capacity and external factors. As the team continues to grow, both in staff and responsibilities, there has been another need to adjust our team structure and I will be taking on further leadership responsibility.
To help process those changes well, the LEAD leadership team (current and future) will be meeting in Gloucester at the end of June. This will be the first time these 6 people have been together in person, so please pray it is a really helpful and encouraging time for us all. This will continue the conversations we started in Thailand in March, and I’m encouraged looking back that we have already been able to make progress with some of the challenges we were facing then.
In keeping with my personality–always keen to make the most of an opportunity–the team will be hosting a “LEAD and friends” day immediately after our meetings. We’ve invited a whole range of existing connections, both within our Wycliffe and SIL network and colleagues at other organisations, to join us for a day of relationship building and exploring further opportunities to collaborate. It should be a really fun time, celebrating what we’ve already tried together and thinking creatively about what could be!
In my Moorlands College role, I’m continuing to lead a team setting up a new online short course on planning for holistic transformation, and we’re hoping this will be ready to run with a first cohort this September. Lots to do before then, but we’re excited about the opportunity this opens up for colleagues from around the world to access the important training.
At home Liz and I celebrated 20 years of marriage this May, enjoying watching our wedding video with the kids (they were impressed it was in colour… lol) and then having a few days in Portugal over half-term as a couple (courtesy of the grandparent entertainers!). As we looked back on the years, we see God’s leading, grace and provision throughout, and are thankful for all the places, people and contributions we’ve been able to be part of - not to mention the kids!
At home, Liz marked a major milestone by finishing her teaching assistant training, confirming what we (and school) all already knew to be true - that she is a highly capable and qualified member of staff! She now just has the paper to prove it! Not only that, the two years of hard work clearly left a mark, as she was recognised with a distinction for her final assessments! Levi has just finished his last end of year exam, this year involving his first GCSE exam: “short course” Religious Studies! So he’ll be looking out for results in late August, like many others! Anya found out her secondary school place, thankfully her preferred choice, and so she is looking forward to that in September. As ever, read more about their news below.
Thank you for your continued financial and prayer support of our work with Wycliffe. With the ongoing impact of inflation* we need to grow our support base to meet our daily needs. If you’re in a position to review your support this would be very much appreciated. Also, if you think your church or friends might be interested in hearing more about our work or Wycliffe more generally, please forward this email to them and/or get in touch.
*Did you know that a gift of £50 when we started with Wycliffe in 2007 would now need to be £85 to have the same spending power in 2026?
Give thanks with us for
Give thanks with us for
+ 20 years of marriage, and all that we’ve been part of together over that time,
+ Liz finishing her training, and having her hard work recognised through her distinction,
+ a good spring season at church, with continued growth in teams and friendships,
+ Anya’s year 6 residential trip and Levi’s bronze Duke of Edinburgh hike.
Join us in prayer
Join us in prayer
+ for the LEAD Global leadership team as we meet here in the UK and make important decisions about plans for the next financial year,
+ for Liz and the kids as they finish up another school year,
+ for Anya as she looks ahead to secondary school in September,
+ for the good onboarding of a couple of new LEAD team members, including a former student joining as an intern for at least a year.
Levi's Latest
Levi's Latest
The last few months have been busy for Levi - with tending to his garden (he remains responsible for anything edible, Liz for anything with flowers), holding down his new job, and studying for his end of year exams! Most things seem to be growing well at the end of the garden, making the most of the sun and the rain, but unfortunately the slugs and snails are also doing well - so a constant war must be waged on those!
At school, Levi has now confirmed his GCSE choices for the next couple of years: choosing Music (no surprise), Geography (not a lot of surprise), and German (clearly benefiting from Liz’s linguistic genes) alongside triple Science. Obviously we’re pleased he’s chosen to continue with a language, even if it is one neither of us can help him with at all!
Levi enjoyed completing his practice hike for his Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award recently, taking a lead with map-reading for his group, and he is looking forward to the actual expedition later this month. We are all hoping for another (fairly!) dry weekend as the groups head out.
Making the most of an inset day with his mountain bike!
Anya's Answers
Anya's Answers
All ready for her week away!
Anya is having a great last term at primary school. After getting SATS out of the way before half term, she now seems to be mostly working on the Year 6 production, Beauty and the Beast! She is enjoying getting stuck into drama and music, and has recently been asked to be an understudy to the narrators, so she is swatting up on her lines!
Anya is, as I write, on her way to the Isle of Wight for her Year 6 residential, which she has also been very excited about (and a little nervous, understandably!). I’m sure she will have a fantastic time with her friends and Levi well remembers the fun-packed itinerary, so I’m sure she will return home with lots of stories to tell!
She is also looking forward to her move to secondary school in September. There is a decent sized group going to the school from her current primary school so she will have some familiar faces, alongside an opportunity to make new friends. We have started getting her uniform together but Anya is most looking forward to choosing her stationery this summer!
Thank you for all your continued support of us and our work with Wycliffe. You continue in our thoughts and prayers. As ever, if you're passing Gloucester this summer please do reach out - we'd love to see you!
Sending lots of love, Matt, Liz, Levi and Anya
Sending lots of love, Matt, Liz, Levi and Anya
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