We’ve been off the grid for the last week attending CMS (Church Missionary Society) Summer School. I am lucky that I get study leave for the week, but, truth be told, I’d take holidays if they didn’t offer it.

Things to love about Summer School:

1. My Boss: Allan & his family also attend. For the last couple of years, they have also shared accommodation with us, allowing us to stay at the house of a friend of theirs. It’s been incredibly generous of them (who wants 4 little kids humming around them for a week?) and we’ve enjoyed it both times!

2. The Missionaries: So, the story with Summer School is that CMS supports a bucketload of missionaries. When they are back home on furlough, they come along & do a bunch of different seminars about their work & mission in general. It’s also an opportunity for supporters to meet them in person.

3. The talks: Each year they get a key-note speaker. This year it was a guy called Andrew Reid who took us through the book of Exodus over 7 sermons. It’s great to spend a week in an intensive, hearing a new talk each morning.

4. The People: The main auditorium holds a couple of thousand people, and the children/youth programme caters for about 1000 kids! It’s wonderful to sing in the big hangar with so many people, and it’s great to see so many kids being challenged in their Christian faith.

5. Mountains weather: The Blue Mountains are not cold  by US mountain standards, but in the middle of summer, it’s lovely to have cool days and nights.

6. Time with Family: It’s full-on, but it’s great to hang with the kids for the week, and I love the opportunity to sit next to my wife during sermons!

So, we had a great time, but now it’s back home. How lucky am I that I also love home, and work!