Why are we going?

This Sunday we will be in Bangladesh, meeting with Tapon Tripura, one of our sponsored children. So why are we going you might ask. About five years ago, we began talking about taking our children to a developing country. Our main reasons were to expose them (and us) to a world we know little about, to realise how privileged we are in New Zealand and to gain a respect for those in full time missionary work in cultures completely different to their own. Now seems like an opportune time for our children. The practical things have fallen into place easily, although it has been time consuming! Often we hear people say how quickly time passes. Before we realise it, time has slipped away and we miss those precious opportunities to do something wild and different, something that challenges our thinking about the world. As Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65 BC – 8 BC) said in a poem, Carpe Diem - seize the day (or pluck the day when it is ripe). Make the most of the opportunities afforded you today.