CHRIST CHURCH, ADEN 
 Email:chrchu@y.net.ye 
Web:www.stchcathedral.org.bh

2002 has been quite a year!  Our Christmas celebrations went well and were followed by lunch when 34 of us sat down to a “bring and share” meal. Those 34 people were made up of 8different nationalities. It was a good occasion but sadly followed by the awful news that Claire’s Dad, Keith, died in his sleep when he and Liz, Claire’s Mum, were staying with them in Southsea; he was only 65!  Having been sent home from the Middle East for medical reasons just before Christmas, Vincent had his Gall bladder removed in January then re-joined his ship in Singapore in April. 

There have been no more Ethiopian weddings this year but two members of staff have invited us to the weddings of their relatives, Yemeni style.

Pat Goodchild, a volunteer from England, came out just after Christmas to teach English for a while. We realised what a real need there was by the number of young people turning up and we were fortunate to find that Gail, whose teaching contract elsewhere in Aden had finished, was willing to come to us full-time. Gail started in May and has seen many students through her hands this year.

We attended our first Synod in Cyprus at the end of January, it was good to be with everyone from around the diocese and a welcome break from routine. It was there that we met up with Ray and Roz from Aqaba in Jordan and they persuaded us to go and spend a few days with them instead of staying in Cyprus until our flight back to Aden. We had a lovely time and visited all the tourist spots such as Petra, Wadi Rhum, Bethany, Mount Nebo etc..

After being back in Aden for a while we were invited to Dubai to attend the Nautical Society Ball and make a presentation of our work with seafarers here – they gave us a generous donation for this cause. Whilst we were in Dubai Bishop Clive dedicated a new 1,000 seater church in Jebel Ali so we were able to be present for that too. 

It rained on April 13^th just as we had started building the extension to the Eye Clinic! The extension was completed by October and we hope to have a resident Ophthalmologist from Ethiopia in the new year.

Our next trip out of Yemen was to Bahrain for the Blessing of Oils and Re-affirmation of Ordination vows, it was the first time since ordination that Colin had been away from his “parish” at Easter. 

As well as the Bishop making his annual calls various other people have stayed with  us during the year. Two people from the Christophel Blinden Mission came to discuss with us the 5 year plan we have for the Eye Clinic. Two others came to complete a survey on the welfare of seafarers in Aden port and Dr. John Sandford-Smith has paid two visits to perform sight correction operations for us in the Clinic. 

We finally took the advice of many friends and subscribed to Orbit Television which enabled us to watch all the UK celebrations for the Queen’s Jubilee and has made us feel more in touch with the outside world (we even get East Enders!). The Brits in Yemen celebrated the Jubilee with a gathering at the Embassy in Sana’a, to which we were invited and the replacing of the Queen Victoria statue in the gardens here at Tawahi where she was originally before independence.

Our annual leave came in the summer and we enjoyed some very good weather whilst in England so we didn’t notice the cold too much. It was good to be with family and friends and to have Jessica and Daniel stay several times at the flat with us. Kaye and John were having extension work to their house, Kaye is very happy working at St.Helena’s Hospice, Colchester and is doing extra study into Cancer care. Jessica is now at her senior school and she and Daniel are both doing well. We were also able to get around and meet many of our supporters and speak to Churches and groups so we now have faces to put to names. We were also able to visit CMS to discuss the possibility of having a nurse join us on the team next year and to The Mission to Seafarers to discuss the appointment of a ship visitor for the port and the creation of a Seafarer’s centre. Sadly after the attack on the French tanker just off this coast the port is almost empty and everything is once again on hold! 

The biggest surprise and greatest delight of the year was to learn that Claire was pregnant and she gave birth to a son, Harry, on October 22^nd. We will see him in February when we visit UK from Cyprus between the Diocesan Synod and attendance at the ACC conference also to be held in Cyprus. 

At the end of October we attended the MECC in Kuwait and met many more Christians from around the whole of the Gulf. Back in Aden Colin led the usual Remembrance services at Ma’alla and Silent Valley before travelling to Bahrain for the Installation of Alan Hayday as the new Dean of S. Christopher’s Cathedral.

This letter may sound more like a travelogue than a newsletter but travel is part of the task and privilege of ministering in the Middle East and in particular living in Yemen.

We have found this a busy and challenging year that has often tested our faith and emotions but supported by the thoughts and prayers of so many people we have been able to continue in this place to which we believe we were called.

As we write this we are about to begin the season of Advent and our preparations to celebrate the birth of Our Lord at Bethlehem. As a time when families are usually together this becomes a tough time for those of us who will not see them and with the current situation it seems that there will be even less than usual to join us for our celebrations here. However, wherever we are the Spirit of Our Saviour is with us and as we sing our Carols of Praise here we know that around the world our friends and loved ones will be doing the same and so we are united with them through His Love. 

We wish you and your loved ones a Happy Christmas and a Peaceful New Year With love from us both,