You stepped down into darkness
Opened my eyes let me see
Beauty that made
This heart adores You
Hope of a life spent with You
So here I am to worship
Here I am to bow down
Here I am to say that
You're my God
And You're altogether lovely
Altogether worthy
Altogether wonderful to me
King of all days
Oh so highly exalted
Glorious in heaven above
Humbly You came
To the earth You created
All for love's sake became poor
And I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
And I'll never know how much it cost
To see my sin upon that cross
This was one of the songs we sang this morning in church. As I was singing it, in my mind, I started to travel around the different places I have sung this song, including Holy Trinity, Stalybridge, One Up, Salisbury, and All Saints, Darfield. I could see the faces of so many different people and hear the voices of others. It’s difficult to describe what was going on, but it was an incredible experience, I felt like I was with all the people I care about and it also felt like a glimpse of heaven, when all those people will be together worshipping the Lord.
There are those who will read what I have just written and tell me it just a product of my imagination, and maybe it was, but I would rather see it as a gift from God to encourage me, and it did.
This week has been another disrupted one for school, with Monday and Tuesday as holidays due to the elections. Looking back I have only actually worked one complete week since we returned to school after the Christmas holidays, and there is a rumour going round that we might have to close on Thursday for a Chellum.
Everyone here is very thankful that the election passed with very like trouble on Monday and so far things are going very well. No one party gained enough seats to form a government, so now all the parties are in negotiations over who will work with whom in a coalition government. Your continued prayers would still be appreciated.
The production is now only a week and a half away and I go through moments when I think, we are going to pull it off and then others when I think it will be a disaster!!! Out of a cast of 7 I am only confident that 3 of them have there lines completely and one of them is Edna the maid, who only has 7 lines in the whole play!! I can only trust now that the kids will pull it out of the bag at the last minute and that it will be well received by the audience.
All is well with my health and all my symptoms have disappeared, which is encouraging. I haven’t quite yet signed up at the gym, but that should be sorted this week. I have also continued to monitor my blood pressure which has dropped to more normal levels, which is also pleasing.
The other event of this week was the inspection of my car by the insurance company. This was caused by my need to renew my car insurance; apparently, the inspection is standard practice here in Pakistan and actually makes sense to me. The inspector took about 30 photos of the car from every conceivable angle, so in the event of a claim they know exactly the condition the car was in before. The funniest part for me was when the bonnet was opened and I watched as the inspector and Faroukh stood there looking at the engine for about 5 minutes, looking and poking and having a conversation in Urdu that I couldn’t follow! It would seem that men are the same the world over, open a bonnet and they will stand there looking at the engine. Though of course, not this man, I was stood there in pyjamas just wanting them to get it over and done with so I could get back to my sewing…
Sunday, 24 February 2008
Friday, 15 February 2008
Chief Medical Officer's log Update...
I have been in contact with Dr Ayshea again today, to be told that my chest X ray is normal! So it's good to know that at least one bit of me is normal!!
School is definitely closed on Monday and it looks as if Tuesday may also be a holiday. Then there will the results anounced on Thursday which might also force us to close, so it will be another disrupted week.
I did think ahead and have made sure that my Year 9 Maths Class have plenty of work to do, as you can imagine they were thrilled...
School is definitely closed on Monday and it looks as if Tuesday may also be a holiday. Then there will the results anounced on Thursday which might also force us to close, so it will be another disrupted week.
I did think ahead and have made sure that my Year 9 Maths Class have plenty of work to do, as you can imagine they were thrilled...
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Chief Medical Officer's log...
Okay maybe I have been watching just a little too much Star Trek Voyager! I am half way through Season 3, with 4 more seasons to go!! The best part is that each season costs me about Rs500/- or 4GBP and not the 70 GBP it would have cost in the UK!
Yesterday, I was back to the hospital for my test results, which on the whole were not unexpected. As I suspected my bad cholesterol is above normal, though my good cholesterol is fine. My blood pressure is on the high side of normal and the echo cardiogram showed my left ventricle under a little bit of strain. The up shot being I have been told to lose weight (hands up anyone who is surprised to hear that!) and start to take some more exercise.
Stewart and I are off to the gym tomorrow to sign up, so that I can start swimming again. History tells me that swimming is by far the best thing for me to do, as not only does it fulfil the exercise need, I also enjoy doing it!!
Dr Ayesah (who by the way, is as mad as a fish!) has also put me on a drug regime to reduce my cholesterol, and blood pressure and wants to see me again in 3 months. The hope is that with the drugs and the changes in lifestyle, my blood pressure and cholesterol will return to normal and I can stop taking the drugs in three months times.
The other thing that came up was a slight shadow on my lung which Dr Ayesah has checked out today with a chest X ray. She just wants to be certain that it is only the end of a chest infection and not TB!! I need to ring her tomorrow to get the results.
Other than that it’s been a fairly quiet week, though next week maybe a little livelier. Monday is scheduled for the election and it would appear at the moment that it will go ahead. It would seem that unless all the parties are elected and all the party leaders become Prime Minister, it is likely that there will be some violence. It is very difficult to predict who will win, and all we can do is pray that sense prevails and the politicians can some how work together!
I had really good lesson today with my Year 9 Chemistry class. We were revising all the work we had done so far this year and I pleased to say, they really have got it. I was so encouraging to be with a group of young people who now know more about chemistry than they did in September when I arrived. Also not only had they learnt, but they were enjoying it as well.
People some times ask me why I am a teacher. I am a teacher for moments like these, who knows I might have switched one of these young people on to a love of chemistry that will lead them on to discover more of the wonders of the fantastic world in which God has placed us.
Chief Medical Officer out…
Yesterday, I was back to the hospital for my test results, which on the whole were not unexpected. As I suspected my bad cholesterol is above normal, though my good cholesterol is fine. My blood pressure is on the high side of normal and the echo cardiogram showed my left ventricle under a little bit of strain. The up shot being I have been told to lose weight (hands up anyone who is surprised to hear that!) and start to take some more exercise.
Stewart and I are off to the gym tomorrow to sign up, so that I can start swimming again. History tells me that swimming is by far the best thing for me to do, as not only does it fulfil the exercise need, I also enjoy doing it!!
Dr Ayesah (who by the way, is as mad as a fish!) has also put me on a drug regime to reduce my cholesterol, and blood pressure and wants to see me again in 3 months. The hope is that with the drugs and the changes in lifestyle, my blood pressure and cholesterol will return to normal and I can stop taking the drugs in three months times.
The other thing that came up was a slight shadow on my lung which Dr Ayesah has checked out today with a chest X ray. She just wants to be certain that it is only the end of a chest infection and not TB!! I need to ring her tomorrow to get the results.
Other than that it’s been a fairly quiet week, though next week maybe a little livelier. Monday is scheduled for the election and it would appear at the moment that it will go ahead. It would seem that unless all the parties are elected and all the party leaders become Prime Minister, it is likely that there will be some violence. It is very difficult to predict who will win, and all we can do is pray that sense prevails and the politicians can some how work together!
I had really good lesson today with my Year 9 Chemistry class. We were revising all the work we had done so far this year and I pleased to say, they really have got it. I was so encouraging to be with a group of young people who now know more about chemistry than they did in September when I arrived. Also not only had they learnt, but they were enjoying it as well.
People some times ask me why I am a teacher. I am a teacher for moments like these, who knows I might have switched one of these young people on to a love of chemistry that will lead them on to discover more of the wonders of the fantastic world in which God has placed us.
Chief Medical Officer out…
Sunday, 10 February 2008
We have the technology...
We can rebuild him; we have the world’s first bionic man!!!
Okay slightly, melodramatic!
I was back at the hospital yesterday first for an echo cardiogram, where the technician valiant tried to do away with the need for the sonogram, by attempting to push the ‘wand’ through my chest wall and directly into my heart!! I nearly suggested at one point that opening my chest would be easier for her!
After that I was fitted with a heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hours, so I writing this with five little pads stuck to my chest. This did require some little patches to be shaved on my chest, for like Esau I am ‘an hairy man’(sic). This was necessary so the pads would stick properly. One positive thing from today was I was able assess my understanding of Urdu as the lady fitting the heart monitor only had a little English, but between her little English and ‘mera choti Urdu’(my little Urdu) we were able to communicate and I felt very proud of my little self!
Today I am preaching at the Cathedral, and for those of you not fortunate enough to be an Anglican, you maybe unaware that today is the First Sunday in Lent, and we have decided to preach our way through the Old Testament readings in the Sundays of Lent. I get to kick off tomorrow with Genesis 3 – The Fall of Man.
After this I have a brunch date with Stewart, Laurie and Dez at the Marriott hotel, followed by provisions buying at Makro.
Production preparation are still going full steam ahead, the main problem remains the cast reluctance to actually use the words as written by Mr Priestley!! The set has been built and despite my slight slur on the name of Tanveer Carpenter, he actually came in exactly on time with this one. Our Assistant Director, Umaima (one of the Y11’s) is brilliant and has all the props and furniture sorted and has had all the cast measured for costumes so assuming that the cast get their heads around the lines, we should have a success on our hands!
Time is passing at fantastic rate and it has struck me today that 6 weeks from now it will be Easter Sunday and Lord willing, the production will have passed of successfully, 37 kids and 4 staff will have had a fantastic time in Egypt and Thomas will be here and looking forward to two weeks in Pakistan, with a few days in India thrown in for good measure!
Anyway I have just remember that I made up one of the Angel Delights, that Katey sent to me so time to go and enjoy that…
Okay slightly, melodramatic!
I was back at the hospital yesterday first for an echo cardiogram, where the technician valiant tried to do away with the need for the sonogram, by attempting to push the ‘wand’ through my chest wall and directly into my heart!! I nearly suggested at one point that opening my chest would be easier for her!
After that I was fitted with a heart monitor that I have to wear for 24 hours, so I writing this with five little pads stuck to my chest. This did require some little patches to be shaved on my chest, for like Esau I am ‘an hairy man’(sic). This was necessary so the pads would stick properly. One positive thing from today was I was able assess my understanding of Urdu as the lady fitting the heart monitor only had a little English, but between her little English and ‘mera choti Urdu’(my little Urdu) we were able to communicate and I felt very proud of my little self!
Today I am preaching at the Cathedral, and for those of you not fortunate enough to be an Anglican, you maybe unaware that today is the First Sunday in Lent, and we have decided to preach our way through the Old Testament readings in the Sundays of Lent. I get to kick off tomorrow with Genesis 3 – The Fall of Man.
After this I have a brunch date with Stewart, Laurie and Dez at the Marriott hotel, followed by provisions buying at Makro.
Production preparation are still going full steam ahead, the main problem remains the cast reluctance to actually use the words as written by Mr Priestley!! The set has been built and despite my slight slur on the name of Tanveer Carpenter, he actually came in exactly on time with this one. Our Assistant Director, Umaima (one of the Y11’s) is brilliant and has all the props and furniture sorted and has had all the cast measured for costumes so assuming that the cast get their heads around the lines, we should have a success on our hands!
Time is passing at fantastic rate and it has struck me today that 6 weeks from now it will be Easter Sunday and Lord willing, the production will have passed of successfully, 37 kids and 4 staff will have had a fantastic time in Egypt and Thomas will be here and looking forward to two weeks in Pakistan, with a few days in India thrown in for good measure!
Anyway I have just remember that I made up one of the Angel Delights, that Katey sent to me so time to go and enjoy that…
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
It would appear I spoke too soon...
when I claimed that winter was over. The temperature has taken a nose dive again, and if the BBC website is to be believed then it’s going to get a lot colder. Though there was some disbelief when we read that the minimum temperature on Thursday will be minus 1!! This was universally agreed to be a mistake, let’s hope so because I have not packed my thermals! Though there is a gale blowing outside at the moment, so you never know?!?!
I have been on holiday for the last two days as we have been having our half term holiday. Which has been a little weird as due to the various civil unrest problems we have had, we have actually only been in school for 17 days since the Christmas Holiday ended! We also will have at least one more day off for the election before we finish for Easter on the 14th March, which only five weeks away.
The last four days have also been a high point in my social calendar. Friday, Stewart and I went of to the Avari Hotel and sampled the Chinese Restaurant there followed by me winning at Trivial Pursuits. Then on Saturday UKAP held there Games Evening which saw my team in the winning position again in our game of Trivial Pursuits, though this was the 1990’s edition, with many of the questions about the UK in the 90’s which did leave my team at a disadvantage as Ruth and Dan left the UK in the early 60’s.
Then on Sunday I was invited to Zulfi and Kathy’s for dinner, which was lovely, though it did mean that I didn’t get to bed until after midnight. This was followed with all day rehearsals on Monday for An Inspector calls which opens in a little over four weeks!! I would feel more confident if the cast all knew their lines, this is still something we are hoping for!?!?!? At least the set is taking shape and that did give the cast a push so Lubna and I are still hopeful that they will pull it altogether in the end. Inshallah!
Then Monday night we had a house group dinner round at Graham and Hilary’s though Hilary is away at the moment in the UK dealing with house issues. This was followed by our final Bible Study in our series on Women in the Bible by looking at Phoebe, which led to an interesting discussion on the authority of scripture and the role of women in the church, something light for a Monday Evening!
Tuesday saw me under ’house arrest’ once again as it was Kashmir Day, which is a public holiday and had the possibility for trouble ,thankfully there was no trouble and I was able to get on top of my marking, so all ways round, a good day.
It was back to school this morning though I only spent the first couple of hours there as I headed of to the Aga Khan Hospital at about 10.30. The reason being a ‘tingling’ sensation down my left had side which had been there for a couple of days. I had various tests including a ECG, Ultra sound scan of my cerotic arteries and MRI scan of my head. I also have to go back on Saturday for a couple more tests. The up shot is that the doctor suspects a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). She explained that this is not very serious as the scans were all clear. A TIA is sometimes known as a mini-stroke and can be a precursor to a stroke. However, as I responded to the symptoms very quickly and the MRI scan showed (and I am quoting) ‘A beautiful brain’ and there was no damage to the cerotic arteries she was very positive about the prognosis. She as put me on medication for a couple of weeks and wants to see me again next Wednesday, I am also monitoring my blood pressure as she suspects that I may have slightly high blood pressure. And of course she has advised me that I should reduce my weight as that is also a contributing factor!! I am quite peaceful about this though I would appreciate your prayers that I remain so and that the rest of the tests come back clear.
Today ended with the announcement that the Governor as declared a school holiday for tomorrow as it will be Chellum for Benazir Bhutto. Chellum is the 40th day after death and is an important day for Muslims marked with Prayer. As Sindh Province was Benazir’s home the day is being marked with a holiday. There is also the possibility that some will take the opportunity to make trouble, please pray that this doesn’t happen. It means another day at home for me and the last of marking can be completed, and I can also spend some time finishing my latest cross stitch project, which is coming together nicely.
Let’s hope that it warms up soon as at the moment I am fully dressed and freezing in the front room, and I am off to get my duvet…
I have been on holiday for the last two days as we have been having our half term holiday. Which has been a little weird as due to the various civil unrest problems we have had, we have actually only been in school for 17 days since the Christmas Holiday ended! We also will have at least one more day off for the election before we finish for Easter on the 14th March, which only five weeks away.
The last four days have also been a high point in my social calendar. Friday, Stewart and I went of to the Avari Hotel and sampled the Chinese Restaurant there followed by me winning at Trivial Pursuits. Then on Saturday UKAP held there Games Evening which saw my team in the winning position again in our game of Trivial Pursuits, though this was the 1990’s edition, with many of the questions about the UK in the 90’s which did leave my team at a disadvantage as Ruth and Dan left the UK in the early 60’s.
Then on Sunday I was invited to Zulfi and Kathy’s for dinner, which was lovely, though it did mean that I didn’t get to bed until after midnight. This was followed with all day rehearsals on Monday for An Inspector calls which opens in a little over four weeks!! I would feel more confident if the cast all knew their lines, this is still something we are hoping for!?!?!? At least the set is taking shape and that did give the cast a push so Lubna and I are still hopeful that they will pull it altogether in the end. Inshallah!
Then Monday night we had a house group dinner round at Graham and Hilary’s though Hilary is away at the moment in the UK dealing with house issues. This was followed by our final Bible Study in our series on Women in the Bible by looking at Phoebe, which led to an interesting discussion on the authority of scripture and the role of women in the church, something light for a Monday Evening!
Tuesday saw me under ’house arrest’ once again as it was Kashmir Day, which is a public holiday and had the possibility for trouble ,thankfully there was no trouble and I was able to get on top of my marking, so all ways round, a good day.
It was back to school this morning though I only spent the first couple of hours there as I headed of to the Aga Khan Hospital at about 10.30. The reason being a ‘tingling’ sensation down my left had side which had been there for a couple of days. I had various tests including a ECG, Ultra sound scan of my cerotic arteries and MRI scan of my head. I also have to go back on Saturday for a couple more tests. The up shot is that the doctor suspects a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA). She explained that this is not very serious as the scans were all clear. A TIA is sometimes known as a mini-stroke and can be a precursor to a stroke. However, as I responded to the symptoms very quickly and the MRI scan showed (and I am quoting) ‘A beautiful brain’ and there was no damage to the cerotic arteries she was very positive about the prognosis. She as put me on medication for a couple of weeks and wants to see me again next Wednesday, I am also monitoring my blood pressure as she suspects that I may have slightly high blood pressure. And of course she has advised me that I should reduce my weight as that is also a contributing factor!! I am quite peaceful about this though I would appreciate your prayers that I remain so and that the rest of the tests come back clear.
Today ended with the announcement that the Governor as declared a school holiday for tomorrow as it will be Chellum for Benazir Bhutto. Chellum is the 40th day after death and is an important day for Muslims marked with Prayer. As Sindh Province was Benazir’s home the day is being marked with a holiday. There is also the possibility that some will take the opportunity to make trouble, please pray that this doesn’t happen. It means another day at home for me and the last of marking can be completed, and I can also spend some time finishing my latest cross stitch project, which is coming together nicely.
Let’s hope that it warms up soon as at the moment I am fully dressed and freezing in the front room, and I am off to get my duvet…
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