To change things up a bit and to try something new, a few of
us decided to participate in a ‘blog exchange’ and write a blog for someone
else this month. Thanks to Ashley
Humphreys for making this happen! This
specific edition of the Chan blog is brought to you by Daytona and Kristi
Swarbrick.
We first physically met Byron and Diane in September 2012 as
we were part of the same Hands at Work intake.
Both couples being from Canada, we actually first met virtually via a Skype
conversation with all the Canadian volunteers starting with Hands. We remember hearing Byron share that he and
Diane were going to be married in a month and that they were going to spend
their first year of marriage as volunteers at Hands. We have to admit that when we got off the Skype
call, we both looked at each other and said, “They’re crazy! A first year of marriage is difficult enough,
never mind adding in the challenges that come with moving, leaving family, and
living in an entirely different culture.”
We have since journeyed the past 2.5 years with them and know that starting
their marriage in Africa and volunteering for Hands at Work was definitely the
right thing for Byron and Diane to do.
They were obedient and responded to God’s call for them. In addition, Byron and Diane are some of the
closest people to us. We are so thankful
for their friendship and for being able to grow with them over the past years.
Experiencing a 5-week orientation together definitely had
our friendship off to a quick start.
Throw in a 3-day drive to Zambia in close quarters, a priceless
encounter with some baboons, and celebrating Diane’s birthday at Victoria
Falls, we knew that these two were very special to us.
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| September 2012 Intake Group |
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| Chans and Swarbricks at Victoria Falls |
We have loved watching Byron and Diane grow as a
couple. It is evident that they have not
taken this commitment lightly. Their
marriage is mature and strong and has even been a model to us who have been
married for 17 years.
Over the past year, Kristi has worked very closely with
Diane as they both have been part of the South Africa Regional Support Team
(RST). Diane has been a huge blessing as
the Project Accountant for the RST.
There is a saying that we often say at Hands: “We are before we
do”. This is very true of Diane. She is such a patient, supportive,
encouraging person. These
characteristics are part of who Diane is; they even spill over into her
work. She has been recently training a
new bookkeeper at our local Service Centre.
She understands what it means to build capacity to enable others so that
they truly own the work that they do. We
appreciate Diane’s humility in all that she does.
Byron is a natural-born leader who steps into many
situations with wisdom, but the really great thing about the way he leads is
that he does it through serving humbly (and also with a great deal of humour). In his role, Byron supports and offers
guidance to our Project Support team as a servant-leader. Although there is work to be done, he ensure
he takes that time to see how each of us are doing both personally and
work-related and how he can be of help.
Byron does not sacrifice relationship over work. Daytona and Byron have been active in
encouraging a worshipful community. One
of Daytona’s greatest pleasures at Hands has been playing worship with Byron on
a more regular basis. Byron has a heart
for God and is a skilled musician. He is
willing to put in the hard work that it takes and to step out of his comfort
zone for the community.
Recently we had the opportunity to drive down to Pretoria
for the weekend with Byron and Diane and a few others. It was a fun weekend just to hang out as a
group of close friends and of course food was a big deal since Byron was
there! The menu included Thai, Korean,
muffins at the market, pizza in a cone, ribs hot off a South African braai,
Taiwanese Fried Chicken, and bubble tea!
The highlight of our trip, however, was having Byron and Diane go public
with their baby news! While sitting down
for a cup of the sweetest lemonade ever, they gave up the secret by showing us
something they had bought at the market.
Pulling out a baby mobile, everyone was emotionally impacted, realizing
that our two favourite Chans were becoming three.
We love this photo as it captures the moment perfectly and
shows all the emotion that was felt. We
are extremely excited for Byron and Diane as we know that they will make
fantastic parents, raising their son or daughter to know what it means to be
loved by God and to love Him and others.
We have to admit, however, that as excited as we are, we are sad that
this means them returning to Canada in just two short months. We thank God for the last 2.5 years
together. This has been the start of a
beautiful friendship and we will miss them greatly!
Byron and Diane – thank you for who you are! We love you!
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| Conquering the Amphitheatre Hike together! |
- Kristi & Daytona