You've heard of long distance telephone calls and even long distance romances, but at the moment Matthew and Rowan, our two younger boys, have a long distance brother! Nathan, our oldest son who recently turned 11, started international school in Chiang Mai in August. Nathan has my old mobile phone (mobile phone calls here are quite cheap) and rings us whenever he needs to talk or ask a question. But every week we set a time when we all sit down with Skype and have a good, long chat. What has been really fun is to see Matthew and Rowan interacting with Nathan via Skype. We turn on the webcam, and then the fun begins!

Nathan might be having a serious chat with Mum or Dad, but as soon as Matthew or Rowan starts waving and jumping in the background, he breaks out into a big grin and really brightens up. The three of them love chatting, sending smiley faces and even playing tic-tac-toe by Skype. Having our son living away from home isn't a choice that Belinda or I would normally want to make, but it is necessary so we can serve the Lord here. It's great that technology helps bridge the distance and brings Nathan a bit closer to us and his younger brothers.