A reader wrote today saying ~
Your 'Swallows and Amazons' life in Africa does sound wonderful. What I don't sense in the book is that you were ever worried about your future security even in the short term. Was it not something you thought of or does it just not show? Or have you mastered being fully reliant on God?
Dear Chris,
I suppose my sense of security at the time was pretty much the same as the Swallows'. We were quite careful about our equipment and stores, but once organised we just went forth, enjoying the adventure of it all. As my letters suggest, I had the security of my friends and my family at home but had to trust God every step of the way.
Sometimes, when things kept going wrong, I had no option but to up the trust and plough on regardless. Perhaps this is something I learnt off the South Africans. Whilst putting 'Ride the Wings of Morning' together made detailed plans for a trip only to have my (fully equipped) 4WD vehicle stolen in Johannesburg on the first night. Charles Baber advised me to 'always stick to the plan', so I hired a car and kept driving. It was rather a relief to only travel with my overnight bag, although I was jolly cross about the theft.
I did have good travel insurance but didn't get the chance to put much into my pension
during the years spent in southern Africa. I'm trying to be sensible
about that now, which is a bit dull. Perhaps I should have been more adventurous!
Yours,
Sophie
