TESTIMONIES
Christine Winfield
16 years ago we lived in a maisonette on a council housing estate. We had a pocket handkerchief of a garden. We paid rent. My retirement was due in two years and I envisaged it as taking coach rides throughout England with a friend who worked with me at school. I was happy and content and I saw my retirement as more or less doing the same as I was doing then, but with the luxury of perhaps having a lay-in some mornings. But God had other ideas. My brother suggested I apply to the council for the Right to Buy. We were totally overcome with the offer they gave us. They were allowing us to buy a three bed roomed house, half an hour away from London, built on the outskirts of town with fields and a little brook just round the corner, for 8,000 English pounds, We thought they had made a mistake. They had not. We bought. Two years after, due to a series of events, we considered moving to Cyprus, but didn’t know how we would raise the cash to buy. We put our council house on the market and got a cash buyer immediately. We had a small house built in Emba, with a garden, and were able to pay cash for it. We had enough money to buy a car. We had a little money left to put in the bank. Our favourite tree grew here, the Frangipani and we planted one as soon as we moved in. It’s now well established and treats us to its fragrance every evening. Our life is full and satisfying. We have a wonderful church. Before we came I thought that if I could make one true friend and find one place that served fresh coffee, I would make it work. God has been so loving and generous. I have more than one good friend, many acquaintances and found many venues to chat to them over a fresh coffee. I sit under the Flame tree in the early hours when most of Paphos is asleep, having my quiet time with God and I feel as if I’m in Eden. I consider I’m living in His home and enjoying His garden and feel so overwhelmed by His love. Before I left school, where I was a nursery nurse, to retire one of my colleagues said how amazing it was that I had realized my dream. But it had never been my dream – it hadn’t even been a consideration – not even a passing thought. But it was God’s dream for me; one of his many gifts to me! I still have to pinch myself to believe it. Thank You Father for bringing me from a council housing estate to my own Eden. You are my everything