Delme Linscott is a minister, serving the Wesley Methodist Church in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa. He is married to Kim and together they have three sons, Declan, Nathan and Joshua.

So how do you cope with your family and friends living so far away from you? Have you philosophically managed to accept the feelings of disappointment and sadness or is there a constant ache that throbs in the core of your being?

Most of us know someone who is living overseas – perhaps you wouldn’t be reading these pages if you didn’t! Whatever your emotions and thoughts are on this subject, I want you to know that I have walked (and I am walking) in your shoes - I have close family living abroad.

In some way our sense of resilience has helped us to create ways of dealing with having our loved ones living in a distant land. Some of these coping mechanisms are helpful, whilst others barely get us by.

This is a book of hope and encouragement. It is not my intention to tell you how to deal with your own personal situation, but as I share part of my own story, I pray that you would be filled with courage and hope.

If you learn anything from these pages then please, by all means, apply it into your own life and family situation. I invite you to journey with me through the pages and chapters of this book - together let us allow Jesus Christ to draw alongside us and to be our guide.