Margaret is a 50-something year old kiwi from Matamata (aka Hobbiton), NZ and one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met.  She works out in a rural village hospital in India, doing whatever needs doing.  She has no medical experience, yet she frequently has to pump out people's tummies when they drink pestcide, give injections, hold people down while the doctor operates... 

As the Indian nurses won't go near the Aids patients (of which they receive about 4 new patients a week in the tiny village), she looks after all of them, and the babies they leave behind when they die.  They are opening a children's home out there soon to look after all the Aids orphans, but they already know it will be too small for the need when it opens.  She goes out during the week, and comes back at weekends.  While at the hospital, she has a cold water bucket bath and can only cook by immersing things in hot water.  Yet, she is one of the most content and together people I've ever met.

So when a couple of us thought it was a good idea to go to Singapore for a weekend before Christmas, we couldn't help but decide to surprise Margaret with a trip with us.

Trying to keep it from her started with a small white lie, but it wasn't long before the web of deceipt was out of control.  There were three others in on it.  We had to consult with each other before speaking to Margaret, who I think thought that we had the piff with her, as it became easier not to talk to her in case we blew our cover!

I managed to get her to commit to coming to my house for the weekend of the journey.  She was so very excited about - hot running water, usually electricity, DVD player...  I felt bad.  Then my friend arranged for her to be asked to stay in town instead of going to the hospital for the week.  She was told there were people coming to visit that our boss wanted her to meet.  She was so very excited - she thought that it might be someone to do with the children's home she wants to start....  I felt bad.

Many lies and deceptions later, we picked her up on a Wednesday night from a friend's house and made her pack her bag, telling her the weekend started then.  Then we told her we had to pick up a friend from the airport (she really was arriving, just later that night).  Margaret is so trusting that when we pulled into the airport and pulled out suitcases for each of us, she actually thought we were making space for our other friend's suitcases!  Once she realised what was going on, the look on her face was quite the most priceless thing I've ever seen.  Except maybe for when she noticed that we were at the international terminal! 

Needless to say, we had a fabulous time in Singapore - shopping and being pampered, eating bacon and drinking real coffee.  The icing on the cake was two extraordinary God-incidences, which make being in God's will so much fun.  The great deceipt it may have been, but it was the best thing I've ever done!