A Scottish challenge for couple

10:32am Friday 15th July 2005

SALVATION Army officers in Leytonstone will say goodbye to their faithful community and travel 650 miles to the northern tip of Scotland to take up a new ministry.

Major Fiona and Captain Martin Sayer, both 38, moved to Leytonstone with their three young children seven years ago and have been happy while stationed at the church in Southwell Grove.

Their children, Katy, 11, and Jack, eight, at Dawlish Primary School, and Amy, 13, at the Lammas School, grew up in the area and will leave many friendships behind.

The family will move to Thurso, a rural coastal town 20 miles from John o'Groats, the most northerly tip of the Scottish mainland. The church overlooks the sea and across to the Orkney Islands.

Mr and Mrs Sayer expect to miss the people here and the convenience of living in London. Their new home will be 100 miles from the nearest supermarket and other mainstream shops in Inverness are a two-and-a-half-hour drive away.

They are looking forward to long walks outdoors with the family's greyhound, Quest, who came from Walthamstow Stadium.

Mrs Sayer said: "We're looking forward to living in a tight knit community where everybody knows everybody. I think it will be a good experience. The kids will have a freedom they don't have here, to play outside and go places on their own, and there will be more opportunities for them once they make the adjustment."

While in Leytonstone the Sayers have "been making friends with lots of people, and letting them know that the church is there for them when nobody else is".

Mr Sayer said: "The Salvation Army is very practical of the fact that we show God's love by helping in the community."

He added: "I'm thankful to the community for the support over the years, not just towards us but to the church as well."

There will be a farewell service for the Sayer family in the Salvation Army church in Southwell Grove on Sunday.

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