Tim and Ana with Kevin

Last week Tim and Ana had their big day in Vancouver! Kevin is back now with me beside the Indian Ocean, after experiencing a very valuable time together with our new extended family. Ana's parents, Doug and Wendy made Kevin very welcome, and for me the saddest part was that I could not be there for this wonderful day. Tim's Mum Ingrid would have been thrilled to be there. She was sorely missed by her family.

For us, a new phase is soon to start (again) as we have only a couple of months to go before leaving Tanzania. While Kevin was away I managed to sort most of my books, so after term starts on 10th September, I will mostly be helping the 'O' level students get up to scratch for their finals in November. Of course the form III Bible Knowledge students will also be studying Luke's Gospel. Pray for all the staff and students as we start back after these holidays, in which a national census has been carried out.

The computer lab is now hard-wired for internet connection, and the national telephone company, TTCL poised to join it up with very costly wires. Pray that these do not disappear after installation, as some have been known to do. It is all a risk, as is most of life. We will take the leap of faith and leave the rest to the Almighty.

Touching the Pacific

Kevin officially arrived on the other side of the world last Saturday! This coming Thursday, Tim his son is marrying Ana in Vancouver, Canada, so he had to go. Last Monday, Doug, her father took Kevin out on Victoria Island, where he completed the experience of touching the three great Oceans the world. He didn't go for a swim as far as I know. He'll be back swimming in the Indian Ocean next week - no comparison! (in my humble opinion)

I was sad not to be able to go because of the health risk if I fly. So what will we do in order to get back to Britain at the end of the year? We plan to travel by train to Cape Town, and then board a container ship to Tilbury Docks, London in November. The port is on the North shore of the river Thames, about 25 miles downstream from London Bridge.

In October it will be 100 years since my grandfather sailed from Liverpool to Africa. He worked in Kenya until 1952, and my mother spent her early years there. As you can imagine it will be quite a pull for me leaving Africa after so many years of my own life, and many more ancestral years marked up. Pray for the packing experience which I have started now - for wisdom as to how much to keep, and what to do with the rest.

hard wiring in the lab

At last the internet connection is more than just a dream. Last Friday wafundi wawili (two technicians) arrived with all their gear and started putting blue wires all around the computer laboratory, office, and administration block in the school. We are hoping that TTCL (Tanzania Telephones) will come with a link to make the connection fairly soon, and then the work will really start; Running a teaching laboratory with internet is quite a different operation to managing one without.

Kevin had several long days of work as they got started. After the travel from Bagamoyo it was a challenge to go straight in to this, as well as baking some amazing bread and getting packed and ready to go to Canada for his son's wedding next week. He travelled from Iringa by bus yesterday and is now in Dar having a day to rest before flying tomorrow. I had a rest day catching up with friends here in Iringa yesterday. Much easier! I'm going back to Kilolo today and will be sorting through my books...

Nyaulingo

Nyaulingo has been helping us cook especially when there's been more to do recently. With five of us in the house, we decided to invite the teachers for an evening meal. Hannah, Katy and Jack did a beef roast in a pit using bricks, sticks and tin foil. Definitely to be repeated. The rice we cooked went into a mush, I think because it was this year's harvest - that's a good excuse anyway, and I tried to do too much of it (around 4kg uncooked). Nyaulingo did ginger carrots -yummy, and cabbage stir-fry, also yummy, and the others made a banana cake as a delicious finale.

Yesterday we drove to Bagamoyo via Dar to collect some luggage - a twelve hour round trip. The others did a bus trip for the final two hours and ended up on the beach before us. Amazing that the whole trip has gone so according to plan. Doesn't often happen, although recently God has been very good to us.

We're able to watch the Olympics here, and yesterday Kevin, who's son is a cyclist, walked in to the lounge room where the womens' team pursuit was on television; he unexpectedly watched them win a gold medal - came out all excited, and then told us this morning that other golds came in after that! It's good to be connected to the world here.