Graduation (again)

Pictured above is Gerard, the student who walked away with the most prizes. Maybe "Prize Giving" would be a better name for the celebration, because at the time the Form IV students had not even started their 'O' level exams. Now, three weeks later, they have finished and left the school, and another year group will take their place in January.

Among this year group are some students studying Bible Knowledge. Please pray that their enthusiasm for reading the Bible will continue to grow as they start on Luke's Gospel and the book of Acts, and pray too for the next year group starting in Form III.

Kevin and I are having a weekend break in Iringa again, and are feeling a bit more rested now. We think the altitude in Kilolo is one of the reasons for our tiredness (It's nearly 7,000 feet above sea level), but there must be other factors, such as traveling to Dar and back the week before. I am feeling a lot better now, though not yet 100 per cent healthy. Thanks again for your prayers.

A special visitor

Last month we came to Dar es Salaam to meet Rachel at the airport, and drove straight back to Iringa the same day. That weekend Rachel had kindly agreed to help out doing the children's programme at a camp-out for the Iringa Christian Fellowship (ICF) where we worship. I joined her doing this (to give the parents a break!) We went back to Kilolo on Sunday, where the timetable was equally demanding - Rachel joined in with the kindergarten, as well as sitting in on some lessons in the secondary school.

We have enjoyed ourselves visiting the game park, a stone age site, Bagamoyo and a coral island - some places we rarely visit, and today is the day we part again. Pray for safe travelling for all of us; Rachel back to the UK and Kevin and myself back to Iringa and Kilolo.

Students in the lab

When I was at school, we didn't even have slide rules or calculators - we just used logarithmic, sine and cosine tables!

Now look what's happened in a part of Tanzania where access is difficult, electricity and running water haven't even reached our house, we use buckets for flushing the loo, for lighting we use candles, solar or kerosene, and a wood burner for cooking.

The school laboratory has twenty computers for students and teachers to learn skills, and teaching (by Martha) officially started two weeks ago. Kevin, as lab manager, keeps the whole thing operational.

What more can I say? I'll have to take a leap out of the dark ages...

Palm Tree Garden

We're having a week's break again after mid term exams which I am meant to be marking now! I wanted to call this place palm tree paradise, but there are some parts of it that remind us that we are not in paradise, such as the mosquitoes. I had around 60 bites on my ankles on the first night, so in ten days’ time I’ll have to watch out for malaria… Now in the evenings I’m wearing shoes and socks – if Kevin minds, he hasn’t told me :^)

The drive from Iringa took nine hours on Saturday; we took turns, only stopping for short breaks. This is after eight weeks of the Secondary School term, and three months of Bible School as well (for me), so it all left us quite tired. We pitched our tent and then went for a swim - perfect. There has also been an opportunity to go to the dentist (what's new?) and doctor (that's new) as I have had pain still and want to find the cause. Please pray again about this, giving thanks that it is not as bad as it was. Also Praise God for an opportunity to rest now.

Bible School Graduation!

Three months later... This is the first group I have taught since getting back to Tanzania, and it's not even meant to be an official course! There's no Principal of St Michael's Bible School in Kilolo, so we are just stumbling along until someone can be appointed. The students made an amazing effort in their studies, and wrote high quality answers. I know this especially for the Old Testament, which I have been teaching one day a week. Even the graduation felt like a full-blown college ceremony. In January next year Bishop Joseph is planning to appoint a Principal and move the six month course from Amani Christian Training Centre (in Iringa) to Kilolo. Amani CTC will continue with the one year and three year training in Bible, as well as life skills.

There is a development in the Secondary School computer laboratory: a new teacher has been appointed just a few weeks before the students were scheduled to begin lessons. This will make a big difference to Kevin as the Computer lab manager because it would have been difficult for him to teach as well, so Praise God.

stone-age

Near Iringa, on a rock face are these amazing paintings which appear to be from the stone age. Kevin and I went to have a look at them together with a new friend, Roland, who has just arrived from the UK to study language and then go to work in St John's university in Dodoma. The paintings were discovered recently and are difficult to find; this was our second attempt!

Last weekend was a sad one because the new-born son of Philip and Happiness Magawa, (our second master) died suddenly only three days after his birth. We went to the funeral on Friday, and visited again over the weekend to share in their sorrow. The teachers and students were very involved in carrying the family through this time, so as well as praying for them, give thanks for the supportive community we belong to.

After two weeks in Kilolo we are having a break in Iringa, getting over a throat bug which made it difficult to teach; Thankfully it's on the way out, but it left us both feeling quite tired. Last Saturday Kevin baked his first bread in the wood burner stove, and now he's got himself a job! I made some breakfast cereal out of maize flour - 'stone-age cornrocks' would be a good name for it. If you leave it to soak overnight, it's (just) edible by morning.

fan club

Here's our latest fan. He spends a lot of time trying to spot us through the windows - whether of our house or car. We drove up close to our house yesterday, turned off the engine and watched him pacing the joint. Up and down our garden, and then he shewed us why he likes us - we have some wood off-cuts lying there, left over from the tree-cutting, and he started pecking at them. Not sure if there was anything worth chewing, or maybe the smell of cut eucalyptus was good! mmmmmmmm