I promise...

We are hoping that the new student leadership will be stronger this year because they have been given a good start. Pictured is the assembly where they were sworn in, and already the Head boy is taking a good lead. Pray for them, the student body, and for the teaching staff as we all adjust to each other.

Kevin has been working on the changeover to open source software in the past few weeks. He is introducing the staff and students to it. It's great advantage is that it is immune to viruses. Since the beginning of this year the computer anti virus software was not being updated because the school computers are not yet connected to the internet. This is another part of the project which Kevin is working on.

The Bible Knowledge students come and go to their lessons, and sometimes I wonder whether they are committed enough. Only the Lord knows this, and he can help them get through. Keep those prayers coming for us all as the mock exams approach (June)

Birthday Waffle

This is the first time I've made waffles in Kilolo, and they were brilliant (and I'm humble - not). Thank you to my friends who taught me how! That meant also we didn't have to make bread this week, so our energies are available for other things :o)

We came back from Bagamoyo last Friday just before Easter, after a wonderful rest beside the Indian Ocean. Very sadly, our friend Will Phillips died the same day at his home just outside Iringa, after a long struggle with cancer. His funeral on Tuesday was a celebration of his life, at his own request. Lots of tears and laughter at some of the stories we heard from his family, friends and colleagues.

Will's wife Amanda and their daughter Kerrie were devastated, and my heart is with them as they face life without him. His mother, Elizabeth is a good friend of mine, and Will's sister Sue came from the UK to be there. It was a privilege to be able to spend time together, and join with them in their grief. Sometimes words are not enough. The Spirit of God is the one who can communicate best. Certainly I have sensed His presence through all this, even to the timing of Will's death, when the wider family were already gathered.

For us life must go on, and we are glad to have purchased some rear shock absorbers in Dar es Salaam. We are looking forward to getting them fitted soon. Thankfully I am fully recovered from the flu bug after a week of daily swimming. The pain in my middle comes back every time I return to Kilolo. Is that psychological or altitude or what?

fix old with new?

The new shock absorbers arrived yesterday in Iringa, having come from Japan via Nairobi and a colleague in Morogoro. They were fitted onto our little Diahatsu today. Now the car tilts slightly up at the front (we need new rear ones as well...) and we feel as if we're travelling in a bouncey castle instead of a cart. Life is going to be much more fun. It'll cut our journey time to Kilolo (though I'll still have to control Kevin's speed ;o) and enable us to do a little more travelling than just that road.

At the school we are gearing up for mid term exams and, as a first, computer studies are included. Not just this, but even more significant is that the teachers have been using the computers to prepare their subject exams more than ever before. Kevin has been helping them, especially with the mathematics and science exams which need special symbols like x squared (a little 2 in superscript), tables and diagrams.

Last week I struggled to teach anything because of a flu bug which took me right out of service for a day. Thankfully that was the day I would normally be teaching at the Bible School, but so far this year we have no course. This opportunity for study has been a great encouragement in the past for believers in isolated villages who need to develop skills in knowledge of the Bible, leadership and even reading/writing. Please pray that the Bible School begins to run again soon, even with a three month course.

Bob, the ...

Did you know that the Kiswahili word for 'build' is 'jenga'?
I build - ninajenga,
you build - unajenga,
they build - wanajenga,
I will build - nitajenga.
That is what is happening all around us here in Tanzania, and it helps us realize we really are living in a developing nation. The Secondary School is still in the building process; we are waiting for a new library to be completed, then the books can be moved out of the science laboratory to free that up for what it was built for.

All you need are the building blocks and you can put them together to make almost anything, like, for instance, a.... language. Did you try taking the words above apart and finding which means 'I', and the present tense? But it's hard work, and old brains find it more and more difficult to learn new things.

Our friends in Iringa have built a little guest house so we can go and stay there on our weekends. In the picture you can see Kaiya and Caleb (or was it Liam - the other twin) helping move the bricks; Neroli and Kevin's role was encouragement. Give thanks to God that we have been made to feel so welcome.

New Headmaster

John Sichone is our new Headmaster at the Secondary School. He came back from retirement for this job, so is offering all his past experience in care and motivation for the staff and students. This is generating a positive atmosphere, particularly among the teachers, who appreciate his strong leadership.

During the last week Kevin taught a couple of lessons to the Form IV and I students. Normally his time is taken up with developing the computer project; upgrading computers, installing software, introducing and setting up equipment, as well as forward planning and writing reports. He found the teaching a challenge because of the students' limited understanding of English and his own limited Swahili, but he would do it again!

Since the electricity arrived in our house we have not had to spend so much time in Iringa at weekends. Being able to keep things cold in the fridge makes all the difference to planning our meals. As a result we are able to worship in the Church at Kilolo more often, and keep up with the increasing pace of study in preparation for the Bible Knowledge 'O' level mock exams in May.

chickens

This is the view from our back gate, including the beautiful flowers and inquisitive chickens. If we leave the gate open at any time we have visitors looking for scraps of food which might have fallen on the ground! To the left you might be able to make out a climbing rose. I made a network of wood for it to climb up and am ridiculously pleased with myself.

Last week was another surprise week. We had the school inspectors for a visit! Instead of being negative and critical, they tried to encourage the teachers to do better in future. Of course there were a lot of requirements we weren't fulfilling, Please pray that, against the odds, we can get the schemes of work and lesson plans completed. For me it's an uphill struggle, designing it from scratch.

On the positive, we also have our monthly tests, and the Bible Knowledge students did unexpectedly well. It is a struggle for them writing essays in English, but they were good.

think of lilies

Last week in the Form IV Bible Knowledge class we looked at the verses in Luke's Gospel where Jesus compares Solomon in all his glory with lilies. The students were asking what a lily is, then one of them said "Oh I know, are they like those flowers outside your house?"

We've been watching them come out and enjoying the show, and it seems others have been doing the same. I hadn't realised until then that we had such a good example in our garden. We also have some rust coloured chrysanthemums, an aloe, blue daisy type flowers, bright red hibiscus, a rambler rose, and scented geranium, all planted by a friend who wanted a job as a gardener when I first moved in to the house. They have taken their time to look this good, and I hope the show will be repeated again next year.

We took some of the lilies to a friend who is not doing so well. In fact he is receiving visits from his friends who want to say farewell. It is a stark reminder of how short this life is, and the beauty and enjoyment which God gives for such a short time here. He is the everlasting One, and I want to be with Him for ever.