some fun videos

Hope you enjoy this video - just the boys having fun - flying kites on the football ground by our house, Daniel when he first learned to cycle properly, Easter hat parade at school and water play with our good friends the Garretts.

...And this is Isaac's 3rd birthday, 30th March 2009

... And this is Christine's birthday, May 2009, featuring singing by Revival Choir, the University English Choir, and Amani

Golf, Grandma and Gifts

Dear all,

Sorry its been so long since we updated this but hopefully you have received link letters in the meantime!

Christine’s work is going well and Beatrice has now started working at the office. It’s good to have the company and someone to share ideas with and she is great fun and a hard worker. Her baby boy, Brilliant, was born safely and is doing well. Please pray for them, and please pray for our work. We are continuing with our small loans project which is going really well in one of the 2 dioceses but not so well in the other, as the groups are not returning their loans as required. We are also planning a big youth conference in September, bringing together Anglican youth groups from every diocese across Tanzania, but at present are struggling to raise funds and have not had sufficient response from the dioceses. We need to make a decision at the end of this month whether to go ahead in September or postpone. Either way, please pray that the funds come in and the conference will be a success. As Christine is now doing more work for TAYO she has had to give up her work helping at the nursery school at Ipagala. She was given 2 lovely leaving parties. This picture shows Christine receiving a gift from one of the children, and Julianne, a good friend of ours who is the matron of the nursery.

Christine’s mum came to visit in May and we were able to have a lovely holiday at the beach and Mikumi Wildlife park as well as a good time together in Dodoma, and a trip to Kilimatinde. The boys were very happy to have some time with Grandma.

A very exciting new development in Dodoma is the opening of a new Italian restaurant complete with crazy golf course – a new favourite place for the boys, who love the crazy golf!

Isaac has now started at nursery and loves it and Daniel is continuing to do well and enjoy school too. They have a month’s holiday during July and then Daniel will be moving up to standard 1 in the main part of the school. Isaac will be in the nursery class for another year. They recently had a nursery and reception fun sports day which was great. The picture shows Paul helping out with the relay race.

Paul has finished his teaching for this semester (and all the dreaded coursework marking) and the students are now in the middle of exams. The picture below shows the now common sight around campus of students huddling together in small groups in the shade of a tree quizzing each other on the finer points of biochemistry, educational theory or maybe just the latest gossip. Paul is now looking forward (once the exam marking is finished) to the long break where work will continue but at a more gentle pace with the opportunity to do a little travelling and receive visitors. Projects on the go include: writing the timetable for next year – think of a huge, three dimensional sudoku that never stops changing, observing students during their teaching practice – both near and far, planning new courses for next year, collating this years results and finally getting around to starting the Physics Teachers Network that’s been on the backburner for far too long. Hopefully he’ll also have time to complete a few half finished projects at home such as the rainwater catchment system and the bikeshed/carport and maybe start a new one like the roundabout he promised Daniel when we first got here nearly 2 years ago.

At the end of July we will be hosting a CMS encounter group – a group of young people from the UK. They will run a holiday club at the school which the boys will attend and will also meet with Revival choir each afternoon. Please pray for this group as they prepare for their trip and pray for God’s blessing on all they do here in Dodoma and later in Moshi.

Please also continue to pray for our friend Amani who did not do well in his A level resits but is awaiting the results of a re-mark, and looking for what possible future paths God may have for him, now that it looks like his plans to study for a degree may not be possible.

With love and blessings,
Paul, Christine, Daniel and Isaac. xxx