Dear all,
Looking back over our last entry it seems much more than 2 weeks since we wrote it. We have been very busy!

Our new tenants moved in to our house back in the UK last week which was a real answer to prayer although things haven’t gone that smoothly and we are indebted to Richard Staples for sorting out malfunctioning boilers and other teething problems.

Paul has had his first taste of teaching here and is glad to be back in the saddle. At the moment he’s taking seminars on educational psychology (of which he knows very little) and is preparing to teach on the curriculum and teaching methods courses in the next few weeks (of which he knows slightly more). Other jobs have included helping interview prospective new staff, planning the refurbishment of the current laboratories and the development of new ones, looking into helping run a college virtual learning environment and trying to resource unwanted laboratory apparatus back in the UK.

Daniel is loving school and is always very excited when he is met afterwards proudly displaying his most recent creation. Praise God that he is now slowly getting more settled here.
Isaac is getting a busy routine too with 2 ex-pat toddler groups and our new Tanzanian group which was a great success this week. It was lovely to spend time with local mums and their children rather than just being invaded by all the local kids! Isaac loves trying to ‘help’ everybody at the moment and can be seen here ‘helping’ Julius, our gardener, to water the plants and Paul to build the playground.

Christine has just been elected on to the committee of the choir as treasurer. This week we will also be trying to start up the English language music group again which failed to take off at the end of last semester as students were too busy with exams.

Preparations for the Alpha course are going well. We now have a set of Swahili course books and several people are already signed up to attend. We are looking for funds to help run the course, to pay for meals for the group at each session, course books and away day expenses. We need around £250 for this first course. If you or your church are able to make a contribution towards this please get in touch but please do not let this detract from your giving to CMS.

Our official CMS link letter should be distributed shortly in paper form and as an email attachment to our bloggers mailing list. Please let us know if you do not receive either of these and wish to be added to the appropriate list.

Please pray:

n Once more for the English language music group – that a sufficient core of committed people come forward.
n For the students and staff at the University as they start the second semester of the University’s first year.
n For the forthcoming elections for the new archbishop of Tanzania – that a Godly and wise man be chosen to continue the work done so well by archbishop Mtetemela who retires this month.
n For all the preparations required to start the alpha course especially that God prompts the right people to sign up to the course
n That we as a family continue to develop good relationships with the people we work and live with.

Dear all,
Thank you for all your prayers – its great to know there are people back home praying for us. We have just had one answer to prayer in that we think we now have a tenant for our house back in the UK which will mean that we will be a little more secure financially.
We had a wonderful holiday in Bagamoyo as can be seen from the pictures. The kids loved the beach and pool and we managed to all keep ourselves from frying to a crisp in the scorchingly hot weather (sorry if this makes you all jealous back in the wet and cold UK but there are some advantages to living in an equatorial climate).
We have been busy in other ways too: Paul has been helping the english and chemistry departments in their exam marking and is busily preparing for the new term. He was also invited to speak to a group of pastors on Christian Unity at the weekend. The talk went down well and it was encouraging to see church leaders from a variety of denominations within a local area coming together to see how they can support each other.
It was good to see Amani Shabani today who has recently managed to re-establish relations with his parents (see earlier entry). He is now planning to make a CD of Christian songs he has written and has asked Christine to be part of the backing group.
Daniel is looking forward to starting nursery school on Monday from 9 til 12 each day and Isaac will be joining his ex-pat toddler group. Christine is hoping to also start a local toddler group at home for Tanzanian mums and tots – something new to Tanzania.

Please pray:
n Praise God for answered prayer and pray that the new tenancy goes ahead smoothly
n That Daniel will settle quickly into his school and make new friends
n For the local church leaders group – that they may be encouraged to work together under a common purpose
n For all who are supporting us in our mission both prayerfully and financially

Dear all,

Sorry for the long break since the last blog entry and thank you to all those who have been asking when the next one is coming! Its good to know you are enjoying reading it! Sorry we have been a bit slack in taking photos recently too. We will take more for next time!

Paul has been very busy preparing for his teaching in the new semester as well as collecting & downloading materials for the faculty of education electronic library, preaching at morning prayers, invigilating university exams and spending our Christmas money on wood, pipe, chain, cement, sand, gravel, rope and tools for building the adventure playground he’s designed for our back garden!

We had a difficult few days the week before last as Daniel managed to get malaria. He was very poorly to start with especially as he was delayed starting his medication due to the local doctor diagnosing the flu! However once he had started his medication and many of you back home started praying for him he recovered very quickly apart from being very tired for a few days. He has also been having a difficult time settling in but during this last week he has suddenly become much happier and has been really enjoying his new Tanzanian friends. It his great to see his happy face again. Thank you to all of you who have been praying for him.

Isaac continues to enjoy life and is becoming very Tanzanian! His favourite foods are beans with rice or ugali (a stodgy maize dish) and chips mayai (chip omelette!) – real Tanzanian staples! He loves the local children and stands on the step shouting until they come to play with him (this usually involves them pushing him around on his new bike).

Christine has been working hard entertaining the entire population of small children in the area who love to play with the boys (and their toys!) and continues to enjoy the choir. This week she will also be starting a music group of students from the university who want to learn English songs. We have an English service at the church following the Swahili service which we usually attend. At present the music is pretty awful as nobody really knows any of the songs. The plan is to start up a group which will lead the worship at these services.

We are also hoping to start an Alpha course through the church. We heard from some missionary friends elsewhere in Tanzania that the course has been translated into Swahili and they have been using it with great success in their church. We are still in the early stages of planning this but the vicar seems very interested in the idea.

At the end of the week we are planning to go to Bagamoyo on the coast for a few days break before term begins for Paul and Daniel and we all get very busy! Daniel is very excited at the prospect of swimming in a warm sea! Isaac has been missing the beach so will be very happy.

Due to the miracles of modern technology we can get free phone calls over the internet using skype. Our skype name is SalamansTz. We have also bought a webcam so should even be able to do video calls with anyone who’s interested.
Today we had a visit from our good friend John Lupaa now Bishop of the Dicoese of the Rift Valley - it was good to chat over some dinner and even though we are no longer in that diocese I'm sure we will still work together alot over the coming years.

Please pray:
n For continued health and protection especially for the boys
n For our holiday that it be a time of relaxation and refreshment
n For the college and its students during the current exams
n That Paul will be ready for the start of term on the 4th of Feb
n For the English service music group – that they may worship God faithfully and draw people to this service

n For John Lupaa as he leads the Diocese of the Rift Valley at a crucial stage in its history

Dear all,

Heri za mwaka mpya (happy new year)

It seems a lot more than a week and a bit since our last blog entry. First there was Christmas day – we managed to wake the boys and open stockings before going to the 7:30 am service after which we opened more presents, (including the bikes which were a real hit) and had dinner with a group of staff and students.
It was nice to be able to the share the festivities with new friends, however it was even better to meet up with old friends in Kilimatinde on boxing day.
We stayed there for 4 days and had a very relaxing and fun time and were very well looked after in the guest house by mama Pulo and Teresia. We spent a lot of time with Choir Masada and met up with Festo, Allan and Agnes Sallum and family, Ernest and Ester Ndahani and family and John Lupaa, the new bishop of the Rift Valley, to name a few whom people will know.
The boys had a great time playing with various friends’ children and are keen to go back and visit again. It will be a nice place for us to go for breaks.
We were back home for new years eve which was a quiet celebration with our neighbours and then 7.30 in church again on New Years Day!

Paul is busy preparing lectures for the “teaching methods in science” course which he will start teaching in the new semester in February and is also now starting to do some preaching during daily worship.

Daniel has a long break now before starting pre-school properly on 28th Jan. He is getting more confident now and is happy to play with the local children, but it will be a challenge to stop him getting bored over the next few weeks. Isaac is very settled and happy to play with anyone now.

We are beginning to settle into church life now and Christine is enjoying singing with the Revival choir. We have also started taking it in turns to go to a little housegroup at our neighbours house on Sunday nights with missionaries from the university and from town.

Please pray:
n That the new year will bring opportunities for us to serve God using the gifts He has given us
n For the village of Kilimatinde and the Diocese of the Rift Valley, that recent changes under the new bishop will lead to spiritual, practical and economic growth
n For Rev Allan Sallum and his family (now vicar of Kilimatinde) and for choir Masada in their work in Kilimatinde and surrounding villages.
n For Christine, Daniel and Isaac over the next few weeks before school starts, that they will have an enjoyable time and develop new friendships and relationships.
n For Paul as he begins preparing for the new course and preaching

Heri za Krismasi

Dear All,

We wish you all a very happy and blessed Christmas. Thank you for the Christmas cards and greetings. We have a good display on the wall and no doubt more to come as the post takes a very long time around Christmas! It will be a bit different for us this year but we are looking forward to celebrating with our new Tanzanian (and Australian!) friends and neighbours. Daniel has been opening his advent calendar and is getting quite excited. We managed to find him a first bike in Dar-es-Salaam which should be a wonderful surprise for him, as well as a little car for Isaac.

We are in the middle of a very hot and wet season at the moment and praise God that the rains are still going strong. The usually dry river that runs across the campus even has some water in it now.

Christine has been busy this week writing a project proposal for a development centre which the university plans to set up, reaching out into local village communities to carry out research and small development projects. It has been really interesting and is something I may well be involved in later if the funding comes in. I have also joined the local church choir, called “Revival” which has been great fun so far. Hopefully I will sing with them on Christmas morning.

Paul’s been pottering about at home and in the lab over the last week fixing things as diverse as galvanometers, shower curtains and 8ft long desks. Apart from some furniture that is to be made by Jackson, a local fundi (carpenter), the house is almost a home however I still have a few projects in mind for the future including rain water collection and playground equipment for the boys.

The boys have been enjoying various Christmas activities at the school, going swimming at the local pool (like pea soup!) and getting to know their neighbours a bit more. They are starting to settle in a bit more though still miss their friends.


Please pray:
n That we find a tenant for our house back home in the new year
n That we grow in the knowledge of how God wants to use us here.
n That Christmas is a wonderful time of fellowship and joy and especially that the boys have a lovely day.
n For our trip to Kilimatinde from boxing day for a few days, for safe travel and joyful reunion with old friends.
n For Revival choir, that they will be faithful in their service to the Lord

Dear All,
Thank you for all you prayers, emails and texts over the last week. It’s lovely to know that people are keen to hear our news.
After Paul wondering what to do with himself last week he’s been quite busy this week preparing syllabi for next year and travelling to Dar-es-Salaam to pick up our new car (see picture – safi sana as we say in Tanzania) along with our freight.
The boys have been busy networking with all the other Children of Dodoma, Daniel starting preschool and Isaac starting toddler group and both of them exchanging visits with our neighbours. Christine has been spending time talking to local mums and generally getting to know the neighbours. She also has been looking over a proposal for a university development project which is something she may get involved with in the future.
Lidia has started working for us helping around the house. She is lovely and has been a great help and is sure to be a good friend and part of the household.
It’s been like an early Christmas getting things out of our boxes of freight. Daniel has loved being reunited with his train set, and Isaac feels like he’s back on a Cornish beach and is very happy digging in the dirt with his bucket and spade.
Lots more things are available in Dodoma these days and we have managed to get ourselves some Christmas decorations supplemented by the boys being creative with glitter.
We’re slowly settling into the congregation of the local Swahili service at the University chapel and are occasional visitors to the cathedral in town but are finding it hard to find ways that each of us can meet our needs for teaching, fellowship and accountability that we were so used to back in St Austell.
Please pray for:
n The boys’ continual adjustment to life in Tanzania, especially Daniel
n Preparations for Christmas – that it be a special time for the boys and a festival that we can share in within the local church
n That we find ways of being church in a different context from back home
n The university – that it soon receive the student loan fee payments from the government so that it can ease its financial pressures
n That we all remain anchored to God and dependant on his provision

Dear All,
Thanks for all your prayers and messages during our difficult first few days here. Daniel is now back to full health (and fortunately doesn’t have to take his foul tasting medicine) and we are pretty well settled into our new house with a few mod cons such as a sofa and fridge.


You can check out the exact location of our house on google earth coordinates lat -6.19663245822, lon 35.7324128041.

Paul has sort of started work, sorting out all the apparatus for the physics lab. The physics course doesn’t start until next August but we hope Paul will be able to do some teaching starting this February in the mean time he is trying to seek clarity from God and from the University as to how he can best use his time.
We have already had some interesting conversations with people at the University and at the provincial office which may lead to a role for Christine in the future in terms of development or microfinance projects.
The boys are very much enjoying life here especially Isaac who is loving playing around the house and is sleeping better than he ever did at home. We’ll all get a bit of a treat when our freight arrives shortly and they unpack all their toys and we unpack essentials such as Paul’s tools and Christine’s cake tins.

Daniel will start school this week for two days a week and then will be full time after the Christmas break.
News travelled quickly to Kilimatinde that we were in town and have had a regular stream of old friends visiting us. We have promised to visit there soon once we have sorted out purchasing our new car (watch this space). One of our visitors was an ex student who we knew as Said Shaban – a very keen and able muslim student who threw himself into the life of the school, graduated with flying colours, went on to study at sixth form and is now back at Kilimatinde teaching Chemistry. It was great to hear how Paul’s teaching had born fruit but even greater to hear how he has now made a commitment to Christ, been baptised and is now named Amani (meaning peace) despite considerable opposition from his family.
We met our new house girl this week who will start on Monday. Her name is Lidia and she has experience of working for westerners with children.

Please pray:
n That Paul’s coming trip to Dar to collect the car goes smoothly and that he finds more clarity in his role
n That the freight arrives soon and in good condition
n That Lidia fits well into the family and becomes a help to Christine and a friend and carer to the boys
n Last night saw the first rain of the season – Praise God for this and pray that it continues consistently long enough to produce a good harvest this year
n For Amani Shabani and his family that he may grow in faith yety be able to restore relations with his family

With much love and thanks

Paul, Christine, Daniel & Isaac