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