Church in Morogoro

We had a good morning in church today. I was with Angela and she preached - it was brilliant! And Helen was translating for her - Norma knows Helen well so I'm excited about telling her we met Helen when I get back! We're visiting some of the different projects the churches here are involved in this afternoon so that'll be really interesting and I'll tell you about it later.

Pastor Iain is preaching 4 times today - that's a lot so please remember to pray for him!

Finally... we made it!

We are back in Morogoro at last! We left at 4 am this morning, which was very early for me. Sheep like lots of sleep you know, that's one of the very few things I don't like about being a missionary sheep - I keep having to get up really early! We had to wait a long time for breakfast too - we still hadn't had any by lunchtime... But it was an interesting drive.

Angela is just trying to put up the mosquito net for us. And guess what?! A VERY cheeky mosquito is sitting watching her do it! I don't like mosquitoes. They don't bother sheep all that much because of our wool, but they bother Angela and she is my friend. So I think I will stay awake tonight and make sure that naughty mosquito stays away from her.

Angela hopes we can find out what we're doing tomorrow after this. I'm sure it will be another busy day!

Stuck in Mbeya!!

We had a lovely ending to our week in Mbeya last night as our friends here held a farewell celebration for us and made a lovely meal. We all felt so special and loved by the people here! I had my photo taken with a girl called Mercy - just like me! I love it when I meet people with the same name as I have, but it only seems to happen when I am on a mission trip somewhere. I don't know why that is since I think my name is lovely!

Well, we got up early this morning to leave Mbeya and travel back to Morogoro, but the car broke down! We waited around most of the day to see what would happen and we are all very tired now. The car seems to have been fixed - well it's going at the moment anyway.. In the end it was decided that we should go back to the place we've been staying in this week for one more night. We're planning to leave at 4.00 am to drive back to Morogoro. Please pray that the car goes all the way there and back without problems, and for a safe journey!

It's going really well!

We are having such a good time! Angela, Mark and Iain have all been teaching the people here and they are so interested in what they are telling them. I was with Angela yesterday when she was talking to some women about how God heals us on the inside. 20 women came and asked to be prayed for after it! Angela was so happy about that.

Mark was giving an open air talk to some men about being married - I think he found that a bit different!

Iain asked me to say thank you to everyone for praying - please keep it up!

Lunch at the Pastor's house!

I went with Angela this morning as she was speaking at a local church. Pastor Iain and Mark went somewhere else, but us girls have to stick together! It was very good and the people were so glad to have us there. I met lots of children and they were very interested to hear about the boys and girls in KFC and sent their love to you all.

After that we got taken to the Pastor's house for lunch. I don't think they were expecting a little yellow sheep to be there too, but they were very kind and looked after us so well!

I'm so hot!

Phew! It's so hot and humid here, even though the sky is cloudy... The only problem with my lovely yellow wool is it makes me overheat in these hot countries. Pastor Iain, Mark and Angela think it's hot too and they don't have any wool!

It was a good day of teaching yesterday. I wasn't teaching of course, I just listened, but the others did a great job and the people loved to hear the things they said. Today we are having a day off and we're driving through the hills on our way to Lake Nyasa. It sounds lovely and Angela thinks it could be cooler there, so I'm looking forward to that!

Lots of love to everyone in KFC - I'll miss seeing you tomorrow but have fun!

We are in Mbeya

We finally arrived in Mbeya after a 12 hour drive - it's so good to be here and we are all very tired... It was an exciting journey though (for me anyway...) with lightening and torrential rain on the way down!

The people here welcomed us with a lovely song and dance in the church - it made us feel so special! They are so pleased to see us and, I have to admit, it is wonderful to see them too.

But right now, it will also be wonderful to see my bed - so goodnight!

No showers!

We had our first meeting in Morogoro today, it went very well. We're all quite tired so we're looking forward to a good night's sleep now. We have mosquito nets, which is good. But the showers don't work... I don't mind too much as I already had a good wash this year (not to mention that horrible incident in the tumble dryer) but it's not so good for Angela, Pastor Iain and Mark.

And - Angela just found a column of ants climbing up the wall... I'm very used to ants as they seem to be everywhere on most trips I go on. So I will keep guard so Angela can have a good sleep - it's a long drive tomorrow over bumpy roads.

We've arrived!

We arrived last night at 11 pm, it was a very long journey. Then Pastor Iain, Mark and Angela had to queue for an hour to get visas. They couldn't get them before they came this time because of the postmen being on strike. I didn't have to get one because sheep don't need visas, which is really great because it means I can go anywhere in the world!

After that, we went to a hotel in Dar es Salaam for the night. It was wonderful to be able to go to bed for a sleep after all that travelling! Poor Angela said the bed was very hard. I was fine as sheep are used to sleeping on the ground anyway, and I have so much lovely yellow wool that I don't need a mattress or pillow or anything.

Today we are driving to Morogoro, which will take a couple of hours. It's lovely to be back here and I am so looking forward to seeing all my old friends and making some new ones!

I'm going to Tanzania!

I'm very excited because tomorrow I am off on another trip! This time I am going with Angela, Pastor Iain and Mark to Tanzania. I have friends there already so it's going to be so much fun to see them. Angela took me home with her yesterday so we can get ready together. She is letting me travel in her suitcase, which is going to be great.

Please pray for us! And I'll write my blog as often as possible so you can keep up to date with what we're doing out there.

Hello! I'm really excited because soon it will be our Light Party! It takes place on 31st October from 6 - 7.30 pm. Lots of people will be out trick or treating for Halloween then, but I like the Light Party a lot more - it's great fun and not scary at all! Any boys or girls who are aged from 5 - 12 (at Primary School) can come and the party is free!

Hope to see lots of you there...

Snot and Sniff take over the Starship!

Today is our last day which is a bit sad because we've been having so much fun. At the beginning it looked like Snot and Sniff were going to take over the Starship Miracle Seeker from the Captain and No. 1! Alexander told them the Captain and No. 1 had to pass an MOT, and they pretended they had failed it! Snot and Sniff even beamed up No. 1's Mummy! It was very nice meeting her although No. 1 seemed a bit embarrassed, especially when her Mummy asked for a hug.. Snot and Sniff took charge for a little while but the Captain was too clever and got her Starship back from them.

Alexander the computer was having some technical problems today, but we didn't mind in the end because the music crew just did more songs with us. They asked the boys and girls what they would like to sing and they said Fandabidozzie - that's been the favourite song for years!

Today we heard about when Jesus rose from the dead, which was truly amazing! He is alive today and is still with us. We learned a memory verse this week too - I just about know it off by heart now. It is "For God loved the world so much that He gave His only son. God gave His Son so that whoever believes in Him may not be lost, but have eternal life." John 3: 16

We've had lots of fun all week but the most important thing is that we've learned about Jesus' life, the things He did and why He came (which is what that Bible verse tells us.)

At the very end some of the parents of the boys and girls had arrived, so we all faced the back - where they were standing - and sang "I believe in Jesus" for them. They really liked it! Don't forget our Open Evening tonight - we hope you can come so we can show you the fun things we've done and tell you about what we've learned!

An amazing miracle!

Today started off quite sad because Sniff and Snot's pet Gloopy died. They gave him Comet Cola and he pinged so much he banged his head. Alexander (the Computer) said he had expired. But then something really exciting happened later because we had a visit from a man called Lazarus. Jesus had raised him from the dead even after 4 days in his tomb when he was a bit smelly.

Alexander has got over his computer virus now and was much better today. He even sent the Captain and Number 1 pictures of himself, he seems to have become quite fond of them. I think he likes me too although he hasn't sent me a picture.

Aerobics was silly again today because the Captain, No 1, Snot and Sniff did it. We didn't know what they were doing, I don't think they knew either! Snot and Sniff were very naughty because they froze the lieutenants, Captain and No 1 and put horrible lollies in their mouths. They had blue tongues for the rest of the morning! They tickled them and tried to make them giggle to see if they were properly frozen. They haven't tried to freeze me yet which is very good!

Tomorrow is our last day of Holiday Club and we are having an Open Evening when you can come and see what we've been getting up to all week. Please come if you can, it'll be lots of fun!

Snot and Sniff freeze the Captain, No 1 and the Lieutenants
Me with The Admiral of the Sheep and No. 1

Dr Swotty interviews Lazarus

Testimonies about God answering prayer

Alien Day

I had a sleepover on Starship Miracle Seeker last night.I got chatting to the computer.He told me his name is Alexander.He knows lots of facts about just about everything. He wasn't feeling too well today, he had a computer virus and kept sneezing. The Aliens - Snot and Sniff were feeling a bit off colour too. It was probably all the Comet Cola they drank yesterday,it certainly made them ping a lot!

I was a bit worried when the team and children first arrived as most of them looked very odd! But it turned out it was Alien Day and they were all being Aliens! Snot and Sniff really liked the look of them all. I was asked to judge who were the best Aliens -it was a very hard decision to make as they were all fabulous!

We had a visit from a strange looking character called Bath Vapour today - he did aerobics with us which was funny and he also helped us to pray. We wrote prayer requests on stickers which we put on helium balloons.

We're learning some great songs this week -although everyone still likes to sing Fandabidozzie! We learned a new song today called 'I believe In Jesus' -all the boys and girls shouted "I believe in Jesus!" when it came up in the song - it sounded great!

We're learning about Jesus the Miracle Maker and today's story was about lady who had been ill for 12 years. She got healed by just touching the hem of Jesus coat! It is a brilliant story. Dr Swotty beamed her up so she could tell us more about it which was very interesting!

Well thats all for now, here are some photos from today.....

One of the Aliens who came today.

Bath Vapour

Bath Vapour poses with two of the team Aliens.

I'm on a space mission!

I am so excited because today I have gone on a space mission! I am on the Starship Miracle Seeker (it's our church's Holiday Club) and we are having a fantastic time! Admiral Norma brought me with her today when she came to inspect the fleet. There are lots of Space Cadets, who are the children, the crew and the Leutenants who are the Team Leaders. The Captain and her No. 1 are in control - they are a bit strict but I like them a lot. There are also two silly aliens called Snot and Sniff, who can be a bit naughty.

Tomorrow we are all to come dressed as Aliens, as it's Aliens Day - I don't know what an Alien sheep would look like, so I'll have to think about that one.

One last thing for today before I show you some photos! On Friday at 6.30 pm we are having an open day! Anyone can come - if you are a parent or auntie or Granny of one of the children, for example. You can even come if you are just a friend! It's going to be lots of fun and you'll see what we've been doing all week. I hope you can come!

I'll write more later...

Admiral Norma introducing me. We're sideways because we
were still getting used to being weightless in space.

Me in my rocket. I'm having a sleepover here.

My makeover...

Hi!

I have had an unfortunate experience this week. I am now 3 years old and, in all that time, I have only had one wash - even though I've travelled to lots of different countries. Some of them were very hot so I really needed another wash. I didn't expect to get put in a washing machine, although that was fine - quite a lot of fun in fact! And I came out feeling so lovely and clean and my yellow wool actually looked yellow again!

Then the unfortunate thing happened. It's still not quite certain how I ended up in the tumble drier - was it because I would dry off quicker, or did I get put in by accident with all the clothes that had been in the washing machine with me? Anyway, I also spent some time in the tumble drier - and now I look like this...

Everyone has been quite kind, saying my wool looks more like any other sheep's wool now. I have to say I feel a bit silly though. Although it is nice to be clean. I promised I wouldn't let on who did this, but Ruth has asked me to point out that she doesn't have a tumble drier...

Photos from my Tanzania Trip

Hi,

I've been sorting through the photos we took on the Tanzania trip and thought you might like to see some of them!

Pastor Iain teaching at the Bible College

Norma preaching at the ladies meeting

Two new friends from Rwanda - I met them at the wedding.

My mosquito net. I was very glad of this!

At Amablas Hostel in Morogoro, bananas for lunch...

I visited this church with Norma.

Some of the children I met - they were doing a presentation in church. It was very good!

Norma with the staff and lecturers from the Bible College

The College Principles two children.

Pastor Iain with the students he taught. They had a very good time together!

I hope you liked those photos! My next big adventure is coming up soon so watch this blog!

New friends!

Hello everyone! Life here in Tanzania is still very busy for Pastor Iain and Norma with lots of preaching. Iain will be speaking for the next three days to everyone at the Bible College here at the Chapel Service. The course he was doing about the Holy Spirit is now finished and it went very well. Norma has also spoken many times at churches, the college and extra ladies' meetings, so she's not had much time to put her feet up either!

I am having a wonderful time making new friends with the Bible College students - I've had lots of photos taken with them! They are such great people and have exciting plans of what they are going to do to serve God when they leave the Bible College. Hopefully we'll be able to tell you about some of that when we get home.

We'll be travelling back to Morogoro on Sunday and then we start for home on Monday night. Please keep praying for us and for a safe and good journey home! I'll try to write more before then though..

A lovely rest!

Hello!

We're still having a wonderful time but we were very glad to get proper rest yesterday afternoon and evening! Pastor Iain and Norma went for a walk but it was too hot for a wooly little sheep so I stayed in and had a nap. Iain has already been teaching for 16 hours - wow! And the people here love to listen to him, they don't think 16 hours is all that long at all.. Iain and Norma went to speak at different churches yesterday - I didn't know who to go with because I like listening to them both! Norma is happy today because she is having a day off, no meetings to get ready for.

We met a girl who knew Katie's Mum, Maureen, 15 years ago when she came to Africa! That was a very long time ago - even though she was just a little girl when Maureen met her she's now been serving Pastor Iain and Norma their food at the Bible College. It was very exciting to meet her, and she was happy to get to know us too.

Speaking Swahili!

Hello again!

I'm having a lot of fun learning to speak Swahili - it's a great language! Mind you, it's just as well most of the people here speak English because I just couldn't get my tongue around the word for drink - mnywo - and I was REALLY thirsty! It's great that people here speak English, they think it's very important to learn our language. Not all of the children here get to go to school - I think some of the boys and girls in KFC wouldn't think that was too bad! But the children I have met here are really happy when they get the chance to go to school because they know how important it is to learn lots of things.

While I've been having all this fun and meeting people, Pastor Iain and Norma have been so busy. Norma did one of the sessions today in the Bible college and was more than ready for a nap after that! It's very hot too. Iain is taking two classes tommorrow AND the chapel AND the men's group! I think he'll be ready for a long nap too after all that...

Hujambo!

Hello! I'm having an interesting time here at the Bible College. The students are really enjoying hearing all Pastor Iain has to teach them about the Holy Spirit. I am learning some Swahili, that's the language people speak here. People keep saying "Hujambo!" when they meet me so I think that must mean hello. It's not easy learning other languages though, and I have tried quite a few during my travels! Lots of people here speak some English which I think is great.

We are all having a good time but Pastor Iain and Norma are soooo busy! Please keep praying for them!

Lizards and Mosquitoes!

The wedding on Saturday was great fun! The service lasted more than 3 hours! I've never been to a wedding before but Pastor Iain thought that was definitely longer than any wedding service he has been at before. There was a reception after it as well, so we had a very late night, even though we had to get up very early as the first service of the day started at 7.30 am! My friends in Africa REALLY love being in church!

We are now in a place called Dodoma. We are staying in our own little house on the Bible College compound. It's really nice and there are some interesting little creatures living here too. They are lizards - I think they are quite cute but Norma does not agree. And of course, there are mosquitoes everywhere! I don't think they are cute - they get into my lovely yellow wool and make me itchy. Pastor Iain will start teaching today for the next two weeks. Norma will do some sessions too. Iain's going to be teaching the Bible College students about the Holy Spirit. He loves teaching about the Holy Spirit and the people here love to listen to him, so I have a feeling the next couple of weeks are going to be great! Norma is going to speak to some community groups as well - it's just busy busy busy! Please pray that God will give Pastor Iain and Norma all the energy and strength they need.

We are sending lots of love to everyone back at Link Church!

I loved the Seniors!

Hi everyone! Not much time to write because we are really really busy, but I wanted to let you know about the fabulous time we had with the Seniors. Norma spoke to them and they thought she was brilliant! They still get very excited and happy when they hear great things about God, even though they are older than me. I'm really looking forward to the wedding today, this will be the first time I've been at a wedding in Africa so it will be so interesting to see what happens. I'll tell you all about it when I get back! I hope you pray for us in KFC tomorrow - we've got three meetings to go to!

We're here!

It was very exciting arriving in Tanzania and so great to meet my new friend, Bishop Barnabas! I've got friends all over the place but none of the others are Bishops. They are all special people though. Even though we just arrived yesterday there's been no time to put my feet up at all - we have seminars for seniors every morning from today (Thursday) till Saturday. I wondered who the seniors were, but they seem to just be people who are a bit older than me. I'm still quite a young sheep (I just turned three) but they don't mind me coming to their senior's seminars.

I'm very excited because I'm going to a wedding on Saturday! I've done all sorts of things in all sorts of places, but I've never been to a wedding before! If I'd known I would have brought something nice to wear, but I'm sure my lovely scarf will do, and I can comb my lovely yellow wool so it looks very special. Sunday will be another busy day as we'll have three services - please remember to pray for Pastor Iain and Norma as they are the ones doing all the speaking.

We're staying with some Nuns which is good fun. They are lovely and great friends of Pastor Iain and Norma.

I'm on my way to Tanzania!

Hello everyone!

It feels like I just got back from one trip and now I'm away on another one! At least I had time to wash my wool and pack my suitcase again... This time I am going to Tanzania with Pastor Iain and Norma. We had to get up really really early - 4 o'clock in the morning! I'm not really a morning sheep, but I don't mind so much when I'm going on an exciting adventure. When we get to Dar Es Salaam, we're goingt to be met by a very important person - Bishop Barnabus. He has an unusual second name so I'm not going to try to write that.

We're coming home!

Phew! We've had a really busy time... I've not had much time to write on here but it's been a fantastic trip. I've made lots of new friends and I think Zimbabwe is a lovely country. We've spent most of our time in the African township - wow! What an amazing place it is.. There are lots of bumpy roads so I've been jiggled about a lot as we've travelled - I thought that was a lot more fun than anyone else did! Pastor Iain and Jim did a great job with all the meetings they had to speak at - after the Easter Convention they still did a couple of days talking to leaders and their wives! They worked really hard and I know the people have enjoyed listening to them so much and learned a lot.

We are travelling home today (it's Wednesday) and it's a long long long journey again. It will take us 25 hours to get back! Please pray for us.

See you soon!

There are ants everywhere!

Hello,

We are having a great time here. The Easter Convention has started and we've had some great meetings. Some of the people here were helped to come by donations from friends in the Link Church, they are so happy to be here and everyone is getting really blessed listening to Pastor Iain and Jim when they speak! I really love to hear the African's singing - their music and dancing and everything is fantastic! We have good music in Link Church (especially downstairs in KFC :-)) but it's very different music here. If I was a more musical sheep I would sing some of the songs for you when we get back, but I'm not much good at singing and dancing really.

There are still a lot of power cuts but I don't mind. We just light candles when we need to see better and everything looks so interesting then. There are ants EVERYWHERE! Sometimes they even crawl into my wool. It really tickles when they start walking all over me.

We're here!

Hello again! We're finally here in Zimbabwe, staying in a place called Resthaven. It's a good place to be as we were all pretty tired after our long, long journey! We're getting a couple of days to rest though which is really important, even for a young sheep like me (I'm almost three). There have been lots of power cuts, some places don't have any power between 5 am and 10 pm - and the water can be cut off just as much. It's bad enough for Pastor Iain and Jim, but much harder for the people who live here all the time. I hope you'll pray for them. Iain and Jim fill up a thermos flask so they can have hot drinks in the day time. I manage fine as long as I can have some grass.

The Easter Convention will last for four days, and Iain and Jim will both speak twice a day every day! They are going to be so busy but the people here just love to hear them talk about God.

I'm off to Zimbabwe!

Hello! I'm really excited today because I'm on my way to Zimbabwe with Pastor Iain and Jim Storm. We're going to see our friends from Fellowship in Christ again and we're going to their Easter Convention. There's going to be hundreds of people there so I should get to make some new friends too. Pastor Iain and Jim will be able to encourage the people in Zimbabwe a lot, they've had some hard times recently. It's a long journey though - we'll be on 3 different planes before we get there! I'll need to try to get some beauty sleep because I don't want to be too tired when we get there.

Well, that's all for now, but I'll write more soon!