Our Church Weekend Away!

I just got back last night from our church weekend away. We went to the Windmill Christian Centre in Arbroath and there were 39 people and one sheep (me) there from our church. It was great fun! We had a special verse that we thought about all weekend - Isaiah 55: 12 - "You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." We really enjoyed doing some crafts and artwork on that theme too! One of my favourite things was on Saturday night when we lit some chinese lanterns and watched them float up into the night sky - they were so bright and beautiful. We went on some lovely walks together too and played lots of very funny games! Some of the grown ups in our church are much sillier than I thought they were... I took my mobile phone with me and got some good photos to put here on my blog: Playing with some of my friends.

We had some great times of worship - thank you Myke and Abby!

One of the best bits was the lovely food we had to eat - thank you Hannah!

I heard a few people say we should do it again, and I hope we do because I loved the weekend away!

Some photos from Tanzania!

Hello everyone,

Well, we've now been back a week, so I've had plenty of time to do my unpacking and sort out all my photos. Here are some of my favourites:


This is the view from our hotel window - you can see an African house and Mount Meru.



This was when we went for drive round with Pastor Joel and his sons. They showed us the sights of Arusha!


A dust whirlwhind!


Travelling again - we did a lot of that on roads that were very bumpy and very very dusty!



These pictures were taken at the ladies conference.


This huge bird came to say hello to me at the conference centre. I'm not sure what kind of bird he is and I didn't like to ask.. Do you know?


At the Bible College now - this is me in the libary, relaxing with a good book.


Having a chat with the Principle in his office. Do you think we should get him a Scotland flag for his desk?


In the English class. Of course I can speak English as well as Baa, so I could help the students with the things they were finding difficult.


Some animals now - the tortoises...


and the King Crane...


A porcupine...


Some zebras...


And an ostrich...

Then some snakes - Norma was not very brave... Iain was braver!



Of course, I was too small to hold a snake...


Mount Kilimanjaro... It was covered by clouds all the way through our time in Arusha so we couldn't see it or get any photos. We hoped it would come out, but on the last day we gave up and set off for the airport. Then the pastor remembered the students had given some gifts for Iain and Norma and he had forgotten to bring them. He was determined to go back for them even though it was quite a long way. But - guess what! When we got back to Arusha, there was Mount Kilimanjaro NOT hiding behind any clouds! We were so glad we went back for the gifts!


Iain and Norma at the airport, getting the gifts from the students.


Well, I hope you liked my photos! I'm going to have a little rest for the next couple of weeks because on October 13th I'm off on another trip. This time I'll be going to see all my friends in Athens Link - I'm so excited, especially about seeing my bestest friend ever, Courage!

We're coming home!

Hello again!

This is the bit I don't like about going on mission trips - saying goodbye to everyone when it's time to go home.. It's always so great though to see our good friends again - and meet new ones too! And I know we'll be back here lots of times because Pastor Iain and Norma have got lots of invitations to come back. Please pray for us on the aeroplane coming back!

I'ts going to be so good to see you all again, and I'll get my photos sorted out to show you!

Goats!!!

Hello again!

We are now back in dusty Arusha and Pastor Iain and Norma are speaking to the students at Arusha Bible College. There are 100 students at the Bible College and they all love to hear what Iain and Norma are teaching them about God!

It is very hot and dry at the moment which is what makes all the dust. Sometimes when we are out in the car the traffic stirs up the dust so much we can hardly see out of the windows! The other day we were driving down a side street when a group of Masai children suddenly came running down the street herding a whole lot of goats! They ran past both sides of the car - it was very noisy indeed and they stirred up so much dust we couldn't see anything for quite a few minutes. It was a good thing I was inside the car as I really don't like getting too much dust in my lovely yellow wool. It did make me sneeze a bit though. It's good for us to know you are all praying for us as it can be quite dangerous driving when there's so much dust blowing around and it's quite scary for the people, never mind a little sheep like me!

Big Mama!

Hello everyone!

Can you guess who Big Mama is? I'll tell you later... (It's not me, just in case you're wondering...)

The ladies conference is now over. Wow - it was so busy! That was really a lot of women all together having a great time praising God and learning more about Him. Pastor Iain taught them about the Holy Spirit. He loves telling people about the Holy Spirit and then seeing the Holy Spirit touch their lives and fill them up with God's power. That's what happened to lots of the women and it was so good! When Norma was speaking she had her friend Faraja interpreting. Faraja is very good at interpreting so it went very well. I don't think it can be easy to interpret,or to have everything you say interpreted, but Norma and Faraja did a great job. By the end of the conference the ladies had given Norma a new name - did you guess? Yes, it was Big Mama! They called her the Big Mama speaker!

We then had a very bumpy ride which shook up our insides badly! I haven't stopped wobbling yet- I hope Iain and Norma have because they are speaking today in a church in a place called Moshi. Iain has been here before but it's the first time for me.

Have a great time in church today! And please keep praying for us...

It's sooo dusty!

Hello from Arusha!

We got here on Thursday after a VERY bumpy ride from the airport! We are staying in a hotel - there have been lots of power cuts. I don't mind power cuts as, being a sheep,I go to sleep when it gets dark, I'm quite happy if there's only grass to eat and I don't mind cold showers. It's not so handy for Pastor Iain and Norma though. It's also very, very dusty! I don't like dust so much as it makes me sneeze! Norma has been sneezing a bit too, but she's not sure if that's because of the dust or a cold. Please pray for her.

Everyone has been very kind to us and I've enjoyed meeting Pastor Joel and his wife. We went into town twice and got burgers. Well,I didn't have a burger as I'm not keen on them. I don't mind trying new things to eat when I go to different countries as I am a mission sheep, but it seems you can get burgers no matter where you go!

Both Iain and Norma have been speaking yesterday and today at the Bible
College.

Hope you all have a great time at church tomorrow - say hi to the visitors for me!

On a plane to Tanzania!

Hello!

I am on my way to Tanzania today with Pastor Iain and Norma. We will fly right over Mount Kilimanjaro - did you know that is the highest mountain in Africa? I've heard that lots of people like to climb it, I think this is the best way to see the top of it though!

We are in Tanzania until September 19th and this is going to be a very busy trip for Iain and Norma. The main thing they will be doing is speaking at the Tanzania Assemblies of God Women's coference. Norma said there will be about 4,000 women there! That's so many I don't think I'll get to meet them all, but I think I should get quite a lot of cuddles with that many women around! Iain and Norma will be speaking each weekend at different churches too. We'll also spend some time at the Arusha Bible College - Iain told me that Mount Kilimanjaro is very close to there so I think I will see it from the bottom as well as the top!

I have to go and have a nap now before we arrive in Tanzania, but I'll be back to write more on my blog very soon!

Holiday time!

Even Mission sheep need some time to rest and play so I grabbed the chance to jump in Josh and Katie's suitcase and you know what? I am now in Alabama! It was a very long day on Wednesday. We went on two airplanes and the second one was a bit more exciting because there was a big thunderstorm so it took a long time for the pilot to decide it was safe to land in Savannah where Josh and Katie's grandparents live. Next morning Katie and Josh had real bad jet lag and got up at half four in the morning. They went out to the beach real early and had doughnuts for breakfast. I just slept real long!! Yesterday we drove for hours and hours and now we are in Birmingham...... not the one in England. It looks a lot different and they talk different too.
Guess where I am going on Friday?

Getting ready to come to Scotland!

Hi everyone! Courage here! The countdown is on for my upcoming adventure to Scotland! I can't believe that we leave in 5 days! We, you ask? John, Cindy, Luke, Julie, Noriene, Silus, Mary, Dave, Diann, Wayne, Angie, Alex, Keenan, Chris, Jane, Susan, Diana and I leave for Scotland this coming Friday!

We have been busy with preparations! We have been meeting to talk about what we're going to share, praying, and having a lot of fun getting ready! A few weeks ago we had a fundraiser at a local restaurant called "Chick-Fil-A." I did not go to the fundraiser (can you blame me, I'm a chicken!?!?) but I did hear that there was lots of laughter and fun had by all!

I am so excited about my first overseas trip, and can't wait to see you!



Here is a picture of some of the team at Chick-Fil-A, the night of the fundraiser!

Photos from Zimbabwe!

It was so good to be back on Sunday and see all my friends at Link Church! My friend Angela is going to come downstairs with me one Sunday and help me show photos of our trip and tell everyone in Splash and XStream about our trip, but here are some of my favourite photos!



Resting in the shade at a conference



Looks like this new friend is trying to EAT me! But he wasn't... :)



This is an African toilet... I was trying not to fall in!



At the Safari Park. Tortoises are usually bigger than me - but this one beat them all! He was very old too - about 300 years!



Maybe if I hide in this bush that crocodile won't see me...



Angela really wanted a photo of me with the lions - but they thought I was dinner!



This one didn't even notice me... He wanted a bigger dinner I suppose. I was glad!



Maybe if I ignore him, he'll just go away...



With some of my new friends!

A trip to the safari park!

Hello!

Today we had a day off and we went on a trip to a safari park. Even though I've seen wild animals in Africa before (and so has everyone else on this team) it's always amazing to see them again and think that God made them all. I know how much fun my friends in Link Church have when they do things like drawing, painting and making models and things, they love being creative. So today when I was getting my photo taken alongside a giant tortoise (it was huge!),crocodiles(their jaws were soooo big!) and a lion (it's roar was the loudest thing I ever heard!), I began to think God must have had a lot of fun making all the animals in this world - and everything else too!

After we had seen some animals,there was a really great thunder storm - very LOUD crashes of thunder, flashes of lightning and the rain poured and poured down. I am not like most sheep and some people because I like thunder storms, they are very exciting and noisy. It was good we had the car to sit in while it was going on though because we didn't want to get wet in the rain.

Our visit here will soon be over-tomorrow we will be at a church in a place called Hatcliffe Township,then on Monday we start travelling home. Please keep praying for us!

Our third conference!

Hello,

I can't believe we are already at the final day of our third conference! We've been so busy and time has flown by. We're all tired now so please pray for us. I've been thinking a lot about Psalm 23. Did you know David wrote that Psalm after he'd been thinking about how a shepherd looks after his sheep? It says "He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul." He wanted us to know that God helps us get some peace and rest, just like shepherds help their sheep find peaceful places to have a rest. Tomorrow is a day off for all of us so we will be able to chill out a bit more then I think!

Angela was teaching about healing again yesterday and two more people were healed! It's so exciting to see God touching people and making them better again, and I know the people who live here and have listened to what Angela has been teaching them will keep praying for other people who aren't well and more people will be healed.

I bet you are all watching the Royal Wedding today! I'm sorry I'm missing it but I'll be able to see all the pictures and you can tell me your favourite bits of it when I get back.

Happy Easter!

Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a great time today remembering how Jesus rose from the dead! I was thinking about you all singing "O Happy Day" in church today - I'm sure you did it really well and hope the grown ups joined in too. I hope we can sing it again together when I get back as it's one of my favourites now and I've been baa-ing it all day!

Today we had this amazing trip down a hill on a track that had lots of HUGE potholes! I was very glad Angela was taking good care of me because I didn't want to fall into one of the holes, they were very deep! But it was quite exciting too. Tomorrow we are going to a place near Kariba Dam for two days.

Thanks for praying!!

Wow,what an amazing day! Angela asked me to say thank you to you all for praying. She did a great job talking about healing but what made her (and the rest of us!) really excited was that God healed lots of people this afternoon. The first lady Angela prayed for started singing songs of praise to God - she had not been able to speak or make a sound for two years because she had a stroke! I thought it was wonderful that the first thing she used her voice to do was to praise God after He healed her.

There are hundreds of people here, it's been great to see some of my old friends again and to meet some new ones! A lady called Barbara has been looking after us very well. We're staying with her and she is giving us our meals. I like her a lot. I don't think she's ever had a little yellow sheep to look after before but she's doing very well!

Please keep praying for us!

We're in Muzarabani!

Hello!

Here we are at last in Muzarabani.. It's so good to be back here and see our good friends, Pastors Simon and Silent, again. We had to get up really early this morning to leave at 5am! We were soooo tired after our long journey but also excited to be coming here for the Easter Convention. It starts this evening - last year more than 400 people came and this year we are expecting even more to come!

We would like you to pray about tomorrow - Angela is going to be speaking about healing and the Pastors and trusting God that lots of people will be healed. Please pray for Angela, that God will help her while she is talking to the people. Please also pray that God will heal the people who are sick or hurting.

I'll write later and let you know how it goes!

We're off to Zimbabwe now!

Hello!

Well, I had a wonderful time in Athens with all my friends, and it was so exciting to see Courage again! He really liked my new look (actually, it was really my old look but he'd never seen me with my proper lovely wool before...)It was a bit sad to say goodbye but not so bad because we're going to see lots of each other this summer. Courage is coming to Scotland with some people from Athens Link in June, and then I'm going back for a holiday with Katie and Joshua in July!

Pastor Iain and I have just had enough time to wash our clothes, have a bit of a rest and get our suitcases packed again because tomorrow we're off to Zimbabwe! Some of my good friends are going with us too - Norma, Jim and Angela. We've got a very busy time ahead of us because they will be speaking at an Easter Convention and at two leaders conferences! We are also going to talk to some people about how the people in Link Church Dunfermline can help people in Zimbabwe to look after boys and girls who don't have Mums or Dads. I've heard that there are a lot of children without parents in Zimbabwe which is really sad. But God cares about every single one of them and one way we can show our love for God is by doing things to help these children too. I'm sure we'll all be able to get involved in that which will be great!

Keep checking my blog while we're away - I'll write whenever I can!

Courage here...I'm so glad that my friend Mercy is back in town! We were reunited at the barbeque, and have had so much fun together already!

We hung out with great friends!


We listened to awesome worship music together!


And sampled some BBQ fixin's!


Can't wait to see what we do next!

Meet Courage!

Howdy y'all!

I’m a chicken, and my name is Courage. On Sunday January 23, 2011, my life changed forever! The children at Athens Link Fellowship adopted me! I was adopted from a place where other animals made fun of me...they even named me Coward! :( The children at Athens Link did NOT like that, so they renamed me COURAGE! I also received new garments- -I even have an American flag cape! That evening at church the whole Athens Link family celebrated my adoption. I had never felt so loved!

I have heard that dogs are a man’s best friend. That may be true but, I know that humans are my best friends, especially the kids at Athens Link.

I love laughing! My Creator is full of joy, and He wants my joy to be full! Laughing is fun and at Athens Link we laugh (A LOT)! My favorite jokes are “why did the chicken cross the road”. Heee-heee. I like listening to music, and my absolute favorite artist is Kelli McCalla (I heard one day she may even let me interview her...I'll be sure to tell you all about it!). Oh! And I like art so much! I also like to fly, dance and chase all my friends at Athens Link.

Our pastors Mr. John and Mrs. Cindy encourage our whole family to dream, and I like following their lead. Lately, I’ve been dreaming about visiting my friend Mercy and her family in Scotland. Ohh I would love to play with the children in Mercy’s family!

My new clothes!

Hello!

I am feeling very happy because my friend Lynnette has done something very special for me. She has made me some new clothes! I know everyone tells me I am so cute, but I did used to look a whole lot better before I had an unfortunate accident with my wool. Then I looked quite funny and some people even laughted at me. And my wool was not quite so warm in cold weather as it used to be. Anyway, Lynnette said she would make me a new outfit and now it's finished! Here's a picture of me in it:



It's a lovely outfit, don't you think? And Lynnette is even going to make me more outfits so I can change them. I'm so happy!

My New Friend!

Hello!

I have something exciting to tell you! Last time I was in Athens, Georgia, the people there decided to get me a new friend. They thought it was so great that I get to go on trips all over the world and tell my friends at Link Church Dunfermline about all my amazing experiences that they decided the boys and girls of Athens Link Fellowship should have someone like me to do the same! So they found Courage - here he is with me the first time we met each other:



As you can see, Courage is a rooster, and a very handsome rooster too! And you know what? Courage can fly! It looks like loads of fun, I wish I could fly but that's not something sheep can do (unless they are in an aeroplane). Mind you, I don't think Courage can fly far enough to come to Scotland without an aeroplane! I'm so excited because he's coming over with our friends from Athens Link in June - I can't wait to see him again!

Courage and me are both going to write this blog from now on. I hope he gets to do lots of exciting things and visit different countries too so we can hear all about it!

Georgia Bulldogs!

We're having a great time in Athens -I've met lots of new friends since I got here and,as you can see,they've made me feel very welcome! Do you like my new woolstyle? I know it's shorter since Maureen cut it for me but I'm getting used to it. I quite like my ponytail now too though I wasn't too sure about having a pony hairstyle at first. Here's more photos of me meeting some of the people at Athens Link Fellowship.

We had a very interesting tour of Athens and I had my photo taken beside a Georgia Bulldog! The REAL Georgia Bulldogs are the University of Georgia athletics teams but these statues are quite famous I think. It was so huge it would have been very scary standing beside it if it hadn't been painted with flowers! I got to sit in the front of the car on the dashboard and look out the window,which is my favourite place to be in a car as I can see everything and help the driver find the way to where we're going. Here's some photos of our outings:

My friend Diana made the photo collages - I'm very excited about them because I've never had any of those before! Did you like them?