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Wednesday 8 th May 2019 Africa always delivers the unexpected. We were having a quiet dinner with our friends Derick and Lilian on Sunday evening when the local police commander, with a very large truncheon, demanded to know who we were and what we were doing in Mafinga. Apparently, there have been some western conmen operating on local churches in the area. The police commander was then joined by a drunken gentleman who claimed to be the District Commissioner and demanded we appear at his office the following morning. We were polite to the police commander and ignored the other who soon shuttled away. On arriving in Njombe, the unexpected was bliss, Our en suite attracted some laughter two years ago but the whole in the floor and the bucket showers are no more. The estimable Polikapo welcomed us to Njombe. Polikapo is of half a two man all purpose diocesan office who is always willing to help. It's a bit like the St. Asaph office being reduced to just Gra...
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Meeting old acquaintances

7 th May 2019 Last evening we were delighted to catch up with Sister Lucy, whom we had not met for 6 years. Last time we saw her, she had a machete in hand and was helping strip trees to build extra classrooms for St. Mary's School. Since then she has gained her theology degree in Dodoma and trained as an evangelist. We were clear six years ago that Lucy had a vocation to priesthood but that change has not yet happened in SW Tanganyika and she is confined to leading the Cathedral Sunday School. A gift and talent wasted. This morning, we visited St. Mary's School and met the headteacher, David Mgoye, who spent a month observing good practice in North Wales in 2017. It was good to see quality wall displays in a number of classrooms. When David and Casimir, another headteacher from Milo, were in the UK, one of the things they learnt was that “even the walls can teach!” The standards of behaviour and the quality of handwriting were standout features in a high...
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We've arrived

6th May 2019 After 5 days travelling, we've finally made it to Njombe where the Sisters of St. Mary are offering their usual warm welcome. 1 st - 2nd May Our carefully laid plans for the outward journey were scuppered by Kenya Airways so that instead of arriving in Dar-es-salaam at 8am on Thursday morning 2 nd May and travelling the 300 miles overland to Iringa the same day, we did not land until 4.30pm and emerged in the gridlock of the Dar-es-salaam evening rush hour. Our good friends Jimmy and Neyma had waited patiently all day to pick us up and the car crawled for over 6 hours 120 miles uphill to Morogoro where we overnighted at a distinctly average roadside motel where we had to climb eight flights of stairs with luggage to our room. Having missed the previous night's sleep on the plane, we managed only 5 hours before hitting the road again. 3rd May The Sunset Hotel in Iringa is excellent by any standards. The rooms are capacious, the views o...
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