Helen and Alastair - some background

Helen and Alastair - some background : We have always hoped to return to Africa once more before we're too old (perhaps we already are!). Alastair first went to Africa in 1974 as a junior doctor, working for the Church of Scotland in a small hospital in Transkei, South Africa. I met Alastair there in 1982, were married in 1984 and continued in Transkei until 1988. From there we went to Kenya, as employees of the Church of Scotland, where Alastair ran Chogoria Hospital. We left in 1995, with Alec, Peter and Becky to establish the children's schooling and our work in Britain. Here Alastair found himself as consultant in Breast cancer surgery, and Helen initially trained and worked as a GP before "evolving" to full time ordained ministry. Alec is now married to Ruth, and they have baby Zach; Pete is in his final year of medicine in Edinburgh, and Becky half way through nurse training in Oxford.

The Diocese of Western Tanganyika is a partner of Gloucester diocese. The plan is for Helen to join the teaching staff of the Bible College, teaching those preparing for ministry. Alastair will teach English to the students at the college, as well as doing some surgery at the church-run hospitals, and helping with project management in the Diocese.
We will keep you updated on our plans over the next few months and will greatly value your prayer support. Our current prayer requests - and thanks to God of course - will be posted on the side bar.

Saturday 26 November 2011

First ever blog

This is my first blogging attempt (is it a verb?) so the learning curve for living in Tanzania increases by another step.
It really does seem that this is for real. Our plans are to leave here late March 2012, to live and work in Kasulu, in the Diocese of Western Tanganyika.
So far we have :
  • Bought an Africa-mobile - a second hand Nissan Terrano which we will ship out. Anything less won't cope with the local roads.
  • Started learning Swahili on Rosetta Stone, and hope at least to have the linguistic skills to buy some oranges at the market.
  • Sent off all our forms fro work permits, and a large amount of money to go with them, and are now trusting them (prayerfully) to African bureaucracy and timing.
  • Worried quite a lot about how to clear and pack up a house - sent a bag of paperbacks to the church fayre, but otherwise not made much more progress.
  • And prayed a lot.