The Crawfords have landed

Last week we were in Boston, England – yesterday we arrived in Mvumi.

It has been a hectic week with final goodbyes and travelling.

And it began with great excitement for Irene. One of her little known enthusiasms is ‘Monster Trucks’ and last Saturday she enjoyed one of her Christmas presents, which was to drive a Monster Truck – next Christmas she would like to be given a Truck!!!

Following farewell and a send-off from our friends at Emmanuel Church Chesham, and a couple of nights with our daughter and her family in Ely we began the long journey to Mvumi – which took only 18 hours from door to door compared with 2 ½ days last year!!! This year:

- we didn’t stay in Dar es Salaam overnight
- we avoided the normal 8 hour coach drive to Dodoma and the 1 hour car drive to Mvumi because occasionally the Mission Aviation Fellowship has cheap spare seats on flights chartered by Mission organisations – and yesterday was one of those occasions. And to our delight they flew us direct from Dar es Salaam to Mvumi airstrip – in about 1 ½ hours. Wonderful. It was also exciting for the villagers as planes seldom land at Mvumi – I remember only once during the 6 months we were last here
- we thank God not only for a safe journey, but a comfortable one

One of the most noticeable things is that it was a lot warmer in England when we left than Mvumi when we arrived – but we don’t expect it to stay like that!!! It is the end of the rainy season and there were clouds all the way from Dar es Salaam and Mvumi – today the skies are clear and it is very hot.

We also arrived to find that the village was having a power cut, and no tap water was available in our house – nothing new then!!!!! It will probably be more of a culture shock this time as we become accustomed to how things happen in Africa. Our house had been cleaned and friends had stocked us up with basic foods (though I can’t work out how you make tea without water or electricity!!!)

The news about the shortage of food in Mvumi is mixed. Before we arrived we had heard that parts of Tanzania had had very poor harvests and that Mvumi had suffered, However, although the price of food has apparently gone up, it may be that Mvumi has not suffered as much as other places. We shall have to wait and see.

This weekend we;
- sort out our house
- visit Dodoma for a Piano recital and to buy some essentials
- visit our church, St Andrew’s

and its back to work on Monday.

The Wanderer's will return!!

Whilst Malcolm is writing this Irene is busy packing up for us to return to Mvumi. Its been almost 6 months since we were last there and we’ve felt a bit like nomads whilst in England.

Not having a base of our own we have spent time:
- Staying with family and friends across the country
- renting holiday lets in Ely for a couple of months
- attending a Church Mission Society training course (to find out what we should have known last year!!!)
- having a large family Christmas in Ely
- Malcolm visited his younger sister in Beijing for a couple of weeks

The big events were in November; the first birthday of our first grandson and the birth of our second.

But now its time to get back to work and to lose some of the excess weight we’ve put on whilst resting in Britain!!!!!

Having been invited back to Mvumi Hospital by the Bishop we once again pack all the things we need, and put away all the things we won’t need (such as jumpers, raincoats, brollies, diet books etc). This time with a different sort of trepidation. Last year there was the excitement of a new adventure tempered by the unknown. This time we have greater confidence in what to expect, and the anticipation of meeting old friends but with an understanding of the challenges that will face us.

For Malcolm the Hospital still has a difficult financial position with further work required before it is recognised as a Council Designated Hospital. For Irene the need to settle back into the village and to identify how to help at the Hospital or in the community.

The news we have is that the rains in the last 3 months have not been good, which means many villagers will be short of food and money, with many facing severe hunger. How this will affect our work is uncertain.

We begin our journey on Saturday, with:
- Irene going to Bedford to drive a ‘Monster Truck’ (a Christmas treat from our eldest son, David
- a ‘send-off’ from our church in Chesham
- a final visit to our daughter and grandson in Ely
- flights, first to Dar Es Salaam, and onto Dodoma

This time next week we should have arrived.

See you in Tanzania!!!

Matters for prayer:
- safety (and a chance to sleep) on our journey
- for parents and family we leave behind
- that we will quickly settle back in Mvumi
- for wisdom about what work to do in Mvumi