Big bumps, good times and praying like a madman

On the farm with "Alternative therapy students, realigning the cows spines!!


This week our church here in the UK has been doing 24/7 prayer. (24-7prayer.com) What an amazing thing to see, the commitment from people to make that pilgrimage to the prayer room, maybe even at 2 in the morning is a sight to behold. It makes me realise what a whole hearted commitment it takes to be part of this church. I've enjoyed it so much, and even though at times it's been a little hard to go work after being there most of the night, it's totally worth it! The time actually flies by while you are in there!

Jo's bump has stayed relatively the same over the last few weeks, although she ensures me that the baby is heavier! I simply can't wait to see our baby now. It's already been described by one Mid-Wife as a "tinker", and another one as a "little blighter" due to the amount it moves around, so I'm hoping it will save the activity for day time and sleep well during the night.

This current part of our life generally feels to me like a good time. Work is enjoyable, church is enjoyable, home is enjoyable and living in England is certainly enjoyable! Jo has even been known to say her pregnancy has been enjoyable! (Although I'm not sure she's saying that right now!)

Today on the farm has been lovely. We had 8 chicks born and 8 ducklings! It's always so nice, and it brings special enjoyment to the kids and the adult volunteers. It's only just over a week until the new manger starts, who's position I've been covering the last 3 weeks. The 2 weeks after that I have 3 days worth of work, which will just about cover our rent - and then I cover the educational coordinators role here too! She's handed in her notice, so that gets me another month or so's work! Amazing!

Tonight I'm going to the F.A Youth cup final between Arsenal and Liverpool. I'm hoping Arsenal will at least win something this year!

Well, keep smiling, enjoying spring and praying!

x x x

Farms in the city

It's been so interesting returning to the city farm scene! I've got some temporary work at Vauxhall City Farm (www.vauxhallcityfarm.org). The place is lovely, and I knew them while I ran Brooks City Farm. Their farmyard manager left after 9 years here and I agreed to come in and help keep the ship steady while they recruit, and I think they want to keep me on in a part time capacity over the summer as a session worker! It's a wonderful answer to our prayers as we really needed some extra income to pay the bills, but were faced with a country in economic crisis!

Jo is doing fantastic as ever. We went to baby and you classes at the hospital last night and they were actually really helpful. It was a bit weird as I was sitting next to a kid and his girlfriend who I used to look after at our churches youth club! He's only 18 and it was a strange thing to be learning how to have a baby together with him. Next week we get to watch a video of someone giving birth! Lucky us!!

Things seem to be going great with the boys back in Malawi. I spoke to the guys on Friday and it was a real faith builder. The leaders in Kudoko are well, they are hungry in the right way and they are learning! There's still massive issues with witchcraft, but it seems like the weekly programme and the one on one follow ups during the week are making such a difference. I had a great chat with Humphreys and I'm so excited for how he's risen to the challenge of leading it through.

Working in the city has made me realise what a contrast we have in the Western world to places like Malawi. Here the cities are where the majority of people live, it's where things happen. If you think of England you probably think of London. However in Malawi the majority of people (90%) live rurally. That means peoples mentality is very rurally focused. It's also means that it's the few who are governing the masses. It's just interesting really. 13million people live in Malawi, under 800,k of those live in Lilongwe, the capital. 7.5 million live in London, with lots of other Major cities around England which has a population of 60 million. I wonder if this is a contributing factor when the world looks at a country: England is a country driven by the city, Malawi is a country driven by the village.

Please pray for George, Humphreys and Lusekero as they continue our work while we are not there! I would also like you to pray for Oscar. He's a young student I mentor and his Uncle died a few weeks ago. This not only left him as the head of his family, it also left him without his funder for University.

Anyway, with that lingering thought in my mind I bid you farewell!

Tom