For many people September is a time of change and new beginnings. It certainly is for families with children; each one starting a new class, school or college. It can be difficult for our children who leave a familiar environment and move into the unknown. What will the new teacher be like? Will I make any friends? As parents we   accept and welcome these changes as being helpful and beneficial. As adults we often resist change but part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to stir in us a holy discontent. Not one that will lead to grumbling, but to growth.

In the Bible there are many   stories of people whose lives are changed by an encounter with God. Zacchaeus was a tax collector who took more than he should to make himself rich. He ended up with plenty of money but no friends. Jesus spotted him hiding in a tree and invited himself to tea. This meeting with Jesus changed Zacchaeus’s life. He gave back to people all that he had swindled four times over. He had changed from being selfish to being selfless. It must have made quite an impact on the community and made Jesus even more of a hero.

We may not be able to sit down with Jesus over a cup of tea, but an important part of prayer and reading the Bible is asking God to speak to us. It is nice to receive assurances of God’s love and comfort. It can be a more life changing to be challenged about how we are in way that leads to change and ultimately a richer and fuller life. How selfish are we in our attitude to money, to the poor, to our neighbour, to those who hurt us?

Migrants are a big part of the news at the moment. It is hard to imagine what horrors drive people to risk death and exploitation. It is a difficult problem that needs a global response. We must remember that these are human beings like us, only born in a different place. Our   response must be to care for those seeking escape as well as seeking to deal with the causes that drive people to such extremes.

Rev Bill Henderson

Thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make our Summer Gala such a success, and thank you to all who came to support us. It was great to have such good weather.

People have been asking me about what is happening on the old church site. We have been waiting for the ground to settle and to try and find funds to do the work. This month should see the final gravestones put back in position after having been moved to safety during the site work.

This is the time we really need your support. The stone plaques from the War Memorial are being cleaned up and the lettering recording the names of those who gave their lives re-gilded. This is to prepare the plaques for placing in their new position on the site. This work on the plaques is going to cost £2,420 and will produce something that will show our respect for the fallen.

The stone mason who has had the stones in safe keeping is going to retire soon, so we need to get the work done as soon as possible. Please prayerfully consider if you would be willing to contribute to this cause. If you are able to give, then please contact Eleanor Plant in the church office. If you are a tax payer, and you gift aid your gift, then we can claim the tax back from the Inland Revenue. The contact details for the church office are on the back of the magazine.

The War Memorial helps us remember soldiers who lost their lives in war. It is shocking today, to be remembering the lives of innocent holiday makers, gunned down on a beach in Tunisia, as well as other atrocities: Christians being beheaded and Mosques blown up. It is important for us to be praying for peace and an end to extremist violence. We can set an example of disagreeing well. That is not to pretend that we agree about every thing, but be passionate about what we believe and still listen to and stay in relationship with those with whom we disagree.

Rev Bill Henderson

I have just had the great privilege of spending three weeks in East Africa. For the 3rd week, my daughter Susie and I went on a road trip adventure. This involved hiring a 4×4 and driving down to Tanzania to visit our link parish and for Susie to deliver a training course for her women’s health project.

The traffic in Nairobi gets very bad, so we started our trip at 4am. This was a great success, as we got out of the city easily and got to the Tanzanian border by midday. Once in Tanzania, we were met by the link person for the diocese, Peter Oyoo. We spent the first night in Tarime and set off the next day for Sakawa, our link parish, in time for the Sunday service. Driving on dirt roads in the rainy season is very difficult and we were glad to have the 4×4!

We had a most warm and enthusiastic welcome with singing and dancing outside the church, followed by a lively service. They       produced a feast afterwards, which was humbling to receive. We had sent funds for a rain water harvesting system from the church roof. We saw it had been completed, albeit only two days earlier. We exchanged gifts and shared prayer needs. They promised to dedicate a special day of prayer for our church building and securing a long lease. The next day found us at Kowak where Susie did her training about health and making sanitary towels using locally sourced materials. She expected 15 people, but 63 turned up! It really showed how important this is. We will watch to see if the ideas and lessons are taken up.

We went on to meet with the Water for Life team in Musoma and Tarime. We visited one of the well sites that has stalled as they have reached rock. They are not allowed to use dynamite as they are within the town boundaries. One solution would be to drill, but that would be very expensive. The lack of resources means that problems that would be straightforward to solve in this country, are almost impossible there. Susie met with Lucy, a dynamic lady working in women’s health.

From Tarime we returned to Kenya and successfully negotiated the border. The next day we drove through the Maasai Mara game reserve, then had the long drive to Nairobi through very heavy rain and awkward police checks. Thank the Lord we arrived safely exhilarated by our journey. Thank you for your support.

Rev Bill Henderson

I have spent some time recently in Kenya visiting our daughter, and travelling back to Tanzania to help with the ‘Water for Life’ project. It has been running for 7 years now and so far over £75,000 has been raised and sent to the project.

We began by helping train people to build hand dug wells and fit hand pumps to extract the water. There is also an important element of health education so that people understand the value of clean water. The purpose of the visit is to help evaluate the project, see what lessons can be learned and how to carry on into the future. I hope to get some good feedback from the local people about what has been helpful.

There are a number of challenges to make the project work. The first one is for the villagers to take responsibility for ‘their’ well in the long term so it will be maintained. Education is part of this so people will understand the health benefits. Finding a good site can be difficult too and of course it is very discouraging to dig down, even breaking through rock, only to find there is no water. We have been looking at ways to do more effective surveys, but these can be expensive.

I visited each of the three dioceses: Mara, Rorya and Tarime. Mara is well established and has an experienced team working in development. Tarime is a new diocese but has some very good staff working for them. Rorya has much poorer infrastructure and probably needs different support.

I flew into Nairobi, Kenya, then hired a 4×4 and drove with Susie over the border into Tanzania. This is always an interesting trip; hot, dusty with lots to see. We met with the development team and people from the communities in each of the dioceses. In some places it is not suitable to dig a well and so the project is to harvest rain water from roofs. This does not provide as good a solution as a well, but is better than just going to a river or unprotected well. Susie will teach about her women’s health project and see if it can be launched in our link dioceses. In Rorya diocese, I visited our link parish, Sakawa. I also visited Rose and her husband, Samuel, who is now principal of the local Bible College. Rose visited us here in Stanley some years ago.

Rev Bill Henderson