Dawn light at Nairobi coach station

Thurs 21st - Up at 5am, quick breakfast at 5.50am, then we - Sadiki, John Bosco, Dave, I and George our trusty chuaffeur - jam ourselves into the tiny Datsun with our luggage and one of the boxes of computers to drive into Nairobi to catch a 7am coach (as we've been told) to Arusha, Tanzania. The only way we can get the computer box in is by John Bosco having it on his lap in the front seat. The box weighs the best part of 80lbs. He somehow survives the journey.

It turns out the bus isn't actually meant to arrive until 7.30am, so we have over an hour standing watching dawn break over Nairobi. I've never seen a beautiful coach station anywhere in the world and Nairobi is no exception.

Our coach turns up. We have to pay 400 Kenyan shillings (just under £4) just to have the computer box put on the coach. This won't have anything to do with customs at the Kenya/Tanzania border - that'll be extra. Tanzanian customs are pretty severe, we're told. We put it in God's hands.

Masai town, en route from Nairobi to Arusha

MPV, Kenya-style

The coach is surprisingly comfortable - which is just as well as the roads make it one of the shakiest bus rides I've been on. I take many photos and some video out of the window. I later delete most of the photos as they're blurred beyond use - digital technology is wonderful!

Getting the visas at the Tanzania border is quite an adventure - we get so held up that our coach driver was ready to leave without us! It's only Sadiki standing in the coach exit gate that prevents us being stranded in Namanga. This is a foretaste of life in Tanzania - in a word, slower. Tanzanians do not rush. Especially with visas.

On the plus side, however, there's absolutely no mention made of the computer regarding customs. God is so good!

We arrive in Arusha about 1pm, to be greeted by bishop Hezron - an old friend of Sadiki's - and Reverend Triphone, a friend of Hezron's who has a church in Arusha that he's putting at the service of our planned conference. It soon transpires that there are some major logistical and financial difficulties to sort out - Hezron invited 20 pastors, over 40 have turned up and there was nowhere for them to stay so they've been in a (very cheap) hotel since yesterday. After some intense discussion and scrutiny of the available budget, it gets sorted out.

Dave being prayed for by the pastors

Fri/Sat 22/23rd - preaching & teaching with the pastors. They're an amazing bunch of people. Full report here.

On Saturday afternoon, Dave and I are bundled into the car and treated to a visit to a small game park nearby. Highlight for me were the porcupines - never seen them before, always had them down as slightly bigger hedgehogs, so was surprised to see things the size of small dogs. And big spines. Photo below.

Mount Meru Game park

Sun 24th - preaching at churches in morning, rest of day off. Notice for first time we're very close to a huge mountain - Mount Meru (as in the game park we visited yesterday). We've had glimpses of it before but it's been swathed in cloud most of our visit so far. It's quite awe-inspiring.

	(Left) The awesome Mount Meru - finally visible after four days in Arusha (the picture above is how it looked most of the rest of the time).

Dave, Bosco and Hezron with the miraculously working computer.

Mon 25th - good fellowship with John Bosco and Hezron (Sadiki left for Nairobi yesterday so he can reapply for a UK visa today. He was refused last time). Get Hezron's computer unpacked. It works! Even after the coach journey from Nairobi.)

Tue 26th - morning - fellowship with Hezron and John Bosco; short sightseeing walk in Arusha; packing. Afternoon - journey back to Nairobi on coach (with a TV going. All the time). Get back to Nairobi 7pm.

Final power conference in Arusha before leaving for Nairobi

And after this I'm afraid the diary got more and more pushed to the background. Back to a warm welcome at the WAB Hotel, we had (most of) Wednesday off in Nairobi, with a last-minute invitation to Emmanuel and Godileve's Family of God church near Soweto in the evening. Sadiki got his visa, praise God (we'd have had to leave him in Kenya if he had been refused again).

On Thursday I had another session sorting out problems with John Bosco's computer and scanner (with some limited success), as well as a tour of Soweto, while Dave prepared for the teaching sessions with Bosco's church leaders, which he led over Friday and Saturday (before fitting in a trip to another Family of God church in Nairobi). We fly back, shattered but happy, on the Sunday.