Comings and Goings

Being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses is extraordinary for many reasons. One of them is that those of us who travel can find a welcome practically wherever they go, regardless of whether they personally know anyone at their destination. On many occasions I have benefited from such unselfish hospitality – a Bible word that really means ‘a love of strangers.’

Yesterday Avril and I said goodbye to a guest who has been with us for five months here in Arusha. Her name is Jennifer Oaks, and at the relatively tender age of 19 is already a zealous full time preacher. She’s from Forest Hill, California. Avril and I became quite fond of her!

Yes, it is one of the hardest things in this life to cope with that we get to know people with whom we share much common ground, rapidly become friends, sharing practical support, and then inevitably they leave to return to families and congregations that miss them. It is emotionally quite taxing. Better to have loved, though, and lost, than never to have loved at all.

On a more positive note, we have been able to welcome my elder brother Michael and his wife Cathy. They are here for three months for now. It is a real pleasure to see them enjoying the environment and getting to know friends we’ve made over the past three years. We are able to set aside a little time each day to help them in their study of the Swahili language. Avril and I are sharing the lessons between us, ‘good cop / bad cop.’

Also, on January 28, Avril’s parents arrived for a two-week visit. We’ve been looking forward to their trip here for a long time! This is their second visit to Tanzania – they also came back in December 2006, after we’d been here only three months. We’ve carved our little niche a bit more nicely since then – we’re quite a lot more comfortable, having moved house a couple of years ago. So it’s a real pleasure to share our lives and our daily experiences with them.

We have more to look forward to. Jean David Lerouge is a single MTS graduate assigned to Paris English. We knew him in Middlesbrough when we served in with the French groups there from 2003 to 2006. We’re looking forward to welcoming him here starting on March 1 for a couple of weeks.