ZIMBABWE
THE Rev. Petros Mzamo and one of his elders, Mr. Levi Ndlovu, are at present in Scotland in order to attend the meetings of Synod in Inverness. Mr. Ndlovu is Headmaster of Lutsha School which is about six miles from Mbuma. This is his first visit to Scotland and we hope it will be a happy and memorable one.
At Mbuma Hospital, they were very short-staffed for a period at the beginning of the year. Nursing sister Lia Terlou was off duty with a serious and painful ear infection, which has now cleared up. The situation was relieved when Sister Louise Leiper gave up the remainder of her leave at Ingwenya and returned to Mbuma; and two nursing sisters, Sister Henriette and Sister Hanneke, came to their help from Kenya. In addition, there are three Dutch nurses on holiday in Zimbabwe and staying at Mbuma, who are most interested in the work being done there, and pleased to help in any way they can.
There has been a series of visitors at Ingwenya and Mbuma. Among them was Miss Etta MacLennan, who used to teach at the John Tallach Secondary School. On this occasion she spent three weeks at the Mission, and received a very warm welcome from former colleagues and pupils. J. N.
KENYA
It was most interesting to see recently a picture of the Sengera Mission compound. It gives the impression of being a close-knit community with everything geared for work. We are informed that a hospital theatre and an out-patients department are urgently required. Mr. Ian MacLean has been asked by the Foreign Mission Committee to move between Kenya and Zimbabwe in order to supervise building work in Zimbabwe.
Mr. George MacAskill, of the Inverness congregation, who offered to go to Kenya to work for four weeks at no cost to the Committee, apart from his fare being paid, has arrived safely and is very busy servicing and repairing the mission ambulances, truck and other vehicles.
Miss Catherine Mackenzie’s application for a work permit in order to teach the children of the staff, is being processed in Kenya. Miss Mackenzie has been examining various materials and has decided that the tuition offered by World Wide Education Service for Primary Education, and by the National Extension College for Secondary Education would provide a suitable basis. J. N.
Kenya postscript
AS we go to press, we have just received a newsletter from Mr and Mrs Ian MacLean. Among other things they say: “The spiritual work goes on and we long to see some fruit. There are still good attendances at church and Sabbath School… Quite a number of children are also doing the Scripture and Catechism Exercises in The Young People’s Magazine. These are being corrected here.
“Visiting homes of the local people is very pleasant. The conversation is soon on spiritual things and the people are willing to listen, and many are eager to learn. Family worship is conducted and the heads of families are being encouraged to continue this daily. It was much blessed among families in Scotland in days gone by, and we long that similar blessings will be on families in Sengera. Jeremiah 31:1, [‘At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people’]….
“We have all had malaria at various times but because we take treatment early none of us has been very ill… Life is always busy and not without some stress, so we can all feel very exhausted at times. However, we are truly thankful for the health and strength we have been given to carry on in the work here. Psalm 29:11, [‘The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless His people with peace’]”