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We intended to send out our newsletter much earlier, but as time passed, as the content grew, and as the busyness of life took over, it got delayed and delayed. So

instead, we are going to send this in 2 parts. Here is the first part –

September – December 2011. Enjoy!

After leaving San Diego in September, we arrived in Nairobi and spent a night at a guest house, before taking an all-night bus trip from

Nairobi to Musoma – 11 hours and about 550Kms (340M). It was one of the few times in Africa that I’ve been somewhat concerned for our safety. But we had a lot of people praying for us, and we and all our

stuff arrived safely. The kids were great the whole trip, PTL! (This picture shows you what it looked like for most of the ride.)

We really wanted to put Luke in a Tanzanian school, at least for a while. It sounds quaint and simple until you actually have to deal with it – he was the only white kid, all the other kids speak Swahili, and the culture is very different from what Luke is used to. At times he hated it, at other times he tolerated it, and sometimes he even enjoyed it (once he was there). We had to use a lot of rewards to get him to go, but we think it was a good experience for him, and will help him become a participant in the culture around him, rather than an observer from behind our safe walls. Spare a thought for all the immigrants and ‘outsiders’ who mix in your circles.

On 3 October 2011, our team of translators, linguists, literacy workers, and support personnel all traveled together to Ikoma-land to celebrate the publication of the Gospel of Luke, the first book of the Bible to be published in their language.

After a long service of singing, introductions, and preaching, it gets to the exciting part – where the copies of Luke are danced in by the translation team, and presented to the guests of honour.

The official Guest of Honour holds up the translation.

Then Muya, one of the Ikoma translators, reads from the Gospel of Luke to the congregation – the first official reading of Scripture in the Ikoma language! (You can read more about this on the Hills’ blog.)

Many years ago, the first missionaries who came to Ikoma-land preached the gospel, and a number of Ikoma people became believers. This man is the oldest surviving person from that initial group of believers, and he’s waited a looong time to read the Bible in his language. It goes without saying that it was a very joyful day for him. (You can read more about this man on the Sandeens’ blog.)

Click here if you’d like to see more pictures from the Ikoma Celebration.

Malia turned 3 in October, and she was very excited to graduate out of a cot and into a toddler bed.

Kelly’s parents gave Malia a princess dress, which Malia thinks is probably the greatest thing in the world.

We also had a birthday party for Malia.

Musoma babies

In October, four other guys and I packed our motorbikes and took off for a 2-day safari along the border of the Serengeti National Park. We took everything that we’d need for the 2 nights, including water, food, extra fuel, tents, etc. It was SO much fun.

30 minutes in we had our first flat, but soon after that we were on the road, powering through villages, flying past mountains, and running down chickens. Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Dave was coming on his Honda 650! The chicken was too slow.

Carpet-like turf from horizon to horizon!

Baboons

There are few places in Tanzania where you can’t find people. Houses and huts scatter the countryside everywhere, as do little walking trails. But where we went it was truly isolated. We saw the occasional cow-herder come through with his herd, but that was it. We encountered wide open plains. We made our own roads. And we raced our bikes back and forth and up and down and crossed rivers and found dirt mounds for doing jumps and ate and ate and ate (being guys, we all brought enough food for a week). It was man-heaven.

In November, having agreed with our landlord to take the cost out of our rent, we started doing some construction on our house.

It was a difficult experience (sleeping with gaping holes in the walls, etc), but in the end it was worth it. Our 2-bedroom tiny dining-room house now has 4 bedrooms, a large dining room, and a veranda, where we now spend most of our time, enjoying the breezes.

In December, my cousin, Sheri-lee, and her friend, Ben, came out for Christmas and stayed with us for a couple weeks.

The Sandeens’ blog – The last of the first:A colleague’s blog post about the Ikoma man who is the oldest of the first Ikoma believers.

The Hills’ blog - What it's all about:A colleague’s blog post about the Ikoma Luke

dedication.

Some links that you might enjoy:

The Woodwards’ blog – Luke’s gospel dedicated in Ikoma:A colleague’s blog post about the Ikoma Luke dedication.

Wycliffe UK – Celebrations in Tanzania:A reference on the Wycliffe UK site to the

Ikoma Luke dedication.

chroNICHOLLS – Where Christ was not known:A blog post about how the Kwaya people have

‘churches’ but still haven’t heard the saving gospel.

chroNICHOLLS – The time has come:A blog post and video about a song that

the Kwaya people wrote for us.

chroNICHOLLS – Ikoma Luke dedication slideshow:A video slideshow of pictures from the Ikoma Luke

dedication.

LINKS/INFO

• To visit our chroNICHOLLS blog, click here. To see more about our work, visit thetask.net.

• To join our Prayer Team, or sign up for newsletter notifications send us an email.

• To support us financially go to this link, or send us an email & we’ll send you a card. To give by mail, make a check/cheque out to: “Wycliffe Bible Translators”

and send it to:Wycliffe Bible Translators Wycliffe AustraliaP.O. Box 628200 or 70 Graham RdOrlando, FL 32862-8200 Kangaroo Ground, VIC 3097USA Australia*Include a note saying that it’s for “Michael & Kelly Nicholls”.

• Our Tanzania mailing address is:Michael & Kelly NichollsBox 1235Musoma, TanzaniaEAST AFRICAmichael-kelly_nicholls@wbt.orgor catch us on facebook .Birthdays: Luke – Jan 19; Michael – Jan 30; Elliot –

April 24; Kelly – Aug 15; Malia – Oct 16