One day Hama entrusted his twenty-three goats into my care for the morning. He took me out to a lonely spot in the bush where there were some 'chilluki' trees, handed me his staff, got on his bike and peddled off to market chortling quietly. Feeding goats is quite fun, actually. You just latch the crook of your staff onto a branch and leap about a bit to shake the seed pods down onto your head. Then the goats charge in for breakfast, trampling on your toes and chomping happily. Going from tree to tree, calling the goats after me, I was very contented. Until eventually I realised that the flock had somehow doubled in size and that I was completely lost.

It was Fatimata, one of Hama's wives, who saved the day. After a couple hours she appeared, shouting "What are you doing all the way out here?" When she saw the goats she seemed a bit upset. She grabbed hold of the nearest one's horns and demanded "Why are you feeding this one?" I suggested it had looked a bit hungry. "And this one?" "Er - I don't know." She went through the flock sifting out all the gatecrashers, which ran off looking pleased with themselves.

Amazing how news travels. People in the villages now call me Sambo Be'i (Sambo Goats). They ask me if I have a 'cadeau' for their own goats and laugh uproariously. But wasn't it Jesus who promised, "Anyone who comes to me I will not turn them away"? Surely the same applies to goats. Since then, one lad in Yengerento has started teaching me the words for different combinations of animal colouring and marking, of which there are literally hundreds. I feel it's worth learning about the animals, so as to share better in people's lives here and find relevant ways of communicating God's love. Jesus did the same I suppose - one of his best stories was about a shepherd doing something extravagant and slightly foolish - leaving 99 sheep unprotected in the open bush to go in search of just one who was lost.

Talking of which, remember Iisaa and Aladdin? Last night they both gave their lives to Jesus, along with Isiaaka, who is the percussion section in Iisaa's music troupe. Unless you're using a computer in a public library, feel free to praise God with a loud cheer. Thank you so much for praying for these guys; please continue to do so, that God would bless them and that they would enjoy these first days of their new life.

Tomorrow (Sunday) is Hama's baptism. We are all looking forward to it with great joy, except for the sheep tied up outside my window here, who is looking forward to it with some degree of nervousness. We had hoped that Jeneba (orphan project) would be able to be baptised at the same time but her husband n'est pas d'accord. Please pray for her.

Keith and I will spend Christmas in Gorom-Gorom and on New Year's Day we make a new start by moving to Djibo. I'd appreciate your prayers at Christmas; I found it quite hard at this time last year, missing turkey and decorations and family and "Weakest Link" Christmas specials and other important things like that.

All the best, then, until 2003. Alla beydu jam.

Love,

Steve