The MTC crew have left Galilee behind and are heading for the desert with their sights set on Qumran, home of the Dead Sea Scrolls...

The daring Moore College students hit the ground running in Israel, blazing a trail from the Mediterranean to Capernaum in three short days as they track Jesus' steps across the Holy Land.

Alcohol was and remains the Shires and the nations number one problem. Travel through the Shire on a Friday or Saturday night and you will see the behaviour. This is a story which doesnt make the headlines. Its what the Cronulla Chamber of Commerce speaks about in hushed tones until their shopfronts are damaged.

MA Theology students Antony Barraclough and Dave Lanham are heading for Israel under the tutelage of author and historian the Rev Dr Paul Barnett - and will they let a little thing like political unrest get in their way? Not likely...

Nat and Jules say a tearful farewell to India as they steer their bikes over the border and into Pakistan. There they have discovered a country that is ripe for Gospel work, contrary to the doom and gloom scenes painted by most news media...

We have had a great week teaching Creation to New Creation to the pastors and leaders here in Delhi. We had 23 male pastors and 15 female leaders sit the course. They were very keen to learn and gave us a heartfelt farewell at the end. There are so many stories to tell, we will share them with you when we return.

As Nat and Julian head into Pakistan, they reflect on their unexpectedly long stay in India. Five weeks has turned into three months of amazing experiences with the sub-continent's Christian community.

Its been a more relaxing couple of weeks...The XT was released from the docks and the good Lord has continued to watch over us. We left the mean streets of Mumbai for Pune to visit an Aussie chrisitian family and then Goa, the holiday state of India for a bit of r&r and reflection.

It doesnt take long for "Gods country" to fall to new lows. Sydneys "Eden" has been on a down hill run for decades. And despite the initial talk about policing, resources and pulling community leaders together to "work towards a solution", Cronullas problems are far more deep seated.

Liz Burns returned to Tanzania with CMS in January, 2004, after spending two years as a short-term volunteer. Here is her account of a typical journey to a remote parish in the country's mountainous north...

This week we have remained in Mumbai staying with a cruisy brother called Pastor Roy. We were primarily here to collect our second motorbike - a Yamaha XT600, sent from Australia. We have been staying with Roy while we wait for the Yamaha to clear customs - a frustrating process that will end up costing as much as it actually cost us to ship the bike in the first place

Tonight we write from the house of some Catholic brothers who literally took us in from the street. After arriving from Jaipur on an overnight train we were somewhat tired and smelly. It has been a hectic couple of weeks - riding over 1000km, chased at one point by a drunk truck driver, getting an engine rebuilt, seeing a dual fatality road accident, getting a puncture and to top it off almost getting rolled...

This week we're based in Srinagar the capital of Kashmir, entrenched in Muslim culture. You cannot escape it. Muslim prayers belt out of the loud speakers 5 times a day, ladies wear burkahs, men wear prayer caps, and we're forbidden to wear shorts outside!!! This being during the holy month of Ramadan means people are feeling extra sensitive (mostly due to fasting) - it was cool to meet and chat with some of these people about what they believe.

The good Lord has definitely been with us this week. After a close call - almost signing up with a militant Hindu group masquerading as an aid organisation - we hit the road to Kashmir. It was a 2-3 day ride that turned into a 5 day epic. Our contact in Shrinagar (capital of Kashmir) was a brother known as 'Titus'.

Ans van der Zwaag is a CMS missionary in Hillbrow, a poverty-stricken inner-city area of Johannesburg, South Africa. She shares what a day's work amongst Africa's poorest city dwellers means to her...