Dec 2014

The only thing that reminds us much of our previous home in North Dakota this time of year is having four gorgeous amaryllis blooming in the flower/shrub border around our house-one stalk had six big red trumpet blooms. The sky is stunning at night with the Southern Cross easily viewed amidst the richness of the Milky Way (the rim of our galaxy seen from the interior). In walking down to lock the gate before bed time I can see an occasional flash on the upper slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro above the 12,000 ft. level which comes from a camera shot being taken by a climber incidentally pointing the flash in our direction. The stars bear silent witness to God’s supreme power and glory. For centuries on end we, mankind, thought that they were little decorations on a rotating celestial sphere. We had no idea that they in reality are great furnaces of energy, mostly much larger than our sun, revealing incredible mysteries. It is amazing that God decorates His throne room with objects which display unimaginable power. More amazing is the fact that God chose to intervene in human history eventually sending the pre-existent Messiah from His side to fully reveal Himself. When we look closely at this wonderful intervention we see spiritual mysteries which are just as difficult to comprehend. How blessed are those who do comprehend and treasure the revelation He has given us in the person of Jesus and the written Word.  He has told us that it is His specific will that all who share in the supernatural revelation of Jesus’ true person are bound by obligation and love to produce fruits worthy of His name as we wait for His second appearing (Titus 2:11-3:8). We joy in the fact that God has led us to this place to bear fruit through the True Vine while we wait for His coming. Christmas reminds us that once more an even more startling intervention in human history will occur. Now that the sale of our house is receding into the past with all the anxieties associated with it and the struggles to commit them to the Lord, they seem so minor against the backdrop of the opportunities in serving our wonderful Lord. It was worth it all and we can commend it to anyone who decides to take this step of faith. We are so glad that we made the decision to spend our functional retirement here. There is much to do including: 1. the supervision of the day to day life of our residents with the help of our trained African cottage mothers, 2. running the school which will now include to 5^th grade to accommodate our older students, 3. an ambitious program to not only train our own teachers but those who will find work in the church and government schools,  4. do all this while maintaining the village’s physical facilities, trying to make the operation as self-sustaining as possible and, 5. doing it with a godly emphasis based on what God has told us to do in His word. The New Year brings more challenges with the planned expansion of the primary school which will bring the addition of another building, the inclusion of more orphans and a specifically designed building for the teacher training program called RICE (Rafiki Institute of Classical Education). We have also planned a maintenance building which will include two metal containers with a roofed corridor down the middle for big maintenance projects. We hope and pray that God will lay it on the hearts of some of you who have so many skills to come and help us; and even if you don’t have the skills we need there is probably some work for you to do as a mini-missionary.

We have had some fun this Christmas season visiting some local congregations, starting our special class for the older boys (How to be a Great Man), initiating the boys to painting and tomorrow we are  invited to give the closing address for the English service at the medical center, “The Challenges of the Coming Year”(Christ’s coming is surely very near, let us seek every opportunity to be fruitful for our Master).  Other Christmas activities included preparing, serving and cleaning up for the breakfast and dinner meals for the children; giving the local kitchen staff a nice Christmas day break to be with their families. We served pancakes for breakfast with milk tea and rice pilau with chicken and coleslaw for dinner. We had small cupcakes and peanut butter cookies for dessert. All our Rafiki staff had dinner in the dining room with the children. It was a joyous day. The children went to church in the morning in all their new Christmas clothes.

December 26 is Boxing Day in Tanzania when children receive gifts. (No gifts are exchanged on Christmas Day as it is a day to celebrate the birth of Christ). The children received a game for each cottage on Boxing Day and we stayed to teach them how to play some of the new games. They also received an invitation to visit the Snake Park in Arusha on Monday December 29^th. Due to some generous sponsor donations, we are able to hire a bus to take the children there. The mothers decided on the gift and as many of you know, my love for snakes is totally non-existent!!! BUT as a good Child Care director…. I am going…….and I will take pictures.  The children are really excited!!

As you can see we are loving our time here in Tanzania and embracing all the country and jobs here have to offer. We feel very fulfilled and are so thankful for the opportunity to serve here for now.

Christmas is nearly upon us and it is strange after spending 20 years in North Dakota that there is no snow or freezing temperatures (except on Mt. Kilimanjaro which has an upper fresh snow covering some mornings). Peggy wakes up each morning and pulls the curtains aside to see what has happened on the mountain the previous night. We are learning to celebrate Christmas in a different way below the equator. Some of the village grounds workers found us sisal shoots which make a lovely reminder of Christmas and ours has been decorated with tiny LED lights and some unique ornaments. Each Rafiki family has decorated the shoots in a different way. The children are busy decorating their cottages and we are expecting an end of semester school recitation December 19.

 WE enjoyed a new "traditional Thanksgiving feast with our Rafiki family. We had pork and dressing and chicken and lots of desserts including fresh coconut pie and even pecan pie from the generosity of Sara Nickels. There were 9 of us with our Mini missionary guests the Prishmans. We were all quite happy and stuffed and so thankful for all God has done for us here in this country. 

 It feels like Miami or Phoenix today and I just finished fabricating a new arbor for our passion fruit vines which provides a pleasant introduction to our house on the sidewalk connecting us to the rest of the staff housing area. Outside we can usually smell the scent of the frangipani tree and it often comes through the open windows (known as the plumaria in Hawaii) as a most heavenly fragrance. We continue to wonder at the opportunities open to us in this wonderful setting. We are starting soon a course for the older boys and girls on the verge of puberty called “How to be a Great Man” or woman as may be the case. We will cover the usual information which parents are expected to cover with children this age but it will eventually end with several sessions based on Matt 20: 25-28. We have the opportunity to guide them to greatness by teaching and modeling servanthood after our Lord’s example who did not come to be served but to serve. The wonderful thing is that we live with the expectation that most of them will have the capacity and training for greatness with the education and experience which we are giving them. I expect to be introduced to some of the medical students nearby before the end of December as the chaplain has invited me to give the sermon at the English service held on the grounds of the medical school. There are many foreigners working at the medical center since it is so well known in East Africa and we are told usually 200-300 people are attendance.

 For those of you who are interested in how this has worked out in other settings nearby we would commend to you the story of the Masai boy Kuyoni whose father disinherited for attending Bible classes in Road to Kilimanjaro by Ruth Shaffer. This was originally written in 1985 but could be found via Amazon.com.

 I expect to be introduced to some of the medical students nearby before the end of December as the chaplain has invited me to give the sermon at the English service held on the grounds of the medical school. There are many foreigners working at the medical center since it is so well known in East Africa and we are told usually 200-300 people are attendance. We continue to find immense joy in the work here. The children are engaging and loving. The National workers do really hard tasks with true joy. I asked some of the men to move a stove from one house to another then move a desk and a 4 drawer file cabinet from one house to another also, and all was done with light banter and smiles! All by hand I might add.
 Today, as I am sitting in my house, I still hear the laughing and playfulness of children as they weed in our large Village shamba (garden).  Several of our Rafiki mothers have asked to take some of the children who have no relatives, home with them for a few days during school break. This is a rare off time for the mothers and they chose to spend it with the children they have come to love. What a ministry heart.
Yes there are hard things too here. The heat this time of year can be draining. The driving is terror producing and parking is a joke. But these are so small when you think of the impact God is allowing us to have on the lives of 59 precious children!!! Thank you again Lord for the opportunity. We remind you that you are welcome to share in the work here anytime. There is plenty to go around and you then can experience not only the "Joy of the Season" but they joy in working for The Lord.
 

Then he said to his disciples "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." Matthew 9:37-38

We have been here for a little more than two weeks and are starting to get used to things as residents. Thomas and Karen Prischman arrived 13 Nov. work at the Village with us for two weeks, planning to go on to Malawi to visit Larry and Cindy Renner for about the same time. The Prischmans have traveled extensively to many exotic mission stations in the (we wouldn’t call ours exotic) world and for many years were in our home church in Bismarck. We sent them on safari for three days and they are due back tonight before sunset. This would be the approximate schedule for any of you who may wish to visit us with the option of a longer safari. The Renners were our fellow church workers in Bismarck who traveled with us to Tanzania earlier and then decided to go out to Africa with Rafiki to help run the Rafiki village in Malawi. Skype works well out here most of the time and we talk to the Renners regularly. It is amazing how well it works for visits with our old friends and relatives. Prischmans brought us some much needed niceties which we were out of in this village-concrete anchor screws, wire nuts and a few tools. Most of our drill bits were broken so we got two new sets in plastic cases-I started using them immediately and fixed a number of things.

Here are our present duties. I get up well before six and make sure the great iron doors can be unlocked for the change of the guard and our Tanzanian workers who work in the kitchen, the garden and the laundry. This is a 24 hour operation with sixty children who we are responsible to raise. I’ve settled down enough that it is possible to run in the early AM and the Tanzanians probably think I am crazy. The official day starts at 8:00 AM  and by then the population of the compound has swelled dramatically with the day students who attend school but do not live here. Our educational facilities go up to the fourth grade since that includes the age of our oldest orphan(resident student). Each year we add a grade and fill out the remaining space in a class up to eighteen. Only the school director is Rafiki staff. We carefully interview Tanzanian teachers to help us operate the school. My work so far is with the RICE program which is the specially adapted Rafiki curriculum to increase the quality of Tanzanian teachers; we have about 20 in this class which requires about four semesters to qualify for up through 1^st grade teaching. The work is difficult for many of the students because it is English language based (the government is trying to make this the standard for all teachers as in Kenya). Fortunately it is computer based and the student move along at their own pace with occasional testing to make sure they don’t lag behind. As of two days ago, running this program is now my primary responsibilitiy. We start the morning reviewing a pre-printed Bible study similar to that of Bible Study Fellowship and there are different versions depending on your English language skills. This is about the equivalent of teaching a well-organized Sunday school class each day of the week and I have considerable latitude about how to fill the 50 minutes once we go over the questions. The Rafiki missionary who ran this went home for about two months so I will be doing this nearly full time except for two afternoons a week at the medical school-the details about this have been put off by the hospital administration for another week. The rest of a routine day would be spent tutoring/supervising the students. Average age is late twenties but it is a great opportunity for grounding in the Scriptures. The day may be interrupted by Peggy bringing me a sick child at any time. We had a harrowing case last week which looked like a tonsilar abscess with approaching closure of the oral passageway. The poor boy ended up with ten penicillin shots in his buttocks before we could shift him over to amoxicillin. In a few days he was happy and playing again. My classroom instruction is over at about 4:00 PM and then I walk home and do house fixing or studying Swahili. Often after supper we do sick call in an  cottage at the request of the mother responsible for those ten children-mostly it is just the usual illnesses that you were used to at home growing up-vomiting, diarrhea, colds, ear infections and occasional insect bite complication (there is an insect here that if you smear its body fluids when smacking it dead severe skin irritation develops and can result if on the face with not being able to open the eyes). The children bear all these afflictions very patiently and bounce back quickly since they have good nutrition and care. When bed time comes we can hardly stay awake to read for just a few minutes.

Peggy’s day is more varied and is more complicated because it involves unexpected events. She drives our stick drive old Nissan into town maybe once a day for errands: medicine, ordering new clothes, getting mosquito nets repaired (can you imagine trying to police sixty kids to be careful with their fragile nets in getting in and out of bed) or having meetings. She has an ongoing instruction program with the mothers about the details of providing good care from a Christian perspective using a regular Bible study and our manuals. Last Friday she had to drive up on the mountain ( it is 60 x 90 miles in measurement just dropped down on the Tanzanian plain) to do a final home visitation to make as sure as possible that after a careful interview she would be a good mother. She would be writing this part of the blog but is showing a spectacular movie, White Lion, at the dining hall. This was attempted yesterday and ended with a major technical problem after sixty children got well into the movie all settled down on the floor and reclining on giant mats. It was the usual conjunction of difficulties which we all encounter trying to make things work out here in Africa. We learned a good lesson: prepare ahead for the unexpected, make sure in advance all equipment has been checked, the DVD is not defective and the sound is working.

It is the short rains now so there are vast fields which normally would be cultivated that are just left bare but shortly foster an equal vast field of weeds. We are discussing the working out of how to start a program for the older boys and girls early Sunday morning in how to be good church workers when they grow up. This would include preaching, teaching, choir and church music. We hope that you can read in between the lines about what an opportunity  this is for some of you to come out and help us on a short or long term basis. Shortly, construction will start on enlarging the primary school, building a large tool, equipment storage area and redoing our sewer system to incorporate a wet land for water purification (we have a deep well as a very adequate water source). Where does all the money come to do this? God moves upon the hearts of those who believe in what we are doing and we do not go into debt.

We are thankful for all of you who follow and support our work here. It is a joy to serve here in Moshi, Tanzania.

“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift (1 Cor 9:15)!” 

We are not quite finishing our first day outside Moshi, Tanzania and have got a lot done. Our arrival was uneventful and the village director with his wife were faithfully waiting for us outside the customs area. A lone custom's officer was presiding and asked why we had so many suit cases (seven each loaded carefully and weighed multiple times) to which we replied that we were moving to Tanzania; he sighed cheerfully and waved us through. Our home had been carefully prepared for us and became a big mess as our suit cases were unloaded today in the living area. All day a cool breeze blew in through the open windows presided over by the grandeur of Kilimanjaro peeking out from the short rain cloud banks. It felt really good to be at the end of a complicated chain of living arrangements since the sale of our house in Bismarck. The work on our house in Florida had just been completed the day before we left.

With our arrival here we thought about all who have gone before us investing their lives for the kingdom of God starting with David Livingston. For anyone interested we would recommend two books which are probably out of print but can be procured through second hand sources: one is the chronicles of his startling exploratory expeditions much of which involved Tanzania (then Tanganyika) and the other is Paul White’s famous series based on Jungle Doctor. The latter starts a classic series based on his experiences in a small village south of here named Mvumi near the current official capital, Dodoma. We feel so privileged to be joining the ranks of probably thousands of missionaries who have labored in various types of work in this country of 48 million people (with a current orphan rate of about 6.25% or around 3 million). After we did the main sorting today Peggy went into to town with three other ladies from the Rafiki village to buy groceries and I stayed behind to get the house in better order-I already miss my tools but will have to build up a small collection here. Our mosquito net for the bed is adequate but we need a bigger one so that it is easier to get in and out of bed without mosquitoes getting in. Thankfully the risk of getting malaria here is low but very real, none of our resident children so far have gotten malaria even though we discover holes in their netting form time to time.

Thankfully we arrived late on a Friday evening so we have the weekend to prepare for starting on Monday. Peggy will be starting immediately as child care director and I already have week day Bible study teaching assignments made plus overseeing the progress of our selection of local teachers who are taking ten week courses on how to teach the classical Christian curriculum. Sometime late this week I will go into town to the KCMC medical school and hospital to see what the administration has in mind with the medical students.

The second night has now passed and we are starting to get settled in with the usual surprises-baby frogs coming up through the toilet for instance. Outside roses are blooming with many flowers. It is dryer outside so we have to use a garden hose to keep the flowers looking good. This morning we went over to the dining hall to greet all our resident children which is what we call them here. Tomorrow I must get busy learning the names of all the sixty odd children which are part of the Rafiki village. Peggy still remembers some from our trip in February. This morning in going through Psalm 112 (quoted in 2 Cor 9:9) I noted that the blessing pronounced on the man who fears the Lord and greatly delights in His commandments is also linked with freely giving to the poor. This is part of practical righteousness. What an opportunity we have here to do just that.

Another Transition

Many times it has been said: "Home is where the heart is".  
I have been careful as we have transitioned from Bismarck to Florida NOT to call our house here "home". Why is that? I think there are many reasons but the overshadowing reason for now is that we want to make Moshi, Tanzania our new HOME. God has clearly been guiding us to Moshi over the last two years and the time is quickly upon us. We are thrilled to be at this stage of our transition, but I must say.....it has been a process.

The final sale on our house in Bismarck took place on Thursday, September 18th and we closed and moved our belongings on Wednesday September 24th. We left Bismarck after the STEER conference on Sunday morning October 5th and landed in Florida around 1 PM. Our house here was... and is... still undergoing renovations so we stayed in the home of Larry and Cindy Renner until Thursday October 9th when we physically moved in to our place. Every day is a parade of construction workers trying to "finish" their jobs as we unpack our things. We are getting it done and already have our six suitcases packed (for the first time) for Tanzania. We are already over the limit of weight so repacking will happen soon but taking out is easier than doing it all for the first time..... I HOPE.

The weather here in Florida is perfect right now. The days are warm and the evenings are cooler so we are enjoying lots of time on our new patio. We even have some horses just over the fence of our back yard. As we enjoy our few weeks here, we continue to remind ourselves that our HOME for now is in Moshi, Tanzania with the new children that God is giving us to care for. Our hearts are definitely in Tanzania for the present time.

As you can imagine, Kent is quite busy here with "house projects". He is trying to get his new workshop set up and the garage floor refinished and the pictures hung and the attic filled with storage items, and, and, and...... lots of trips to Lowes and I am grateful we have one only about 7 miles away.

Here is a reminder of what our front yard will be like in our new HOME in Tanzania. We will be busy as Peggy will be the Child Care director and Kent will work three days a week at the Medical School and teach with the RICE program which trains teachers for the remaining two days each week.
We are thankful for the many people who have visited us during our short stay here in Florida. They have been an immense help in getting unpacked and projects completed. I am not sure how we could have done it without them... we even had some come from as far as North Dakota!
In about two weeks after settling into our HOME in Tanzania we hope to send our first report of life below the equator. Please pray for us as we leave on October 30th and our safe arrival and as we settle into our home there. Thanks for joining us in prayer on this new journey.

Almost ready to go!

Perhaps you have wondered why we have not made an entry in our blog until now. We have been through many ups and downs regarding the sale of our house which was delayed as two potential buyers fell though causing us to be off the market waiting for the sale. As of now our home sale "closes" on Wednesday Sept 24th. We are relieved and amazed at God's grace and timing in this sale. We are now ready for the moving van which also arrives on Wednesday....morning! The boxes are backed and the furniture stacked so yes we are ready. 

The result of purging our possessions down to less than 40% has provided many good spiritual lessons. The most notable lesson being a future intention to build in the hearts of men, women, and children with the same careful intention bestowed on the twenty year remodeling of our house in Bismarck. 

We will have three weeks in Florida to get our things settled and will be on the plane to Tanzania on October 30, 2014!! The process seems long, but it is finally in sight. We hope to use our Florida residence for use of our friends and family who would like to visit the Orlando area or by others who are transiting to Africa with Rafiki. 

October 1 is Kent's last day of work and we will leave the Bismarck area on October 6 after attending the STEER conference.  We will have a booth at the convention and hope to introduce others to the work of Rafiki. STEER is an organization that channels over 1.4 million dollars a year to missions through raising cattle and crops for missionaries. 

Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude and joy for what God has done for us in stepping out to serve Him in this way. Raising support has been a time of seeing God's provision and gentle leading. Our colleagues, Larry and Cindy Renner are already serving with Rafiki in Malawi and another couple in our church is considering missionary service. We hope God will use us in encouraging others in their retirement years or even earlier to examine the opportunities to serve The Lord in Africa. The harvest is truly great, the laborers are few and the night is coming. Thank you for your prayers, financial support and partnership in our ministry.

Psalm 37:8b “Do not fret—it only causes harm”

This was a verse highlighted from My Utmost for His Highest for July 4^th. Oswald Chambers’ comments are as usual, quite challenging. “It sounds easy to talk about resting in the Lord and waiting patiently for Him, until the nest is upset—until we live, as so many are doing in tumult and anguish; is it possible then to rest in the Lord? …… Resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God Himself.”

As I looked back into the Psalms, I had highlighted a verse a few years back from Psalm 36:7-8 “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures”

What a contrast when we choose to dwell in the peace that only God can give. Yes times are stressful now as we have passed the 90 day mark of our time in Bismarck and the 120 day mark before we head toward Africa. We still have a house to sell and renovations to complete on our permanent residence in Florida. We have packing to complete and the timing is uncertain because of the sale; or not sale of the house. How does this all affect our daily lives? We feel somewhat like we are living in “no man’s land” with feet in 3 spheres. The house has to always be ready to “show”. Does this cause anxiety? Not if we can learn to rest in the Lord who is the giver of peace. I am one who thrives on schedules and plans and this present existence does not lend to either. I am asking daily …. or houly…. or by the second, for His Grace to help me to rest and enjoy the process. I am strengthening my relationship with God by dwelling even more in His Word that gives me strength.

We are getting really excited about seeing the vision of being on the ground in Africa serving with Rafiki finally coming into sight! I was able to attend the three day “Enrichment” in mid June which was encouraging and uplifting. I was able to talk with many of those “on the field” who I have known by name but not before met in person. It was indeed a special time. Karen Elliot and Rosemary Jensen also shared updates and vision for the future in Rafiki which is exciting.

We now have purchased our tickets for leaving from Orlando on October 30^th and arriving Kilimanjaro, Tanzania on October 31^st. We were even able to get the tickets at a wonderful price. Our layovers are just right (until the airline changes the scheduleL) and we should be able to check all 6 of our suitcases without extra charge. And we have great “assigned” seats. This is all a tremendous blessing as we prepare for the trip. International travel can be daunting and little “perks” are always a blessing.

Kent has asked to retire on October 1 instead of November 1 and the request has been granted!! This is a huge blessing as it will give us a few weeks to settle into our home in Florida. We hope to drive our car down over Labor Day and then fly back to Bismarck for the remainder of September. We will then fly to Orlando right after the STEER conference (a wonderful organization which “steers” +1.5 Million dollars to missions each year by having ranchers and farmers take additional cattle into their herds with the money going to missions).  October 2-4. In the meantime, please pray that we have the sale of our house confirmed by the beginning of August so we could close by September.

Last time we did a blog post I promised to bring everyone up to date in regard to our goals ahead especially since the present schedule calls for under 90 days before moving to Florida in preparation for Africa (we are planning a yearly visit to Bismarck since our home church is here, we have many supporters in the area and for now this is where we will continue to get our medical care). In addition to being allowed to retire on October 1 there have been some other new developments. A few days ago an email copy of my license to practice medicine in Tanzania was sent for which we are profoundly grateful. I have finished reading two volumes on the life and work of David Livingston and H.M. Stanley (the latter becoming world famous after his breath taking journey through Tanzania to find Dr. Livingston destitute in the town of Ujiji on the shores of Lake Tanganyika). If anyone is interested in just a quick run through of this whole saga I would recommend Martin Dugard’s Into Africa, The Epic Adventures of Stanley and Livingston. It was delicious reading! Our readers would get remarkable insight into where we are going to work by going through this volume-only 316 pages as a paperback. I have been helped immensely by J.I. Packer’s comments on what we should expect as we ask God for wisdom in encountering tribulation. Here is a short version which I would have been very much better off to have known earlier in the Christian life: 1. as we ask for wisdom in tribulation we need to pray for God’s perspective and insight, 2. we need to ask humbly keeping in mind our spiritual, physical and emotional weakness, 3. since the wisdom which He gives may require courage and strength for action we need to be prepared for the consequences, 4. In revealing wisdom, God may wonderfully challenge us with the most unexpected interventions and even have an expectation of us in how we need to change, 5. and lastly, as best we are able, His wisdom should be put into action with the constant effort to seek peace and pursue it if possible (Ps 34:14, a composition based on David’s own experience). Over this last week we have been able to shed about a ton of stuff, I am writing literally: a snow blower, 4’x 8’ sheets of various grades of plywood and lumber, books which can now be found on the internet, clothes, boots and various paraphernalia for keeping warm at -30⁰ F. Much of our moveable furniture which is no longer needed in downsizing is sold but not picked up yet. I am also trying to formulate a workable mentoring program for our new physicians before October and work out details for a new emphasis in medicine called the Medical Home. It is a program to keep much closer track of patients who have chronic medical conditions by closely monitoring their status as outpatients to prevent deterioration and recurrent admissions.

So I hope to conclude this time with the addition of GOALS to the previously discussed vision statement. Just so you won’t have to look back I will give a concise review of the statement up to now:
VISION: to be Christ’s ambassador among my colleagues and the medical students at Kilimanjaro Christion Medical Center (KCMC), to have a servant’s attitude among my fellow workers at our mission station at the Rafiki village and to seek the best interests of Christ’s church in Tanzania.
MISSION: to know Christ and make Him known, becoming more like Him daily in my thoughts words and deeds through the power of the Holy Spirit and to seek relationships characterized by openness, vulnerability and mutual accountability.
VALUES: to seek the mind of Christ (the selfless mind, the serving mind and the sacrificial mind) and thus receive guidance as to right praying, right thinking, right living and pursuing holiness.

GOALS:

1. Establish personal relationships with the medical students and professors ASAP and combine
this with well thought out and artfully given lectures whenever there is opportunity

2. Begin the study of Swahili as soon as I can find a good mentor who is sympathetic with my
desire to reach as many of the medical students as possible-this is chiefly for social reasons
because all the instruction is in English
3.  Quietly find all those who are believers and discover ways in which they can be encouraged
4.  Help and encourage the older orphan boys and girls to conduct church at the Rafiki village so that on rainy (and very muddy) days we can have church for the benefit of everyone and for training Rafiki children and spiritual leaders
5. Find a church home ASAP and contribute to the life of that congregation. Normally on
Sundays one of the Rafiki staff must remain at the village and the rest drive into town
about five miles. There are several evangelical churches in Moshi which conduct services
in English.
6. Restrain the endless temptation to build and grow things. As we get ready to move I
think of all the time spent on making the house and grounds beautiful and pray that the
Lord will give us opportunities and a heart to build in the lives of believers
7. To show hospitality to the many friends and supporters who have told us they want
to come to Tanzania to see the work (and some have even hinted that they would like
to consider a future after retirement career with Rafiki)
8. To act as an intermediary for other churches in the U.S. for hosting individuals, young and
older, who wish to explore the possibility of long term missionary service
9. There is a big retirement community near our house in Florida full of believers (the Villages) who have all kinds of skills useful in the ministry of Rafiki. We hope to recruit some of them
by correspondence and personal visitation when we are in the States
10. To be active among our fellow workers at the Rafiki village to encourage them to exult
in hope of the glory of God, to exult in tribulation and to exult in God through our Lord Jesus
Christ (these are among the riches found in Romans 5).

This list sounds like we will totally exhaust ourselves but they include many of the reasons why we are attracted to this ministry! You can see there are so many opportunities and just not enough of God’s people who share in it. Please continue to pray for our ongoing preparations to leave, the sale of our house, the wisdom to finish my job in Bismarck as a physician administrator and the completion of our support for the future. As you read this blog we hope that you will be able to share in the excitement which we feel in being able to share in this ministry. “It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose” ESV (Gal 4:18), or the KJV, “But it is good to be zealously affected always in a good thing”.

Psalm 34:8-9 “O taste and see that the Lord is good. How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. O fear the Lord, you His saints; for to those who fear Him, there is no want”.

Where is one in their thinking patterns when you are now less than five months away from a serious life changing event? I would quickly say “all over the place”. It seems that the things around us are taking shape yet our minds are a bit unfocused in the split screen of Bismarck, Florida, and Africa. The things of God are incredibly good and we see them gleaming overall each day. We have our house “under contract” even though we have yet to list it anywhere. Who else but the Lord could show us this kind of favor? We have sold many of our life “treasures” and even that feels really good. As the time progresses; we are anxious to unleash ourselves from even more worldly possessions. THINGS seem to take on more burden than meaning in this transition.

I am finishing up with the writing of the Biology curriculum. The material is quite interesting so I am hopeful that I can finish these lessons in a timely manner. We are just beginning to do some “good-byes” and they are precious yet painful. Kent’s brother, Max was here for a week and we had a really nice visit. Kent will see him at a school reunion in August but I will most likely not go to that reunion. We do feel that Max and his family will come to visit us in Moshi.

Anna has now passed the BAR for the state of Maryland and can also be barred in Washington, DC and North Dakota. She is actively looking for a job in the DC area. I pray that she will find a good position before we leave for Africa. I dream that she might be able to fly over to Moshi for Christmas…maybe this year. We will see.

We have finalized the plans and the contract for the renovation of our house in Florida. I will most likely be flying down a few times this summer to “oversee” the progress. Again, we see God’s blessings of good in giving us a wonderful contractor to work with there. My first trip down should be June 21 to 25 during the Rafiki “Enrichment” week. I am looking forward to the time with others missionaries that are on the field in Africa.

God has blessed us greatly in raising our support funding. We are getting close to the required amount and that is also something that we cannot do without the Lord. We have a “new” 2003 fourth owner car in Moshi just waiting for our arrival. We were notified of a missionary “coming home” and our friends in Moshi cemented the deal for us. We have also had a wonderful time of visiting the small groups in our church to solicit prayer support for us and the Renners. It is hard for me even to imagine a prayer force near 400 people!! What a great God we serve.

Here is a reminder of what we are looking forward to! I already think of them as “my children”, even though I know they also belong to the Lord. All in all to say that life marches on at an increasing pace; yet the LORD is GOOD!

Some weeks ago I attended a leadership conference for about 150 people and we were addressed by a nationally known speaker. To my surprise at the end of the lecture we were each presented with a copy of his book on personal transformation. My colleagues had mixed comments about the lecture but I started to read the book on the long drive home, hoping that there would be something positive for me even though I have only about 5 more months before stepping out of my role in senior leadership. With our preparations to sell our house, get rid of needless baggage and get remaining items ready for shipment to our new residence in Florida, I laid aside the book until this present brief vacation in Mexico.effectiveness and productivity. With such opportunities ahead of us in Africa, outlined previously in this blog, I have finally given it a try with the hope that I might enjoy a greater potential for the benefits.

(note the picture of the Mexican sunset).  Despite the fact that the book is entirely secular I discovered in completing it that I now see clearly why I need to compose a “vision/mission statement” which before had seemed entirely superfluous. During this week in Mexico I have thought and prayed about it and think it is a very good idea now that we see such a major transition ahead. The author suggests a good reason for doing this; by observing that it helps us capitalize on

 Before going over them, at least the rough draft, I would like to share what additional insights have been provided to Peggy and me about the years of missionary work which is already history; starting with Livingston’s great trial blazing work. Livingston is the Scottish missionary doctor who vanished for a while in “darkest Africa” until found by the journalist Stanley on November 10, 1871. The event is immortalized in the words carved on a stone marker in the town of Ujiji which is situated on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika, “Dr. Livingston, I presume”. There are two books which are very easy to read about typical missionary work there written in the 1940’s and 1960’s which were immensely popular several generations ago. The author, Dr. Paul White, eventually turned his experiences there into an internationally syndicated radio program aired once a week on four continents, 85 radio stations, and over 1000 separate programs spanning a twenty year period.  They are Doctor of Tanganyika and Jungle Doctor Progresses which sandwich at least 19 other volumes about his various experiences. Just recently one of our dear friends who was a lifetime missionary in Africa died in a retirement home and she left us a heavy workbook style history of what happened during the years she served with her physician husband in a lonely outpost on the shores of Lake Victoria (the giant fresh water lake shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya). These references make us realize that we are only following in the footsteps of many, many who have gone before us and some who have laid down their lives often quite unexpectedly. During our first terms in Africa we were largely ignorant of their noble deeds and how they contributed to the progress of modern Africa. No one anticipated what AIDS would do to this continent, wiping out much of the public health progress made since the 1880’s. In Tanzania alone there are about 3 million orphans among the present 48 million population which would compute to 19 million orphans if the US had the same kind of problem! I write these things to help you realize we have good reason to consider how to capitalize on effectiveness and productivity if the Lord should grant us the remaining 7-10 years of vibrant service, which we hope HE will give us.

VISION: To be Christ’s ambassador among my colleagues and the medical students at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center (KCMC), to have a servant’s attitude among my fellow workers at our mission station: Rafiki Village Tanzania and to seek the best interests of Christ’s church in Tanzania.

Comment: I am hoping that many of my colleague teachers at the plus one thousand student medical school will be men and women with a personal relationship with Christ but this is unknown. Most of the students will have a nominal Christian or Muslim background. I see many opportunities not only for evangelistic Bible studies but encouraging believers in a deeper walk with our Lord. It is a terrible thing to be a sour missionary, seemingly an oxymoron but nevertheless seen from time to time on the field. Our close colleagues are often the ones who see it and suffer from it most. Our Lord told His disciples very plainly that greatness is attained by being a servant after the pattern of Himself who did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. Then lastly, the church is more than 150 years old in Tanzania and there is still so much to be done. We must seek to encourage every believer wherever they are found in the denominations of the visible church.

MISSION: to know Christ and make Him known, to daily become more like Him in my thoughts, words and deeds through the power of the Holy Spirit and to seek relationships characterized by openness, vulnerability and mutual accountability.

Comment: The mission part of this statement is necessary as a road map is to a destination. How will we arrive at our vision which is seen as a distant point on the horizon?  Most of us would be familiar with the first two parts of the MISSION from the apostle Paul. I judge from my experiences, that fewer believers know that the Father has purposed from eternity that we should be conformed to the image of His Son, the unique one of a kind and termed in the NT, “the only begotten”. I include the word “daily” in this part of the statement because of being convinced that the process of becoming like Him takes place in daily increments which starts with personal communion with Him in prayer and meditation. In the years that I have been a physician with being on call and attending to all the other duties which come our way there is no substitute for that disciplined daily meeting with our Lord and subsequently taking delight in doing the will of the Father. This process is mediated through the Holy Spirit, who actually makes us know in the inner man that we are sons of the Father, we are loved,and He hears our prayers despite His incomprehensible greatness. But we must not imagine that this process takes place outside the communion which we enjoy with our brethren. As I have gotten older I realize with increasing clarity that the most cherished human relationships which we have in Christ are the ones which are characterized by being open, vulnerable, and mutually accountable. These are some basic requirements of growth stimulating fellowship among believers. Our growth comes as our thoughts, words, and deeds reflect more the character of Jesus our Lord, and understand what He meant as He told His disciples in John 6, “for My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink”. They nourish and change us because in partaking,  “…he also will live because of me”. But we must be careful to take in these words and allow them to change us with a holy expectancy.

VALUES: To have the mind of Christ (the selfless mind, the serving mind and the sacrificial mind) and thus receive guidance as to right praying, right thinking and right living.

Comment: As we read the map in our journey toward the heavenly country we are constantly making moral choices, some of which can have life and death consequences. What values will guide us in making those moral choices? Again we learn so much from Paul in his letter to the Philippians as he writes about Christ’s willingness to empty Himself and become a bond-servant. In the book of Isaiah written some 600 years before the Messiah finally appeared it is said in chapter 52 that His form was so disfigured that He was not recognizable (from the swelling, cuts, shredding of flesh and bleeding that scourging would inflict, including being crowned with a wreath of long thorns). He knew in advance that all this was coming (Matt 20:18,19) and yet was determined to endure it including the indescribable agonies of crucifixion. All of this for us because He loved the Father and was determined to do His will. Paul tells us what the practical implications of this mind of Christ was as he instructs believers in right praying (Phil 4:6,7), right thinking (v.8) and right living (v.9). What a treasure it is to have these values as our guide.

GOALS: I have decided due to the length of this blog entry to break off here and comment on these for the next time. The goals are what milestones we can see as necessarily ahead in the details of following the road map. For example, we are hoping that our house will be sold by the next entry, we shall have shipped most of what we want to keep to our new residence in Florida and expect that God will provide a place for us to live in Bismarck until my contract is finished at Sanford Health in late October.

We will look forward to sharing these goals with you for prayer and information. The next major event for us will be attending our daughter’s swearing in as an attorney in Washington DC in about two weeks. We are thankful for God’s work in her life recently in response to your prayers and ours.

Malachi 1:11” For from the rising of the sun, even to its going down, My name shall be great among the Gentiles……” How true this verse rings as I saw this sunrise on Saturday morning while driving to church to get food ready for a funeral. Creation does cry out to the existence and majesty of the ONE true God.  Note the sundog above the sun in both pictures and the double sundogs surrounding the sun in the picture below. This only happens when ice crystals hang in the air and at seven degrees above zero it was a sight!! I was also reminded that I may not see this beautiful array of God’s glory again for many years. 

By now those of you who read this blog can clearly distinguish which parts are written by Kent and which are written by Peggy! Yes we have different personalities and are experiencing the present changes in different ways. I think it is much better than if we were experiencing it the same. Our differences  at least adds some perspective for each other. I am at the point now where it all seems to be on fast forward and spinning out of control. Perhaps this sense of “out of control” is mainly because I am a planner and like to have ALL my ducks in a row and standing at attention. Believe me… they are not even in the same town right now, much less in a row. Isaiah 43:2 reminds me “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you”. I find great comfort in this verse as well as 2Cor 12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness”. God is indeed my strong tower and I run to Him for comfort and peace in times of chaos. We are presently seven months away from our launch to Africa. My minds seems nearly incapable of focus as the thoughts of “have you done this.. have you done that.”… keep playing in my mind. I pray constantly for focus as I go throughout each day and by God’s GRACE I find focus.

The main activities right now are “focused” on getting our house in Bismarck ready to sell. I am packing boxes of things for storage and sorting for Good Will and garage sale. I am sorting this for Africa, this for Florida…. You get the picture! I am also trying to get the rest of the Biology curriculum written and currently have 36 out of 100 lessons to go. I am getting there but that also is intense writing. I think my mind spends more time in Africa than in America currently and I need to rein it in.

Kent has a recruiting conference in Orlando in April so we will be able to meet with the contractor who is making some updates to our house in Florida. I am excited about it but again it requires decisions and focus.

I do want to note here that three wonderful, talented, and enthusiastic women are stepping up to continue the funeral luncheon ministry at our church. I have prayed for several years for someone willing and eager to fill this role and now we have a team of THREE. Two of these ladies worked with me at the funeral on Saturday and believe me they will not even miss me in the future. What a gift that is to our church.

We are beginning to make serious preparations to sell our house now that Spring is approaching in ND even though today it is 16 degrees outside but the sun is shining. This is another big transition for us because we have been here for going on 19 years. We knew that shortly after our preparation trip to Tanzania Feb. 8-17 we would be traveling to Manning ND to speak in a little church which is now being served through Village Missions. This would be our first opportunity to present our ministry in Tanzania to another church so I spent a long time thinking about it coming and going on the African trip. One of the board members from the STEER organization (a large farm organization here in ND which contributes > one million dollars a year to mission programs through raising and selling cattle) had invited us to speak at his church. Peggy will be going off the board of this organization when we return to Africa. I decided to speak on Matt 19:30, “But, many who are first will be last and the last first”. I mention it here because of what the Lord opened to me in preparation. Obviously this verse does have some application to us because the verse before it speaks of leaving houses and children behind to follow Jesus’ calling. Most of you know that Peggy and I both have deceased parents and our daughter is now a graduate lawyer. Four things came to mind in preparation which I had not thought about earlier.

1.       We must never forget the Lord’s perspective regarding those who make significant sacrifices to follow Him. I was especially impressed with this when some years ago a high school class mate came to visit me after his nearly 30 years of working in the New Guinea jungle with Wycliffe Bible Translators-at last the New Testament was about to be delivered to the Saniyo people who previously had no written language. He had reduced their language to writing and taught many of them to read! His wife had recovered from a nearly fatal viral brain infection and, although regaining her ability to walk, still used a cane. Both of them looked battered from all those years of service. On the day of their visit I greeted them in the large paved drive way of our four story house, proud of what I had accomplished since high school graduation with my Great Dane and mastiff at my side. As they stepped out of their aging car the Lord reminded me, “many who are first will be last and the last first”. I never forgot the encounter as a permanent reminder that a day is really coming when we will be called to give an account of the abilities and resources which God has committed to us. In that day there will be many surprises and regrets because some of Christ’s bondservants got distracted in their devotion to the Master who gave so much for them. This then is the REALIZATION of what is coming (1 Cor 5:10).

2.       Next if we read on into Matt chapter 20 we have an illustration of exactly what the Lord meant by the quote from 19:30. At the end of the day the laborers are called and each given a day’s wages despite the fact that some of them had actually worked much less than a day and some for only one hour! Despite this the landowner is demonstrated to be very generous in paying his laborers but some grumble. Then Jesus reveals to the disciples in very plain language what is to be His destiny (previously misunderstood) as they go up to Jerusalem in Matt 20:18-20.  He tells them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him…”. Then a question arises about who will be the greatest among the disciples when His kingdom finally comes in power. Some even dare to ask to sit on His right and left hand through the agency of their mother. Jesus takes the opportunity to reveal the way to true greatness in His kingdom. Among those who love Him the path to greatness is becoming a servant and if you aspire to be among the first in the kingdom of God you must be a slave to the rest of God’s servants (vv. 27,28). This is the path which Jesus, Himself, took when He gave His life a ransom for many (see Isa 53). And so in the realization of what is coming we must have the true MOTIVATION in following His example. We are enlightened by appreciating the inestimable measure of what He has done. Paul talks about this motivation in Phil 2:5-11.

3.       But acting on this takes faith and the power of VISUALIZATION. We are able to order our lives as if we see before us the very thing which we strive to attain. The author of Hebrews talks about this in chapter 12:28. We surely are going to receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken by the vagaries of time and geography. We are exhorted to then offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe. The reverence refers to our attitude and behavior as we walk before God in everyday life and awe to the feeling of wonder and worship in our expanding appreciation of who God is and what He has done for us.

4.       Finally comes the works which we are empowered to accomplish as we move to the ACTUALIZATION. Paul taught that the practical end of being created in Christ Jesus in this world was for good works. They are prepared beforehand for us to walk in them. (Eph 2:10). James goes on to remind us about the practicality of these good works when he tell us, ”This is pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father, to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world” (Jam 1:27). God assures us that He is able to give us everything we need to accomplish these works. “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed” (2 Cor9:8).

And so you are able to see with this posting what impels us onward to something beyond the careers which we about to finish and gladly take up the opportunity to serve our Lord in this new capacity: REALIZATION, MOTIVATION, VISUALIZATION and ACTUALIZATION. We hope that you will stand behind us in prayer and in whatever way possible as fellow bondservants of Christ.

Umu April 2013          







                 Umu (Blessing) Feb 2014



This is what the work is all about...the Children!!

February trip to Moshi, Tanzania: February 22, 2014

 Psalm 40:1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry”.

How this verse has rung in my head as we look at God’s grace in allowing us to return and serve Him in Moshi Tanzania. Now we just need to be patient a bit longer to realize this transition.

We are now home in COLD North Dakota after a whirlwind 10 day trip to Tanzania. We were able to take Dr. Missy Seibel, a local pediatrician and her husband Nathan with us on this trip. They definitely got a work out. Nathan had a “foldable” guitar and wow did he entertain everyone. I can still hear the hymns that the children were singing as he strummed. Dr. Missy did all the physicals on the children and Kent did some answering questions and rechecks on some of the problems. There was a virus going around but mostly the children remain very healthy!

We left Bismarck on Friday Feb 7^th around 3 pm and arrived in Amsterdam on Saturday morning at 10 am. Missy and Nathan took in the Rijksmuseum and Kent and I went to the hotel to relax a bit. We were off to the airport again at 7am on Sunday arriving in Moshi at 10:00 pm a bit late.  The day flight from Amsterdam to Moshi is about 9 hours and always seems quite long. The plane was packed with people going on Safari and those climbing the mountain. We got our visas pretty quickly and were astonished to find all 12 of our suitcases waiting for us. We were also amazed at God’s grace in finding NO ONE in the customs area so we simply walked out with our 12 suitcases all intact! I must say it was quite the juggling act getting all the suitcases plus the 4 of us plus the driver, in a Prado (land cruiser) and with only 4 cases on the top and headed for the Rafiki Village.

On Monday we literally “hit the ground running” after about 3 hours of sleep. We had about 60 children’s physicals to do and about 20 adult physicals in only five days. We saw the children that had some complaints first and these were the ones with a respiratory virus. The children loved Dr. Missy and she also enjoyed seeing the children and how healthy they were and how smart they were.

On Monday Kent went in to town to make contact with KCMC (Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Center) to

get the paper work started for his working there two days a week. He really didn’t make much progress on Monday as the whole hospital administration has changed AGAIN. Monday evening, we were able to make contact with our old friend Marycelina Msuya and she was the key to success for our visit. While Kent and I met with her on Tuesday afternoon, she asked Kent if he would speak at Grand Rounds on Wednesday morning for a 40 minute presentation. OH MY…… Kent did not even bring his computer!! But he did have a very complicated case that he remembered involving an African student who came to the USA for advanced study not knowing he had AIDS.  So we rushed back to the Village and Kent wrote the case history while I made a power point presentation complete with images downloaded from the internet! Got to love technology!! Kent gave the presentation on Wednesday morning to over 300 doctors and students and it was a smash!!!  It was again God’s Grace that gave Kent this opportunity to be introduced to the medical community at KCMC.

After the presentation we were able to meet with the acting head of the hospital who sent us to the dean of the medical school and also to the International office where we were able to get all the proper papers to fill out for a medical license in Tanzania. They are now all filled out and being hand carried back to Tanzania to be filed. God’s timing is perfect!

The rest of the week was very busy with more medical visits and even some fun with the children. Nathan and Missy had friends who sent cord bracelets for all the resident children as well as the day students and they even had a choice in which colors they wanted.

We were busy but all enjoyed our week. On Sunday it came time to return to the United States. Kent and I were sad to leave but happy that we have made such good progress on getting the medical license and seeing what we really need to take with us as we move to our new home. We will be living in a wonderful new duplex with our living room facing the wonderful Mount Kilimanjaro….when it decides to emerge from the clouds. We do have two bedrooms in our home so will quickly be ready for guests. Of course you can all come and stay in the wonderful Village guest house (or with us) and work with the children if you choose to do the weekend training with Rafiki Foundation.      

We were sad to leave the children and Moshi but know that God has plans for us to come back in only 8 ½ months. There is much to do here before we go so you can pray that we can focus and get it taken care of in the allotted time. We need to complete our fund raising, remodel our home in Florida, sell our house in Bismarck, Kent needs a medical license for Florida. In addition, we need to drastically reduce our STUFF and decide what we need to move to Florida. Then I think of all the “little stuff” like banking transfers, driver’s license, insurance, power of attorney, what to do about a phone, what to do about lawn care……. Oh well, we know that God will direct our paths and help us with these little decisions too.  Thanks for your prayers and begin now to prepare for your visit to Africa!!!

I (Kent) have had a really busy week since returning from Africa and getting back to work. A lot of people ask about how the trip went and this makes it easier to introduce what we are hoping to do out there in Moshi at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro. We discovered while getting oriented to the medical school that it actually has close to 800 students in six different years of training and also hundreds of district medical officers in training (this would be the equivalent to US nurse practitioners and physician assistants but most of them are men-they have a rough life ahead running clinics in the small towns and the bush). Peggy has mentioned making a commitment of working two days a week at this large institution (teaching and making rounds, making as many friends as possible and looking for opportunities to lead Bible studies/introduce whoever the Lord brings along to a deeper walk with Him). Further up the mountain is a town called Machame where the Chagga tribe is located. They have become very prosperous because the altitude and the soil are ideal for growing coffee. There is a hospital there also founded by very dedicated German missionaries in the previous century. We made a trip up to meet the hospital administration and see what opportunities may be there for ministry both medically and spiritually. We would also like to cement the relationship with this hospital as it is the most convenient for the medical care of our children at the Rafiki Village. There are a wonderful opportunities open in both areas since there is a large nursing training school plus a district medical officer training program. I made a commitment to providing one day a week there part of which would be spent teaching a Bible study to those who would be interested. The students are a vast mix of Pentecostals, Lutherans, Catholics and Muslim but there is a very open door there for the Word of God. We need the Lord’s guidance for exactly where to start.

How good it is to wait patiently for the Lord since He knows best how His work is to be accomplished. A simple decision about Grand Rounds;(which only our old friend Marycelina could make very unexpectedly), resolved our concern about meeting all the major functionaries of the hospital and medical school in Moshi. It was momentarily terrifying to enter the lecture hall with the traditional arrangements of rows and rows of seats extending clear up to the ceiling and there in front of me, they were all peering down at me! Peggy saved the day by bringing along her computer to the lecture, because even though we had the presentation on a stick drive, it was in power point 2007 and their computer at KCMC only had 2003. We just changed out computer feeds to the digital projector. It was astounding to see that there was not a single empty seat and some people were standing.

The reader will note that the previous text mentions 3 days a week for my planned activities. For now I am just going to look to the Lord about how the other three should be spent-I noted in the Rafiki village that there were endless little things that could be done like leaky faucets, generator exhaust leaks, maintenance on lighting fixtures and poor fan operations for example, in addition to being responsible for the medical care of the resident children. I mention these things because it emphasizes the need for someone who has skills to do all this. Is there someone reading this who is looking to supply a really needed service in retirement? Just think of the opportunities to join a team who day by day gets to experience God’s provision in serving orphans, widows, students, the sick and dying. We are counting on His promises like 2 Cor 9:8, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed”. We are counting on your prayers and the response of the “Everlasting Arms”.