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.