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 5th 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.
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 5th 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 29th. 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.
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