“My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34)  January 21, 2015

I commented in our last blog about my reluctance to go to the Snake Park over the Christmas school vacation. I must say even I was impressed and would highly recommend the experience. The children all loved it and as you can see from the pictures a good time was had by all. Many ... not me.... were brave enough to put the snake around their neck. The kind guide would only allow it if the child was calm in doing so.. I am sure I would not have passed the test. Not only was the park exciting but think of 58 children who rarely leave the village except for church which is a short distance, getting to go for a one and one half hour bus ride. If you could only have seen the elation as we passed the airport in Arusha and we able to see a real airplane. On the way home, they even got to see an airplane taking off. It was truely an amazing trip. The children were so well behaved that many of the other visitors commented on how well mannered the children were.  Even I was amazed at how they sat patiently waiting as we passed out the picnic lunch. Even though the snakes were a big draw, I don't think they compared with the ride on a camel! All of us, including "the Martins" got a ride and it was indeed a treat I had not expected. 

Another great experience we had recently was an invitation to a German research project on birds and bats.  We were able to take 13 of our older children on a night visit and the researchers were amazing with their detailed descriptions of  several birds and to bats. Even I learned a lot about bird and bat structure. 

I can tell that we are on the other side of the equator because every morning at the exact same time I leave the house 5:45 AM to unlock the gate it takes longer by a few minutes for the sun to come up (the nights are getting a bit longer). I step outside and see the glorious beauty of the night sky and wonder that God would ever care for us in the vastness of the universe. Since our last entry I have had a new realization of that care. We have encountered many needed repair jobs, some quite frustrating because of the very limited assortment of tools available here. Labor is inexpensive, so much is done by hand which we would not think of doing without some convenience tool. Even common screws, nuts and bolts and hose connections are hard to find here. Hose clamps are an unknown convenience, instead people just cut bicycle tires into strips and wind the strips tightly around a hose connection hoping that the pressure won’t be too high to blow the makeshift connection. This is also how they fix hose leaks. I have found myself repeatedly feeling “poor me” for having to put up with all this. With the older children we are studying through the Gospel of John Sunday morning at 7:00 AM. I got an attitude correction when I realized that Jesus, the Agent of creation (yes, that is what the Gospel of John teaches), in coming to earth underwent orders of magnitude beyond inconvenience. He underwent the experience of growing up as a carpenter with the primitive tools they had in Palestine, sweating away with inconvenience. As He is presented in the Gospels there is no hint of disgust in having to deal with a primitive culture which eventually condemned Him to death, mocked, scourged and even crucified Him. Then what is really important based on this example? I am sure it is to ascertain the will of God each day and do it with joy. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to accomplish His work” (Jn 4:34).

We encounter moments of deep satisfaction daily and periods of sorrowing pity because of situations which we can only observe but have no power to change. A humorous example of the former which occurred one Sunday afternoon in the covered play area for the resident children was a surprising resolve to overcome all obstacles and do something great. We had just finished talking about Neil Armstrong being the first man on the moon when ten year old Rebecca asked, “Well, who was the first woman on the moon”? Rather surprised, I replied that no woman had been on the moon yet. She laughed heartily and replied, “Then, I am going to be the first woman on the moon”! Despite what most of our children have been through here, it is amazing to see their determination and resilience. When I was volunteering at our big hospital here during Christmas vacation I saw an eleven year old boy dying of rabies from a dog bite; despite my wide experience as an infectious diseases physician I had never seen this. He was just a few days away from death as the virus completely overwhelmed his body and there was nothing else which could be done. I looked carefully at the boy and thought how easily I could have been dying in the past due to my foolishness and all the mercies God subsequently has shown me. A favorite hymn of mine has come up again penned by Addison, “Unnumbered comforts to my soul Thy tender care bestowed, before my infant heart conceived from whom those comforts flowed”. How fitting then that we should offer everything we can for what He has done for us in this world and the next.  

It is our hope that in this coming year God will afford to you the same sense of purpose that He has given to us as we serve Him in Tanzania. Thank you for the cards, letters and even some Skypes that we received over the holidays. We thank you also for your prayers and your support of us here.