Exodus 8:3 "The Nile shall swarm with frogs, that shall come into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed".......

We have achieved a major technical break through out here. After months of trying to get rid of the frogs in our toilets (checking Google didn’t help but we should add to what information was there) we think the problem is solved. There were several hints as to what was going on in this puzzling problem. One morning when I was going to the gate for my usual 6 AM opening of the locks, I saw a frog climb up the wall of the dining area. Peggy and I had regular discussions about the problem and our lack of progress. She said, ‘Why don’t you try the sewer vents?” In the US this is usually on the roof but ours are under the eve of each building. I looked and the 4” pipe did have a cap on it but the cap was slotted vertically and would admit a curious frog. We decided to wrap each vent cap in window screen using nylon cable straps but just the two buildings where the problem was the worst. Sure enough the frogs disappeared from the toilets in about a week. We have a volunteer couple here now and he has done this for each vent.

The last volunteer couple was here to celebrate their retirement and their 40th wedding anniversary. She helped us get a donated organ, sent from the States, ready for use, “which was just like the one I learned on when I was a girl”. Mary has a master’s degree in music. We were very concerned because she told us most of them used vacuum tubes but when we took the back off this one it was all solid state electronics and it sounded great.  

Jim helped me to get familiar with using Excel spread sheets in our educational programs and fixed a microscope which had been donated new with special capabilities projecting the visual image on a computer screen. I mention this to illustrate what many of our short term volunteers (we call them mini-missionaries) add to our skills. I have had to revive all my old electrician skills and have learned some of the troubles that can happen with our 3 phase plus ground power feed.

Have you thought about coming out for two weeks or a month... or more... to find out if the Lord has some work for you to do in assisting our ministry? The usual course is to go for a weekend training at the home office and then planning a trip at your convenience. Most of our guests stay in the guest house and take many of their meals with our resident children. Of course almost everyone plans a 3 to 7 day safari in the nearby game parks. It is hard to beat! We have two retired teachers here now for two months who were old friends of the headmistress before she retired to run our school here. They are working very hard in the school which now includes 3 pre-primary levels and goes up to the 5th grade.

This is not like missionary work in most developing countries for several reasons: 1. We can enjoy year round gardening at our residence because we have good abundant water from a deep well, 2. we are finding out that for a day or a weekend we can get away to beautiful privately run resorts which cater to European tourists who come to climb the mountain or go on a safari and they have special rates for us who are Tanzanian residents, 3. the roads to these places are unexpectedly bad and sometimes dangerous; but we try to keep our vehicles in good shape to avoid something like a wheel falling off.  Fortunately because there are now so many vehicles on the road, there are good mechanics here and there. Despite these difficulties the Lord provides and directs us. Compared to what Paul and the early believers endured in spreading the Gospel our afflictions are indeed light. Malaria is even becoming less common here because of better sanitation and the effective use of nets. We remain grateful that the Lord has granted us this privilege and look forward to His provision each day. I get to practice my favorite hymns in walking to the gate and back each morning and evening as custodian of the gate locks. This has helped me appreciate much more the rich heritage which is ours in the hymns that have been handed down to us. Have any of you enjoyed 101 Hymn Stories by Kenneth Osbeck?

Another amazing privilege of being here in Tanzania is to relate to some of the families of our resident children. Each month many of the extended families are invited to visit their relative children here and see some of their school work and to hear firstand how they are doing. I have posted a few pictures of these visits. Many of the families are from a distance away and are very poor but the always come bearing gift of food for the children. We often receive bananas, maize, watermelons, mangoes and avocados. They are so appreciative of what Rafiki is doing for their children and they greet us with respect and love. It is humbling to see them come for a short time to see the children. In our next blog I hope to have a story about some new children we are anticipating to help as residents here.

 

I would also like to comment on the fact that this work would be a lot more difficult without our mini-missionaries. They help me with correspondence for our sponsors and reading to the children in the afternoon. They often help with tutoring for our students that need a bit more help and encouragement. They have helped show movies for the children on Saturday afternoon and evenings. There are so many places for them to minister here it is impossible to describe them all. Know that if you choose to come, YOU WILL BE NEEDED AND APPRECIATED!!