We
recently were in the States for two weeks then spent a wonderful 5 days in the
Netherlands before returning HOME to Tanzania. We had a great time visiting
some old friends and a few days with Peggy's family in North Carolina.
We have come to a major turning point here at the base of Mt
Kilimanjaro and all the news is good! It is Easter afternoon and we are in the
midst of a long Easter holiday so we are able to get caught up on a lot of
things. We have the Easter weekend free plus the Friday and Monday. Later today
we are planning a party for our orphans which will feature feasting on two
goats which were brought in earlier today. Some of the kids asked me this
morning if they could watch our administrative assistant and maintenance man
prepare the goats for eating-I simply replied, “if they don’t mind”. It would be the same thing if they were
waiting back at the village where they came from. I suspect by now the goats
are being roasted for supper.
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| Cutting up the goat for grilling |
School has restarted and we (the teachers training
institute) have moved into our brand new building. It will be dedicated in June
after the landscaping is done and I have volunteered to do it. There are just
piles of dirt around the building now and mud, the rainy season has started.
There will be a lot of plants to go in, sidewalks and arrangements for drip
irrigation. The large gym/meeting area concrete floor is now being poured and
fortunately we can close it off from the classroom area to prevent all the dust
and dirt from blowing in. Peggy and the village administrator’s wife are in
charge of all the furniture, wall hangings, curtain and pictures. We have a
nearby workshop where the furniture, desks, tables and white boards are being
manufactured thanks to some of you who supplied funds for purchasing our power
tools (they cost about twice as much as we would pay in the States for a good
brand like Bosch). I finally have an office now instead of a little place in
the corner of a classroom.
We have a young Maasai warrior who is just starting at the
first level of training. Last time I saw him was out in the drought stricken
bush when we took four visitors from the US to his village. It is the same one
where four of our orphans originated. He wasn’t hardly saying a word as he was
serving us goat meat and stew then suddenly he spoke in good English. The
guests asked a lot of questions about him through the rest of the day’s trip
and the next morning offered to pay all his expenses for three years of
training if necessary. He is dirt poor. When he came to school he just had the
clothes on his back and later showed me his shoes (the only ones he has). There
was a big hole in one of the soles. I asked him how long he had them a he
replied that it was for years but two years ago he sewed on new soles himself
with leather thread, “but I left the thread and needle home at the village”.
I’ve tested him several times this week and his math and English comprehension
skills are very good considering where he is starting.
The thing which follows naturally from this is the potential
of some students for serious discipleship since we will have them for one to
three years. I have a group of about four men now who are good candidates and
hope to start discipleship training next Saturday morning using CRU (the new
name for Campus Crusade for Christ) materials. This is over and above what we
would call a “revved up” Bible study which I teach each morning for about 45
minutes and is required for all our students. I haven’t identified as many
girls who I think would really be interested in discipleship but am praying
that God will raise up someone long term to meet that need. This brings me to
the subject of trainers. Most African countries are moving away from giving
visas for “missionary work”. They want highly skilled people who will be able
to transfer learning and experience to learners. Our school head mistress is
finally going home at Christmas after four years of volunteering with us over
the previous four years. She is a retired very experienced teacher who has a
master’s degree and has really done a good job for our 180 students in the
ordinary school (preprimary 1-3 and primary 1-6). We are praying and looking
for a replacement candidate. I hope all of you who read this will consider
doing at least something like this before the Lord comes. Maybe you know
someone that you can encourage.
Lastly we received the good news from the STEER organization
(farmers and ranchers who support missionaries) a few days ago that they are
awarding us $3000 to build a large chicken house to teach our orphans how to
breed and raise chickens in the tropics. Our goal is to be able to raise enough
meat and eggs to supply the village and teach all our children how to do the
same regardless of what they end up doing. I have written before that about 70%
of our children will be university material if they want to go, 20% will end up
in blue collar skills (vocational training) and 10% gardeners, laborers and
house girls. Rafiki is committed to sending all our children who are capable to
a university for advanced training in some vocation but here in Tanzania
everyone who can possibly do it should have at least a small garden and
chickens. We think this will be a really good use of the Lord’s money and we were
competing for the funds with many truly worthy mission organizations who had
suggested other projects. The reviewers for the STEER organization must have
agreed that our project was a promising one.
Please be praying with us about these items especially the
position which is soon opening as the director of our school. Maybe God has
something for you in this need or someone you know. It would involve also
supervising about 20 Tanzanian teachers.
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| THE goat |
