Just an Update

I was thinking about how I have been slacking a bit with my blog entries. I think I just get so busy with the day-to-day business and I think nothing HUGE has happened so I don't have something to write about. But my days are full and I could write a little about my daily activities.

I am still taking Swahili classes. We are on our third teacher and this is it...we have the right one. He is great. There are teachers and then there are people with a gift for teaching. He has a gift for teaching. He is the nicest guy too. He laughs at all our jokes and even tries to humor us at times...so sweet.
I feel a little better about Swahili...or maybe I am just used to everyone laughing at me that I just push on without letting it bother me. Either way I have a desire to learn the language and I am trying. Our African friends encourage us to speak in Swahili...then they laugh.

When Rita was here in October HWC purchased a van for us. We had the truck but now we have a van too. It is going to be perfect for transporting the kids when we get them. The van is an automatic so Jodie and I are very comfortable driving it. The truck is a 5-speed. Since I only drove an automatic in the U.S...Jodie too...we have not been able to drive the truck. But soon that won't be a problem. Jodie and I started driving school this past week. It is for two weeks and we are learning to drive the African roads in a vehicle that is about 40 years old. It looks just like one of the vehicles from the show MASH. The gears are so stiff. Our teacher says if we can drive this vehicle then we will be able to drive any vehicle. In Africa everyone drives on the left side of the road and the driver's seat is on the right side...so we are learning to drive the 5-speed with our left hand. :)

There has been a drought in Tanzania for over five years. We have electricty about 3-4 days a week because of it. But this last week it has been pouring rain...literally pouring. People here are so thankful...and it isn't even the rainy season. It has been nice to have the rain...it keeps the temps mild, but with flip-flops on I have been sliding in the mud like an ice skater. Everyday I thank the Lord because I didn't slip and fall even though I skidded pretty far.
I know I have written about the dirt and my feet, but now with all this rain there is a new dirty to my feet...the mud. Wow, the mud factor is more than I can explain on this entry. Mud really does have a way with making a mess. :)


This Sunday we are traveling to Massai land...I love going to Massai land. I am speaking at Pastor Mbasha's church...he is probably my favorite African here. I am excited to go back to his church. I enjoyed it so much the first time we went. After church Pastor Mbasha and his family invited us to his house. He is slaughtering one of his goats in our honor. I had goat in Massai land the first time I visited there...loved it! :)

Progress

We had a visit on Friday from the head of the welfare dept and her assistant. She came to look at our building in order to decide whether or not to write a letter of recommendation on our behalf to the district commissioner of the welfare dept. She liked our building and all the improvements we'd made on it. She was very pleased. By the end of her visit she decided to write the letter of recommendation.

As I think back to the first time I saw the building and our first visit with the welfare dept, it is amazing the progress that has been made. The building looks so different...inside and out. The rooms are all painted. We've decorated some of them too. The floors are in or painted. The bathrooms are fixed...so many plumbing issues.
The medical office is ready. My classroom is looking great. The improvements outside are so great that it would take a separate blog entry just to list them all.
It has been three months and so much has been done.
Our first visit with the welfare dept was not very pleasant. In so many words we were told to stop what we were doing and to go home. But none of this has been a discouragement. We know why we are here. There is a need and we are here for that...human lives are at stake. We have not felt discouraged at all. We've kept pressing forward and continued to pray for God to do what looks impossible.
And now we have gotten approval from the head of the welfare dept. The building is just about ready...God is in control.

I love it that I am here and able to be part of this project. My faith has grown in leaps and bounds. I have been encouraged at every turn. There have been so many fun moments of laughter and rejoicing. This is a good time for me.
I am so excited to see continued progress in all that He is doing.

Back to Maasai Land

Yesterday I went with Rita, Pastor Zablon and Jodie to the village where Zablon grew up. This is where Hidden With Christ Ministries is paying to have the well re-dug. I wrote about going there in a previous blog entry. We went back with one of the workers from the company Maji Tech, the people who will be doing the re-digging.
As we stood on the spot where the work on the well is going to take place Zablon once again reminded us of the land that he has given for a school. He pointed to the spot where he thought would be nice...by a tree, not far from the well. I told him it was the perfect spot. Once again I was stirred in my heart and excited about this future adventure.

After we left the well site Zablon informed us that we were requested to join some of the leaders for a soda. We drove to the place of their were Maasai huts and sure enough there were about eight of Zablon's brothers...all family members are referred to as brothers. We went inside one of their huts along with about six of the "brothers" and they brought in a case of various sodas. They were so sweet the way they offered us a soda. It was the best warm soda I ever had. :)
We sat together...took a few pictures that I wish I could show you...they asked Zablon to interpret as they had some questions regarding the details of the well drilling.
When we were done we went outside and Zablon's brothers presented Rita and I with Maasai warrior shields...that was cool...wish I could show you the pictures! I plan on hanging my shield up in my office.

Zablon's family is so thankful for the well that is going to be drilled. They know this is no small thing Rita is doing for them. They were so kind and sweet expressing their gratefulness.
I am so honored to be able to travel to his village and see his family and watch their joy. I am thrilled to once again talk about the future school and the plans for the school with Rita and Zablon.
I hope to be able to visit the site as the process of the well begins. This is so exciting. I love being able to go back to Maasai Land. :)

God Never Ceases to Amaze Me

The other day Pastor Mbasha told me he needed to have a meeting with me. We went to my office and sat down. He took out his Swahili-English dictionary with pages marked so he could easily find certain words. With his limited vocabulary of English words I knew exactly what he was saying.
Pastor Mbasha has two churches in Dodoma that he started. He also has his church in Massai land that he is Pastoring. He used to live in Dodoma so he has a tender place in his heart for the people of that area. Pastor Mbasha wants to hold a crusade in Dodoma. He wants me to do it with him. As he began to tell me that God has a big job for us to do and for me to pray about it and the month to do it I kept thinking, "I'm a school teacher. I came to Africa to start a school. How is it that I am getting involved with a crusade...And involved means one of the speakers!" I told Pastor Mbasha, "I'm a teacher. Not a preacher." He responded, "Me preacher. You teacher...Good team."
I respect Pastor Mbasha. He has become a wonderful friend. If the Lord has spoken to his heart about doing a crusade and he feels like I am supposed to do it with him then I am going to pray about it. I know he hears from the Lord...In these few months I've seen the evidence of the Lord speaking to him.
So here I go...Praying about a crusade that I potentially will be speaking at...This takes me out of my comfort zone. Isn't is amazing...I am at a place of focusing my attention on the Lord for confidence and help to do something that will be a blessing to others. How do these things happen? God never ceases to amaze me. :)

Ben

I mentioned Ben once just briefly in a previous email. I have been meaning to write a blog entry all about him and I decided this one would be it.
I met Ben my first Sunday after moving to Africa. We were visiting the same church. He had the best smile. During the service the Pastor of the church who I had become friends with from a previous visit, asked me to share a little about why I had just moved to Tanzania.
After church Ben came over to me to thank me for sharing. We began to chat and he told me about himself:
Ben was born in Sudan. His family's farm was destroyed during the war. His father had to send the whole family to Uganda for safety and survival. Ben's dad stayed in Sudan and joined the military. While in Uganda Ben became a Christian.
As he began to pray about his future he felt that God was calling him to go back to Sudan and help the orphans. Not knowing how to do that an opportunity to intern at an orphanage in Tanzania opened up. Ben has been in Tanzania since May working and learning about how to run an orphanage. He internship ends in May 2007 and then he plans to move back to Sudan and open "New Hope Sudan Children's Home."

Ben does not come from a wealthy family and he has no idea how any of this is going to happen, but that doesn't change what he knows God has asked him to do. He is a young man of great faith in God. He believes what God says in Philippians: "He who began a good work in you will complete it." To accept a dream from God that seems impossible is to say to God, "I trust you to do what you put in my heart." Trusting God for the impossible is what Ben has decided to do. The Bible is full of examples of people who trusted God for things that were not possible if you were looking at them from a natural point of view...But the Lord loves to do the impossible and He loves it when we trust Him even when there is no possible way.

If you have read anything about Sudan then you know that there are many orphans because of the war. Ben wants to not only start a Children's Home but he wants to have a beautiful one...Where the kids feel safe and their home is a refuge...Spiritually and physically.
Ben loves coming to our orphanage building to visit because he says that what we are building is exactly what God has put on his heart. Melissa, Jodie and I try very hard to always make time for Ben when he is in town...The orphanage he works at is about 40 minutes from us. When he visits we pray together and we ask lots of questions about his vision for "New Hope." He says that his vision has been renewed seeing our place and talking about it with us. We are blessed to meet such a sweet, giving young man. Please pray for him when you have a chance...You'll be investing in a miracle. :)