Yesterday (Saturday) was a “work day” for the students, and they got a lot done! The old adage, “many hands make light work” sure is easy to see when you watch 800 students attack projects around here. I think they assign them to different projects by Form and Stream (grade level and home room; for example, there are six “streams” of Form I students).
Some hoed the students’ corn field while others planted a hundred banana “trees” (they actually grow more like a bush), other students planted decorative trees in front of the classrooms, and still others planted 400 pine trees and hedges parallel to the road and drive.
There were other jobs, such as sweeping and mopping classrooms, but you get the idea; it was like a bee hive around here . . . and many little bees found their way to Joanne to check on the progress of their uniforms. Her sewing area faces out the front window, so she is always pausing to wave and say, “Karibu” (“Welcome”). I say, “BADO” which means “Not Yet,” when they pile up at the door wanting to know if their shirt, tie or trousers are finished. They come in anyway . . . to watch Joanne work, see where she is on the very long list, play with her hair and look at the picture albums. I’ll often times be working on the laptop, so will pause to show them some of the latest photos taken around campus; they especially like the video clips of kids working or playing soccer.
Rumor has it that Mr. Godfrey, the VST Director, and Mr. Vinton will be here later today. That is likely, as some volunteer teachers arrived a couple of weeks ago from America, and they should be on their way to their assigned schools. We were in the middle of finishing eight school shirts, 15 uniform ties, and a half dozen school neck scarves when the folks rolled in around 10:00 p.m., very tired. They had started this morning and dropped off one teacher already at one of the VST schools. The rest will spend two more days on the road, visiting the needs of other schools, before arriving at their school assignments. We greeted them, chatted with the new teachers (from the states of Texas, Colorado and Washington) for a few minutes and went back to work. At the time of this writing, it is 1:00 a.m. and Joanne is putting buttons on the last of the shirts by candle light; we will need to finish the scarves in the morning. The students are so anxious to be in uniform and look like the upper classmen, we hate to disappoint them.
Joanne’s new Pre-Form students are being registered and are scheduled to start this week. Because of the size of last year’s class, there are no regular classrooms available. The room of the administration building that has always been used for storage and the construction of window frames, chairs and desks is being cleaned up to provide a place for the class.
Meanwhile, the other Forms are in full swing. I have been in a race to stay ahead of 12 classes in the preparation of lessons to the four Forms. Form IV students are excited about entering the New Testament, which has really stretched me. Developing a meaningful curriculum, wherein we will be gone for two months this summer and additional weeks will be consumed by quarterly and national exams, leaves a very tight schedule.
Some of our supporters have asked us to share prayer needs and praises. We thank you so much for your support in this area. God is instantaneous regardless of the number of miles! We rejoice in His daily provision of our physical stamina, mental peace, and access into the needs of those around us. An area not so familiar in urban America is demon oppression, but with the activities of local witchdoctors and wizards, it is very common here. Prayer is very effective; we have seen a substantial decline in the “episodes” over the past couple of months. Be in prayer that the students will continue to grow in the knowledge of God’s grace and desire to equip themselves with His peace as they concentrate on their life development.
On a much more basic level, we have been in need of a replacement filter for our water machine. We have hunted high and low in the towns here in Mbeya to no avail. Before Steve left this morning, we asked if the filters were available in Iringa. He said they were very common and inexpensive. In fact, they had just bought two on their way and really only needed one. He said they bought two by mistake, but we told him it was not a mistake, but rather God’s providence. It will enable us to filter twice as much water as we’ve been able to provide for the past few months. Praise God! The kids will routinely hit our house after playing soccer to drain as many bottles of water as we can provide.
Love and blessings to all,
Gary and Joanne Grenell, your partners in the Lord’s harvest field
Dear Friends, Just a quick note to share as we progress through the new school year. Gary’s workload grew by 100 percent when Joanne’s 400 Pre-Form I students graduated to Form I. The photo above shows me scoring about 800 tests from the four different Form levels. Joanne, bless her heart, wanted to know how her old students did, so assisted in scoring most of the Form I exams. Joanne is now growing a new class that will likely not peak until October. She currently has 45-50 students, who will study English and mathematics during Pre-Form. Most of the students, however, will not register until between September and November. During that period last year, it grew from two large classes to five. Obviously, those who were with Joanne most of the year are doing much better than those with only a month or two of English under their belts. Talk about deer in the headlights stares… I’ve started this year in Bible Knowledge class to put Kiswahili in parenthesis following key works and concepts, and it seems to be helping, as the first test scores looked pretty good. I had 26 students (11 of which were Form I students) score 90% or higher, and the number of really low scores were much fewer than last year. A very important factor, I am convinced, for the increased effort of the students is the deepening relationship we have with them, which is a direct reflection of your relationship with them. They could hardly believe it last year when we returned, and they are already telling us that their hearts will be full of sadness when we leave in June. When we tell them that we are just going for two months to greet our families and friends and get supplies for the school, they brighten some, but say that they still will be sad every day until we return. Thank you so much for being our partners in this work. We could not be here without your material support, we could not serve as we do without your prayer support, and we definitely would not have the victory we see without the Lord’s support. For example, I confirmed what I said in an earlier update: only one student failed the Form II National Exams in November. As it turns out, her fellow students found that she had not only attended the prayer services, but was visiting a witch doctor for charms to help her on her exams. The student body was very vocal about the resulting “testimony” of what happens when a person tries to serve two masters. Also, visiting the village of Itewe this past Sunday on a preaching assignment, we had a young man come forward who had wandered from the faith during his high school years. It was such a joy to see my sermon on the commandment to love demonstrated by that body of believers. The constant threat of rain and the fact that my bike chain broke going up the first of four mountains did not dampen the mood of the day in the least. In fact, if everything goes smoothly, you don’t meet near as many people and experience God’s adventures and divine appointments. God bless you all in the ministries where He has placed you. Gary and Joanne Grenell P.S. Notice that Joanne's bolts of fabric and sewing projects occupy much of our living space. Some things never change, no matter where in the world you live. 
