School Board Meeting with Parents, Students, Staff, and Villagers

The rains came early this year. For the farms, that's a good thing, but for students to make the thousands of bricks needed to complete the next phase of buildings, that's real bad. The solution was the suggestion by the school board and headmaster that every student contribute an additional 10,600 shillings ($6.25) for the purchase of bricks that area villagers had already made. While this is a real financial burden for many, the suggestion passed without much discussion. The genius of the plan is that it will enable the school to complete ALL of the academic compound buildings this year! What a burden that is going to lift from the shoulders of future students!

What a blessing that is going to be to the growing student body! How wonderful it will be for the laboratory equipment that has been donated and stored in our house to finally be used in the practical exercises! How thankful we are to the special gifts of our supporters that moved this plan forward.

You see, although the bricks and sand are the responsibility of the students, parents and villagers, VST has committed to the provision of timber, roofing and cement. It was YOUR faithfulness to the Lord in sharing in this ministry that will "cement" the raising and enclosing of the buildings.

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne

"HELP! I've been robbed!"

It is not uncommon for clothes to disappear from clotheslines in the village. We advise students to take turns watching their laundry on wash day. Recently, however, we've had something of a crime wave.

Students have reported ghetto locks broken and food, money and clothes stolen. We had one student come for assistance after his ghetto was gutted by fire; he'd left his kerosene lamp burning to buy some food.

Finding a Form II student sitting on the side of the road crying is the most heart-rending. He'd financed a duka (small convenience shack) he'd built himself, in order to make money to pay school fees. One evening, someone broke in and cleaned him out. We'd visited students near his duka the day before and purchased some items in support of his enterprise. He'd been so proud and happy to serve us.

Life just isn't fair much of the time, but we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are living in His will. It will be interesting to watch this boy and see how he responds to this sad event in his life.

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne

Cats

Here is another audio presentation, a narrative in Gary's own voice, telling a story about the value of having a cat in the home. They have a couple of purposes beyond providing companionship - one that may be a bit of a surprise to you!

To play back the audio recording, be sure to first turn on the speakers of your computer, and either scroll down the right side of the blog to reach the "Featured Audio Clip" or click on the "Audio Clips" tab across the top of the blog to open a new page that will eventually hold the archive of all the audio clips.

Enjoy!

John Williams, Your Hands & Feet blogmaster (for the Grenells)

Game Day and an Unforgettable Ride

Behold, a Tanzanian village school bus!

Although we had a police permit to transport students by truck on the highway, the way students like to hang off of the side of the truck or sit on top of the cage caused some concern.


Then somebody suggested a "short cut" through the back village roads, covered with an inch deep layer of dust. You know what, "short cuts" are pretty much the same all over the world; there is always a down side. (I remember taking a short cut out in America's wild west years ago. Our son, Gabriel, was behind the wheel, learning to drive. We found the road getting narrower and narrower, and then suddenly one side of the road was a sheer drop off.) In addition to the dust, our game day short cut turned a two hour trip into two and a half hours, making us late for the competition. All were in good spirits though; youth in general seem to thrive on adventure!

We lost all events: football (soccer) 2-1 in the final few minutes, volleyball 6-5, and netball 7-6. This would be a real downer in American culture, but here it is more about getting together and sharing the time. We sat with the teachers of the Vwawa school, discussing academics and the possibility of our graduates studying at their "Advanced School" of Form V and VI, and they were very excited about coming to Idigima for a rematch in sports and to add a debate competition.

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne

George's Children

Out of response to a message about having the attitude of Christ in our lives and his supernatural nature of compassion for the needy, George, an attendee of the "All Peoples Church" came to us with stories of needy children and widows in the Iyula-B village.

Offerings from the church, free of pastor or building expenses, are able to assist these people. One widow, who has only one crippled son and is crippled herself, drags herself about to collect fire wood and haul water from the river. A family of three children, whose parents are addicted to the home-made beer, have been unable to attend primary school for lack of shoes, uniforms and school supplies.

The plan seemed good to all, so Kennith (who was introduced in the previous post, A New Church Work) and George identified ten family units in the area for their initial humanitarian efforts.


With so many pressures on our students to be involved in the work at Idigima on top of their studies, it is such a blessing to see some taking the time to look around and be the hands and feet of Jesus to their neighbors.


We have identified some other students who seem to have similar hearts of compassion, and they have expressed interest in getting involved.


One evening, in a classroom without electricity, we showed the Jesus film (in Swahili) to 64 students. Afterwards, Kennith addressed the students in a call to faith and service. We hope this and future showings will swell the ranks of those involved in ministry.

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne

A New Church Work

Across the valley, nestled in a large grove of trees, is the small compound of student ghettos known as ADP. ADP stands for Agricultural Development Program, established years ago to introduce income-producing agriculture alternatives and advanced technology to the rural villages. The Regional Office of ADP is in Vwawa; our ADP is a small branch. Projects include the growing of wheat, development of fruit and pine trees, domesticated honey bees, and poultry. The director botanist who lives there, Mr. Michael, speaks English and is like a father to the ten or twelve students who live in the compound.


One of those students is Kennith, a Form I student from Tunduma who feels God has called him to Idigima to develop a deliverance ministry. Mr. Michael designated a large empty room in one of the buildings as a meeting hall. Kennith is promoting what he calls "All Peoples Church" to try and bridge the denominational divisions and present the truth of God's word to students.


Joanne visited one Sunday while Gary was traveling with a student to Ikuka, and she liked it so well that she's been going ever since in support. It is a relaxed atmosphere, with free interchange of questions and answers intermixed with messages. One Sunday, three girls from the compound placed their trust in Jesus as Lord.

Your Hands & Feet in Tanzania,

Gary & Joanne