A reminder

Master of beauty, craftsman of the snowflake, inimitable contriver, endower of Earth so gorgeous & different from the boring Moon, thank you for such as it is my gift.
- John Berryman

Watoto

There might be nothing cuter than dozens of watoto (“children” – quite possible my favorite Swahili word) crying out a greeting of “Wazungu!” (literally, “white person”), to which we playfully respond “Hello, African” and make our Tanzanian friends laugh. They got even cuter yesterday in Ujiji (a town we visited to see the David Livingstone Memorial) … calling out “Bye-bye” as they waved, so clearly excited to be able to “greet” us in English.

Our friend Biroto, one of the youth leaders, is a 22 year old guy who simply drinks up all the information either of us can offer on the Word, Grace, America, life. He led us through Ujiji as he grew up there. When he brought us to his own home, his little siblings ran into the yard and stopped short when they saw us, then ran back to announce “Wazungu!” to their Mama J

Moving Day

“Hello, friend.” These are simple words that I’ve expressed to numbers of people – always sincerely, but often without much foresight of any impact they could have. But today while talking with Jackson, he told us what a powerful effect it had on him when we called him “friend”. We got to meet Jackson because he works with Harold & Coni, but at some undistinguishable moment he moved from someone that works with friends to a friend himself. I just wish you could all get to meet he and his wife and literally feel the joy that emanates from their smiles. Jackson has a heart for the Father and a depth of understanding that we’ve found to be rare here in Kigoma – he treats his sons and wife as the gifts from God that they are; he is diligent in his work and we have not once heard him complain, even when the hours are long; and not once has he asked for anything from us, which makes it all the more exciting when we are able to give something they need, or even just want, because as he said, it’s a “testimony to him from the Lord.” It makes me think of Isaiah 65:24: “Before they call, I will answer.” What fun when the Father leads someone to be an answer to a request that hasn’t even verbalized yet – at least not to anyone but Him.

Saturday was moving day for Jackson’s family – it’s hard to explain the living conditions they had before without making it sound like a Compassion commercial, but suffice it to say that there were a lot of smiles as we all unloaded them at their new home that is sanitary, has indoor plumbing, is in a safer neighborhood, and with a landlady who gave her life to the Son a few years ago, was banished from her Muslim husband, and has been praying ever since for someone to move in that could teach her more from the Word.

Before THEY called, He answered …

One of 200

So, turns out Jacob did have malaria, but was in more immediate danger from starvation. Because the only thing he’d eaten all week was one of the PB&J’s at Kids’ Club on Tuesday. The man and woman he lived with kicked him out last week because he wasn’t brining in food or money – silly kid, he was going to school instead. They sold his school uniform and shoes, though, so the only way he is able to continue going to school is because Mama Joshua (Coni) was willing to purchase him a replacement set. So he’s now staying with a friend and returned to school on Monday.

This was hard information to process – and maybe because knowing about one specific case makes you wonder more about all the others you don’t know about … how many of the other 200 kids had only a PB&J to eat last week?

Jacob

Since we have internet right now, we want to ask you all to pray for Jacob, a young boy (10 years old?) who was just carried here by some of his friends ... carried because he is almost unconscious ... sound like any familiar sunday school stories?

Coni and a friend, Mwenge, just rushed him to the international dispensary here in town, in hopes that they can quickly diagnose whether it's malaria or something else and hopefully literally save his young life. He is an orphaned child who won Coni's heart long ago, and I would ask you to pray for her heart as she's with him as well.

By the way, Jackson - the friend we mentioned who was also very ill this week - is doing much better. Still needs prayer, but is recovering from a HORRIBLE case of what turned out to be shingles!

Thanks ...