This month has flashed before my eyes. It’s gone SO fast! We are only 4 days away from taking off to
Ukraine for month ten!!! Here is a small
recap of the ministry we were doing in Sumbawanga with the two teams we spent
the month with.
Speaking in the
Church and door-to-door
Like every month in Africa, we had the opportunity to speak
in the church and share the love of Jesus to the families in our village. Speaking in the church is never something
that comes easy for me, but this month I was able to lead a bible study about
joy and thanksgiving. Building
relationships with the people in the village and talking to them about Jesus
was also a pretty awesome experience. We
were able to laugh and dance with the children and I even had the opportunity
to witness a woman give her life to Christ!
Orphanage
The orphanage we went to visit was so much fun! Many of the kids were around 4-6 years of
age, but they also had an entire room of small babies. One of the children was an albino child and
some of the children had certain disabilities and were all so precious and
adorable! We had the opportunity to meet
two twins, as well, that were only 6 weeks old when we got there! Not all of them welcomed our presence because
they were scared of white people, but the majority of them were vibrant and
excited to hang out.
School for the Blind
We were only able to visit here once, but it was life
changing. The school was made up of 70
children, 22 of which are albinos. They
live in the school during the course of the school year out of one small
backpack. The headmaster of the school
was explaining that 6 years ago, many people believed that if you chopped off
an albinos’ arm and brought it to a witchdoctor, that you would become wealthy
for life. This belief resulted in the
death of many albinos living in Tanzania.
The government intervened and many people are facing life in prison
because of what they did, but this belief still threatens the lives of many
albinos in Africa. Because of this, the
headmaster explained that it is hard for him to sleep at night. They can only afford two security guards that
switch during the day and night. They
currently only have four typewriters for the entire school and don’t have
school vans to help them transport the children when they are sick. The people that work at the school have
hearts so big to love the children well and to provide them with a place to
call home. The children’s singing
abilities were mind blowing! They
serenaded us several times while we were there and some of the boys even showed
us their rapping skills! This experience
was a blessing.
Home for Street
Children
Just like the school, we were only able to visit this home
for a day. The guy in charge explained
that they rescue street kids off of the streets in Sumbuwanga, Tanzania and
provide them with a safe place to live.
Not only does the home provide them with shelter, but they also pay for
each child to attend school, including University for the ones that qualify to
go. There is no age limit and they
strive to do all that they can to help the children have a bright future. They are self-funded and get no funding
through the government, but they are filled with the hope and confidence that
the Lord will always provide! When we
went to visit, they asked us many questions and allowed us to do the same. They were so sweet and it was encouraging to
see that people are working to rescue lost children that are facing
uncontrollable circumstances.
Overall
Tanzania was filled with trials, joy, laughter, tons of lively children, stretching
moments and memories I will never forget.
This month has been super spiritually challenging, but entirely
worthwhile. I have learned a lot about
embracing differences and celebrating the tough times, trusting God no matter what storm presents itself. God uses every experience for His GOOD! I have many mixed emotions about leaving
Africa soon, but I know the Lord has so much in store for us in the remaining
two months of our Race! Africa has
challenged me emotionally, physically and spiritually, but thanks be to God, He
has changed my life for the better!
Also, I was able to get baptized this month in a river overlooking the beautiful mountains and lush grass as Africans from our church sang beautiful songs! I was baptized as a child, but was finally able to make the personal choice of being baptized as a born-again Christian. It was a moment I will never forget. 🙂
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
~ James 1: 2-4
