Update Video!

Satan's Vomit, Restored Blessings

"Tukurum alakatrwa imayanat ainei niyawa"
Translation: Vomit those blessings out Satan that you stole from me!

In the middle of class in Engikaret, we saw 3 large trucks pull into the base.  A couple of the police officers hoped out to use the restroom.  They jumped back into the trucks and rode off into the bush to quiet down the violence.  The women in class, though, were already too discrupted to continue with class.  The thought of the men from their village in harms way was too much.  They all began to weep; wailing prayers for their husbands and sons. 
The Arushan Tribe has plenty of water, but not enough land for their cattle to graze.  The Maasai have space.  They've kept their birthrights, their family lands and have plenty of room.  But the water passes through Arushan' territory.  The water line was cut and war broke out.  At the peak of the incident there were over 10,000 warriors stationed on either side of a property line chanting, clanging spears, daring each other to cross the line. 
The police failed, the chiefs failed, the government failed.  The last line of defense before the military opened fire was a small group of pastors that met to pray and adjure the warriors to stop! 
A week later I was 20 miles into the bush, again in the middle of class when a small boy ran into class.  "The Arushans are here!"  Again, the class was beyond salvaging so again we cut class short.  That night I got home safely but the Chief of Engikaret didn't.  Angry youth saw him on the road and speared him twice knocking him out of a tree.  The elder that was with him was punctured by the same spears over 20 times in his legs and arms. 

Class was ruined, homes were burned, friends were cut, speared and beaten, and peace was stolen.  Blessings were consumed.  Then, I went to church on Sunday and I heard words that changed everything.  I hear a lot of murmuring and worrying when scary things happen usually and when it comes to problems at large it seems like the common response is, "well lets play the cards we've been delt."  "God's in control, lets see what He does."  But that's not what I heard in church on Sunday from this very same group of men and women.  They sang a new song that I've not yet heard.  The translation: Satan, you vomit out those blessings you stole from me!"  Whether they have read the Bible through or not, whether they are theology scholars or not, one thing they understand better than I do; just because things are the way they are doesn't mean they have to stay that way.  At what's more, payer and intercessory worship works!  In church that day they declared, out loud, with singing and jumping, "Satan, you throw back up those blessings you stole from me!  Those are mine!  They are meant for me!  My Father intended them for my life!  Now you give them back!"  The authority of the cross isn't lost in translation nor is it masked by certain cultures.  The power of Jesus is the power of Jesus! 

The Midas Touch

 

We find the longer we are here, the more we see things we have ruined.  Of course, there are even more times Jesus has used us to mend people back together.  But the longer we are here, the more things we make a mess of.

I invited a young, bright, fresh, excited teenager to come and help with my literacy class.  I told him he could come and learn how to teach and one day God might call him to be a teacher himself.  The next week, his father came with all of his elder brothers asking for more information about when and how I was taking their son to America with me and paying for his college education...oops

I began praying months ago for a discipleship program to start in Maasailand.  We have begun meeting now in a team to pray together.  One pastor in kiserian has become a close friend.  We have talked often about discipleship for the Maasai and so recently I asked him to begin praying this through with us.  A week later, he called my boss and asked where he should write down the names of all of the people that have agreed to enter this school...uh oh

A Maasai woman, a close friend of Heidi's, was at a boma i was visiting.  She asked when mama Hannah was coming to visit.  I told her i would ask her that day when I returned when she might come.  The next morning the woman came to ask why I had lied to her.  She waited up until late into the night with already cooked tea for Heidi to come.  She never showed...fail!

The poor young girl, orphan, single mother of twins we wrote about in the post titled, The Victory, is supporting herself and her children.  We came a couple of times to visit the children and help with a little money for good milk and porridge every month and told her we could help with her education.  She went for a month to school, then her family told her that she was no longer theirs, but one of those white people.  If the white people want their children taken care of so Lightness can go to school, then the white people can pay for us to watch them.  If the white people want the babies to live in the uncle's house, then the white people can pay for the room, and the bed, and the cooking utensils...now what?

You know the Midas touch, even though it is gold, it is a curse.  What about when the things you touch ruin? What kind of a curse is it when whatever you touch is broken?  For me today, I call it a blessing.  For me, I call it revelation, enlightenment, an awakening.  If what I touch turns to gold, I am tempted to think my awesomeness is fixing Africa!  Pretty soon I start eating golden hotdogs and those neither go down nor come out easy.  The blessing for us today is to see and know that we are wandering in the dark making messes as we go, but His word, His fresh, new, living and personal Words "are a lamp to our feet and a light to our path."  When my eyes are open, I can see all the good that we are God is doing here in Tanzania AND all the things that we are ruining God is still working to restore.  I have told myself and testified to others many times about the good work WE have done for those twins and their mother.  WE have changed their lives and then WE close that book and look for something else to open up. But surely, the work JESUS is doing is certainly not finished in that family He has created.    He has restored and He will continue restoring.  How dare I give in to the pride of applying to the work of God in the hearts of men and women my need for finality so I can have feelings of productivity. 

As I read this week in Isaiah, I see myself in the lives of the Israelites.  Jesus says, through the voice of Jehovah, passing through the mind, arms, hand, down to the pen and out in the ink and soaked into the parchment paper,

 

 "Why should you be beaten anymore? Why do you persist in rebellion? Your whole head is injured, your whole heart afflicted.  From the sole of your foot to the top of your head there is no soundness — only wounds and welts and open sores, not cleansed or bandaged or soothed with olive oil."

 

In the darkness, I knock everything over, I bump my knees, I run into the wall and I get all bloodied up.  Jesus asks, "why do you keep beating yourself in the dark? Turn on the stinking light!"

Stuff gets ruined! Toes get stubbed!  Why on earth would I leave my sores uncovered and continue blundering in the dark? Cover yourself with oil, cleanse your welts and wounds, and turn the lights on so you can see! 

This week, I am reminded that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, but I can do nothing except for the grace of the Lord.   The awesome stuff I see God doing in my life I give him praise.  The awful things that happen in this fallen earth, and the blunders I see myself creating, I give Him worship because He is not finished.  And as far as today is concerned, it is enough for me.

Peace that passes all understanding: My electrocution story:)

These past 36 hours have been one of the scariest/peaceful/frustrating/helpless times I have experienced. 

As most of you reading this know on Tuesday morning around 4 a.m. the girls woke up for some strange reason. Nick got up with them and then I heard more crying so I got up to see what was happening.  When I got up Nick asked me if I could unplug the refrigerator because it was making a funny noise.  I was exhausted and without really thinking reached and started pulling out the plug and the electricity caught me.  I couldn’t let go and for about 5 seconds held onto the plug and finally I was released. I remember thinking very clearly, “don’t fall, sit down slowly” but I was shaking so badly.  I ended up on my knees unable to speak.  Nick ran in with Hannah to see what was wrong and saw me on my knees.  He kept asking me what was going on and I couldn’t get anything out.  My words were right there but unable to come out coherently.  I was so confused with what was happening.  I finally was able to get something out about electricity and Nicks face went white.  Hannah ran into our room and I wanted to say I was okay but nothing else would come out except mumbling.  I knew nick was afraid it wasn’t just my speech but my whole mental state so he started giving me tests. I could remember everything but my speech was another thing.  I remember Hannah running back into the kitchen and so calmly saying “mom I just went and prayed for you and you will be okay”.  That settled me down enough to motion to Nick that I wanted to go to bed.   I felt I would be fine in the morning.   When I got up the next morning I tried to say something and only gibberish came out.  I remember not feeling fearful but just feeling so frustrated with what was going on.  Around 8 nick found a doctor on the base from America and had him come in and check me.   All my vitals were fine I just couldn’t talk.   The doctors wife went from home to home and to all the classrooms telling everyone what happened and asking for prayer.   From about 8:15 on we had people coming to our door praying for me. I was overwhelmed with the response of our YWAM community as well as others around Arusha calling and reaching out to us.   We honestly did not have more than 30 minutes where someone did not come by to see what they could do or to pray for me.  It was a little awkward when they would come and not really understand I couldn’t talk and keep asking me questions or if they thought I couldn’t understand them so they would talk to me very slowlyJ Two friends came over and cleaned our house and took care of the girls so they could get out and not be in the middle of the situation. 

Nick posted on facebook and the amount of support we received through emails, messages, and posts on our wall was unbelievable.  It made me break down in tears knowing everyone was praying for our family and for complete healing.  I don’t know why but in the midst of all of this it didn’t really occur to me to be afraid.  I took the time to rest and heal because I knew my brain needed it.  I continued to look online at peoples comments and continued to feel assured in the peace and joy I was feeling even in the midst of the pain in my head and arm and the frustration of not being able to speak.  A couple times I started talking like normal but after about a minute it went away.  I laid in bed and just thanked Jesus over and over that nothing more happened. I had no burn mark, my arm hurt but I knew nothing internally was wrong and I knew for sure I would get my speech back.   On Wednesday morning I woke up and said something to Hannah.  She freaked out and got soo excited but a minute later she brought someone into the room and I couldn’t speak again. The disappointment in her face broke my heart but then she said, “oh it’s fine mom, you will talk very very soon” and left.  I rested the rest of the day and when I woke up again I was able to speak.  Hannah made me write down on a little piece of paper “I can talk now” and she started walking out of the room with the piece of paper and ran back and said “mom you need to write on here, “from now on” so it doesn’t go away again”.  I did as she said and she ran out of our house and shouted to everyone that I was better and I could speak again! She kept saying “jesus healed my mommy like He said he would!!”.   All night she continued to look at me and say, “talk mom” and I would say something and she would smile and say “God is soo good to us huh”.  I was blown away by her attitude towards all of this.  That night despite my headache I went to the dinner at the base.  I came in and the response of the people towards me made me so overwhelmed with emotion that I had to go outside the dining hall and have a good cry (the first since this had happened).  I felt so loved.  Living here has been hard because we had to leave family and friends when we moved here.  I have felt loved and appreciated here but something changed that night.  I felt that I was truly part of a loving family and I couldn’t be more thankful to be a part of it.  I got home and continued to receive responses from some of you over the internet and rejoicing together with us in my complete healing!  I cannot begin to thank you for all of your encouragement  and your love through this.  For those of you who know me well I am someone that freaks out in circumstances like this but I felt that peace that passes all understanding.  I could continue to rejoice in the fact that God is good, even when I couldn’t say it out loud.  I didn’t understand the depths of what could have happen until the situation was over.  I will say I still need to get past the fear of the electric outlets in our house and walking into our kitchen but that fear will pass.   My head is slowly feeling better as well as my arm and I know very soon I will forget about what happened  and how I felt not being able to speak but I hope I never forget the feeling I know that was only from the Lord. The feeling of peace and the knowledge that I can’t change the situation but I can choose the way I react to it.  I can choose to give it to Jesus and trust in His goodness and relax as I watch the Lord move through a situation.  God is good and I am so thankful I can continue to proclaim that and I won’t stay silent!

 

Lendim Lai

It happened!! I have been spending every day possible in Maasailand lately and really getting to know some of the people out there.  I've felt like we are really becoming friends, but I have always wondered what their perspective of me is.  Do they see me as a friend?  As a teacher?  As a missionary?  As a white guy with money?  I know how I see them, but how do they see me? 
There is one young man that works with us in YWAM ministering to the Maasai.  He himself is not a Maasai, but has a deep passion for them.  He comes from a different tribe, but left his home to come to Engikaret and has been here for almost 5 years now.  He has become almost fluent in Maasai and you can always find him out at the Bomas.  I have begun a new Literacy class about an hour drive past Engikaret and this young man, Elia has been coming with me.  Whenever we go we have about an hour to talk and encourage each other, but I have always seen a huge difference between the two of us.  Wherever we go, every Maasai recognizes him!  They can see the heart he has for them and I have always seen him as a really important example for me.  I want to be a missionary like him.  There is this one thing, though, that I continue to see and hear that I have coveted.  When his dear friends see him, they have a specific way they call him.  They say, Elia Lai.  In Maasai, the way you claim something as your own, you put this word Lai after it.  If you are describing your mom, you say, "Mama Lai", my mama, "Alayuni Lai" my son, "Lalashe Lai" my brother.  I always hear them call to Elia, and they say, "Elia Lai, Elia Lai" My Elia, My Elia!  Oh, every time I hear it, I ask the Lord, when will be the day that I am theirs?  Will they every see me as more than just a missionary passing through, or a westerner with money? 
This week, as we completed our third week of class out in Kaserian, it happened!  It wasn't anything spectacular, it wasn't a profound moment, it was just an everyday, run of the milll, request for a ride, but it happened!! One of my students, as I was getting in the car to go home, called out, "Lendim Lai!"  Lendim is the Maasai word for forest.  I have become known out in Maasailand as Lendim and the moment I heard it, my heart was filled with a feeling of victory, of acceptance, of God's faithfulness.  My Lendim!  Maybe to anyone else this would be no big deal at all, but to me it meant the world.

The Song of Songs says, "I am my beloved's and he is mine".  It is really easy to read that and understand it to be some kind of simply possesive term, but it is so much better than owning or some kind of controlling authority.  It is belonging.  I belong to him.  Just like that old hymn says, "Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me.  Not for the years of time alone, but for eternity!"  I belong to Jesus and He belongs to me.  I find my home with him.  I find my worth in him.  I find my place, my portion, my reason for being.  I belong.  I am His Nick and He is my Jesus.  In the same vein, the Maasai belong to me and I belong to them.  I am their friend and they are my friends.  I am their Lendim and I am so very greatful!

Hope in one hand

               Every once in a while when I was growing up, things wouldn’t go my way and I would start to whine.  I would say, “I wish I didn’t have to clean my room” or “I wish I didn’t have to pay for my own gas in my car.”  My older brother loved these occurrences because he would have an opportunity to one of his favorite colloquialisms.  I would I wish and wish and wish and he would turn to me and say, “Wish in one hand and poop in the other.  See which one fills up quicker.” 

               Why, you may ask, would I relay this ridiculous sampling of an American Proverb?  Because I was teaching my literacy class last week and just frustrated.  I was frustrated with the students, frustrated with the Engikaret base for not having a place for us to regularly meet in class, always shifting around, which leads the students not to take things seriously and therefore not showing up to class at all, let alone on time.  I was frustrated with myself, feeling like there was more I should be doing to entice and entertain my students so they would be more willing and invested in coming to class.  I started making those I wish statements again.  “I wish…I wish…I just wish…” when I saw a little bald, dusty Maasai girl’s head pop to the class for a peak.  There were only three students that showed up that day and they were busy with their work so I went out to see where she came from and what she wanted.  I found her out the door with one of her friends and both of them were so proud of themselves.  So I asked, “what are you two doing here this morning?”  Out of a little old pouch around their necks, they both pulled out their own beat up, batteryless, cracked and worn cell phones someone must have thrown out.  They held on to them like they were state of the art cell phones.  I asked one of I could see it to look at it.  And she ran off.  I didn’t think much about it until I was back in class and that little bald head popped back in to sneak a peak.  Again, my students were hard at work, so I went out to see what she wanted and this time she had what I thought was the cell phone concealed in both hands so I could look at it.  She placed it in my hand, removed her hands from the top of it, and then took off running as fast as her little legs could carry her.  When I looked down to see the present she brought me, right away I remembered my older brother.  She placed in my hand a huge cow tird!  She thought she was so funny!  Both of the girls rolled around laughing and laughing and I was left with my wishes in one hand and poop in the other.  And I assure you, the wishing hand was not nearly as full as its neighbor. 

               I have been thinking about this for a several days now and thinking about a whole slew of verses that are laced through the Bible about being dissatisfied and not one of them is about wishing. 

“Let us hold unswervingly to the HOPE that we profess, for he who promised is faithful…the widow who is really in need and left alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help…That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people…For what is our hope? Our Joy? Or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes?  Is it not YOU?...Therefore since we have such a hope, we are very bold…

And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.  Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produes perseverance, perseverance produces proven character, proven character produces hope.  And hope does not disappoint.” 

               Wishing is a silly, whiny kind of thing to do, but hoping is entirely different.  I wish for the things that I don’t have but that I think that I should.  I hope for the things that I know I will have because, in finishing that verse, “God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”  Wishing in one hand will never fill up as fast as pooping.   But with hope in my hands, hope in the Living God who is savior of all people, well that will never disappoint. 

               This month I have had over 11 students coming to class, mostly men.  Some of them even show up on time!!!  We began a new literacy class in a village an hour and a half northwest of Engikaret called Kaseriani where I now have 22 students!!! In both classes there are old men and young warriors, old grandmas and young mothers, and all are learning to read and write for the first time. 

               Hope in one hand and poop in the other.  See which one fills up faster…

The War is Over

We just wanted to send out a little update to say thank you for your prayers.  The war in Engikaret is over.  The chiefs were able to talk it out and they have turned on the water to Engikaret.  We are so thankful for this.  Nick is heading out today to do his literacy class and will see how everything is while he is out there.  Thank you again for your prayers.  This is the best possible outcome!

War

A couple of months ago, before the rains came there was scarse amounts of water and plants for the livestock in Engikaret to eat and people to drink. A neigboring village between Engikaret and Arusha called Oldonyosambu (the brown hill) began sending their cattle to Engikaret because their situation was even worse. This pushed the men of Engikaret to delve into the next village further, Keseriani (the place of peace). There was no peace there. The Massai in Keseriani chased the Engikaret men back to their village. This was not a very charged conflict because they were all Maasai. However, the neighboring village, Oldonyosambu is a sister tribe called Arushans. When the men from Engikaret returned, they proceeded to chase the Arushans off their land back into Oldonyosambu and the Arushans took that personally. Since then, the rains have come and the plants have returned and things were relatively peacefull, but the Arushans did not forget the behavior of the Maasai in Keseriani and Engikaret. This last month, the Arushans have regularly cut or turned off the waterpipe that supplies water to Engikaret as it travels through Oldonyosambu. The Maasai have gone to Oldonyosambu multiple times to try to resolve the conflict (albeit forcefully) but things have only escalated. This week as I returned home from teaching in Engikaret I came across over 300 Maasai warriors from Engikaret, Keseriani, Longido, and Ndaiboro gathered to march on Oldonyosambu for war. They reached the water tank built by Faces For Hope, http://www.facesforhope.com/, to discuss strategy. The elders are attempting to calm down the young warriors but to this point have been unsuccessful. The governor of the Longido area was present as well as the police, but none have been able to convince the Moron warriors to stand down. In response, several Arushan clans have gathered and reached the Engikaret border. Please pray for Engikaret. Please pray for the peace of God to come. Please pray that the young angry men will hear the wisdom of the elders and pray that the Arushans can come to a place of compromise. As of now, nearly 50 military men have been dispached to Engikaret and things continue to appear explosive. Pray for Heidi and I and our girls. We are looking for wisdom about how to continue our ministry and lessons in this time of violence. 

Swallowed Up By Life

“We groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.”

Every Thursday is a fellowship meeting where 25 to 40 Maasai come to worship.  Most Thursdays things are very average and normal.  They sing some Maasai songs (which the girls are getting very good at) someone shares a word from the Bible mostly centered around being good and doing what’s right, being pleasing to God by not doing what is wrong, then they pray for people that have needs (mostly sicknesses).  After a few months of this fellowship, sometimes it can be a little boring.  There! I said it!  Church in Africa is often really, really boring!  I remember talking with my wife’s great, great aunt from Scotland about church in America one day and she was being so critical of worship these days.  She called it “7Eleven” worship songs because you sing the same seven words eleven times.  I thought, “where is her passion?  Does she know nothing of meditation and waiting on the Lord?”  Well, today, Jesus is kicking my butt and reminding me about that conversation and my feelings for her every time we enter into a worship service because it is like “5twentyeight” worship here and I get so bored!  So I was watching last Thursday as the minutes on the clock were passing by slowly, seeing a handful of old ladies, a dozen young mothers, and one or two sidelined men or boys singing worship songs asking the God of Moses to take the hill (what meaning that has for a Maasai I have no idea) and I felt like my eyes opened.  I started thinking of the anthropology classes I’d taken in college.  I started thinking about every conversation I’ve had with every anti-evangelism philanthropist or American co- worker that accuses religious institutions of just bringing newly packaged religion to a different culture and in the process destroying the beauty of diversity and I started asking myself what real change was happening here?  Really, poor Maasai come to a well supported western style mission base to sing songs and they get stuff in return.  That sounds exactly like what critics describe us to be.  All of a sudden I became very frustrated and discouraged when all of a sudden the songs ended and the worship director lead us to change course a bit. 

He led us all to share some of the struggles anyone was passing through and then, to just lay them down and enter into the presence of the Lord.  This time, when I looked around the room, my eyes opened in a different way than before.  I saw a 60 year old 6 foot tall woman with a huge gap between her teeth and barely any meat on her bones close her eyes begin to experience something that until that moment I had been missing that day.  What I saw in her face was something that can’t really be argued by Evangelical culture killers and Anthropological Jesus haters because it has nothing to do with any of them.  No matter how many conversations I have about the proper approaches to missions or the abuses of churches to manipulate people, this woman was in the middle of an experience that no one else can really convince her of one way or another.  The peace that surpasses understanding, the grace that is sufficient for her, the love that is everlasting, the mercies that are new every morning really have nothing to do with me or anybody else.  Koko Elizabeth spends time with Jesus and that isn’t predicated on my ability to enjoy a worship service or not and it isn’t contingent on whether anthropological data shows our work is viable or not.  Then I looked around the room and saw more people experiencing something that can’t be quantified or measured, but can only be taken by faith.  I saw a young mother of 3 younger than my youngest sister with swelling above her right eye probably from an angry young man with her eyes closed and her mouth parted speaking to someone that I could not see.  I saw an old man all alone, without other young warriors to respect and honor him, but yet he comes and watches as people speak words of adoration to a God that will never leave nor forsake no matter who we are or what we have done.  I saw a little girl that would one day most likely be sold by her father  to a man, young or old, purchased for a price and then used the rest of her life…but before any of that happens she gets to hear about a man, A MAN! who traveled across the universe to tell her that he loves her more than anything in the universe and would lay down his life for her.  Then, this word of 2 Corithians comes to life.  For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, SO THAT WHAT IS MORTAL MAY BE SWALLOWED UP BY LIFE!

That is definitely worth an hour or two of my time.  I don’t know if anyone else gets bored at church sometimes, but next time you do, I give you this challenge.  Open your eyes and look around.  Look to see if what you are feeling is the same thing everyone else is experiencing.  Maybe you will find that God is doing some things that you didn’t see before and I assure you, when God moves nothing is boring.

Exciting News!

Hi family and friends!!
We have exciting news! After praying and seeking guidance from others we are heading home in November for a short visit to raise support as well as visit family and friends. We have been praying for the Lords wisdom in this. We have been praying about adding to our family. We are ready to adopt but the moral code of the government here is not very reliable and so it is difficult to count on the adoption process running as smoothly as we might like. That’s okay. Things take time. We have been told the process could take up to 2 years. We would love to start that process now but in a year when we were planning on returning home to report about all the Lord has been doing, the child/children may not be ready to return with us. We will probably need a year or two depending on the current mood of the court system. So, we are heading back to America to raise support, visit Jesus’ Church: America Branch and then we will return to start the process of adoption right away. By the next visit home we will have custody of our new little one/s. The timing works well with our ministry here. During the month of December and into a little of January the base here in Arusha and as well out in Engikaret shuts down. Everyone takes that month off to visit home/supporters. It is a good time to be absent without missing too much. We are not firm on the dates yet but we are scheduling ourselves to be in the states from the beginning of November until mid/end of January. We are so excited to be able to see you and share what is going on here in person as well as hear what has been happening in your lives. Please pray that we find a great deal on our flights and also good connections with people that will want to partner in the work going on here in Tanzania. If you know of anyone or any church/ministry that would be interested in someone coming to share about the things God is doing in Tanzania, please shoot us an email or facebook message and we can start putting pieces together. We love you all and can’t wait to see you!

I love myself

Lately hailey has a new thing that she does. Every once in a whiles he will start looking around the table at dinner or the living room when we are all together in the evenings and she starts on one end and makes her way around telling us who she loves. I love mommy! I love Daddy! I love Hannah! This all is very cute and sweet. But the last part is where i get struck with the voice of jesus. Because then she points to herself and she says, I love her! Basically, I love myself!! I'm not sure there is a greater gift that hailey could ever give me then when she looks at herself and says, I love myself. And it is more than just a kind of encouragement and peace in my heart that she will have good self esteem when she is older. But is this special kind of worship that I hear from the voice of my smallest child passing through my heart saying Jesus, "you have made hailey well. Jesus I love the way you made me!" In Africa Hailey couldn't be more different than everyone else here. Every child, every adult, every person looks nothing like her. She doesn't talk like they talk, she doesn't dance like they do, she doesn't dress like anyone around her. Even amidst all of the ways she sticks out like a sore thumb, still she points at herself and says, "I love her." So I see this and start to look at my own life and ministry. I look at the ways I look at evangelism and missions and somewhere along the lines I got the impression that I have to be an African to minister to Africans. And to start to be a Tanzanian I have to stop being an American. So I start doing silly things like hating the American in me. I start trying to push out the western values that have framed my personality and trying to mold myself after an eastern perspective. "why on earth do I need to save for retirement? God will provide for me! Why am I so strict about time? It really doesn't matter if I or the people around me are late. I need to stop thinking of myself as an individual and identify with the whole." But Hailey reminds me that God made me on purpose! And there is power the things He put in me. I don't have to become an African to show African that Jesus loves them. Jesus came to earth and put on skin in an incarnational step to reach us. He came to earth to show us that He loves us but he never stopped being God. He never forsook the power of being who He was. As we approach our ministries we don't need to become teenagers to minister to them. We don't need to become poor to minister to them. We will never literally wear someone else's shoes, but that doesn't mean we can't love them in the individual shoes that they wear. Jesus did a good job when he made me and he did a good job when he made each person in Africa. I worship Jesus because he made me and my job here is to help other people here to worship him because of the way he made them. I love me.

A Few Ministry Updates

Last week we were able to go to a church in Kia, about 40 minutes away from our home.  It was given some help from some churches in Korea to build and now it has this beautiful new church building, but it is unfinished.  .  The church was founded over 10 years ago by a man named Christopher.  He is the brother of a close friend of ours here at the base and is a good man.  We went to minister at this church and were very blessed to be able to meet and see them.  They have plans some day to build a primary school in order to minister to the surrounding children and educate children them in Jesus' name. 
All of this was very exciting for us because this pastor is very passionate and is hoping to begin going to surrounding areas in order to plant churches.  We are going to continue to meet with him and pray for the Lord's guidance about how we can partner together.  Please pray with us as we wait for the Lord's direction and wisdom. 
We also have seen the Lord doing some really great things in Engikaret.  We have a new staff here named Violet.  She is a young single girl that loves children and hopes to teach one day.  Her father is a pastor here in Arusha and she is following in his footseps of ministry. 
Also, we are really starting to get to know the people here.  We were invited to go to tea at one lady's house in particular.  She and her husband are both believers.  She is the only wife of her husband and they are really good parents.  All of these things are really rare to see in the Maasai culture. 
As for the literacy class, this week I was asked to teach in Arusha for the week, so I chose two of my best students and asked them to help me this week to teach the other students while I was away.  I am excited to return and see their progress.  Maybe this will even turn into a team for teaching more Maasai to read. 
Thank you all for your prayers these last few months.  Please keep praying for us as we work toward seeing every Maasai in a knowing and loving relationsip with Yesu. 
We have been sending out monthly updates specifically describing the kinds of things we are doing here and if you are not currently getting those and would like to, please email us at NHForrest@yahoo.com so that we can make sure you get them.  Lord bless you

No more fear

This past week has been a good week full of God's grace. Right after posting about fear I continued to seek the Lord for comfort. This place is so hard to live in. There are so many things that are so different than in America but the thing I love about being here is seeking the Lord in everything. There really isn't any way to run away from a hard situation or trust in something else. We have to trust in the Lord at all times and definitely not lean on our own understanding cause I sure do not understand anything really that goes on here:). Anyway a week ago we had a worship night and a celebration night thanking our guards for the work that they do to keep us safe. A goat was slaughtered as well as a pig. After we had a night of worship and it was amazing. Everyone was dancing around and you could just feel the tension lift, the fear leave and the joy of the Lord take hold. We walked home that night and I felt the unhealthy fear leave me and since then have slept great! There is still a healthy fear that brings wisdom in situations but the fear that had gripped me is gone. Thank you Jesus! Along with my fear this week we took Hannah's and hailey out to a boma. If you had been there the first time they ever went you would wonder why we ever tried again. They screamed and were soo scared they were shaking. Hannah loves baby and we thought this would be a good time to try so nick, Hannah, hailey and I set off to the boma of raziki and Baby Sara. We wanted to see how she was doing after these past couple months. Hannah was amazing. There was cow dung everywhere, the flies were awful, the boma was very very dirty and a couple of the women tried to pick Hannah up. She just smiled the whole time and when we got inside she wanted to hold baby Sara and just held her and talked to her the whole time. I was so proud of her. Hailey was comfortable after a little while but I realized she had never been inside a boma. For those of you who have never been it is pitch black except for a little hole of light coming in. It smells of smoke, the bees are bad inside and the flies are awful. You sit on the top of buckets or water cans and sometimes the smell is enough to make you lose your breakfast. The girls loved it! They loved the hole and kept covering it so it would be pitch black and would laugh and laugh. Hannah let the kids touch her arms and hair and just smiled. The fear that had gripped her as well is gone. She is still nervous and not super friendly but that fear that made her scream when a Masaai got close is gone! Thank you Jesus for your continued faithfulness to us!

Continuing to walk in a miracle

We got to meet Lightness, Kelly and Dillon at their home. They are currently living with her father's oldest brother in a small room made of sticks and mud...and couldn't be happier! The babies are at home with their own mama, in their own clothes, with their own bottles. Now all they need is their own home. Lightness is an orphan herself and, as you have read, has no husband to support her. She was almost finished with her last year of secondary school when she got pregnant, but desperately wants to return and finish so that she will be able to support her children. Now, she needs help. We have found a family that will help lightness pay for her rent, electricity, and food for her babies. (milk and porridge) Also, she is currently living in a room in her uncle's house with his furniture and his cooking utensils.  She will need a bed, sheets, cupboards, pots and pans, etc.  finally, she asked also after I asked her for the seventh time if there was anything else, she asked if someone could help her with some clothes.  . But she has nothing to put inside of the home she is moving to. She needs a bed and dresser, a small table to eat on, and cooking ware. We are wondering if there is anyone that might feel led to help lightness with these things. Also, her final year of schooling is $250.00 for the whole year's tuition. We have seen God do an incredible thing in Lightness's life and we have been so blessed by the opportunity to be able to watch God do a miracle. Please don't feel obligated in any way to send funds. We haven't asked for funds on this page before because we have wanted this to be a place to encourage and include people in what God is doing here in Tanzania. This specific opportunity just seemed like a really exciting and obvious way for anyone that felt led to be connected specifically to someone's life. We brought with us all of the clothing items the babies would need and she was so very grateful. It was strange, too, because usually in this culture when you give a gift, the recipient becomes really quiet and subdued. The opposite was true for Lightness. She looked us in the face, shook our hands squarely, and thanked us for the gifts we brought. I continue to be more and more impressed with this young lady and, to quote Chariots of Fire, "I feel His pleasure" when I see her with those children. Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever.

The attack

Some of you may have heard about the violent events of last thursday night at our base. We have tried to inform friends and family that we are safe and wanted to tell you a little bit about what happened. The attack started long before the thieves came. The devil comes to steal, kill, and destroy, but that includes more than physical/material death. Last week we were very discouraged. The women were all very tired out in Engikaret from their circumcision celebrations and the fellowship felt so dead. The men didn't come for class and we were wondering what we are doing here; what impact are we making. After talking to some friends I realized almost everyone I talked to was going through a slump with the ministries they are involved in. Then Thursday night we got back from Engikaret and that night I had the worst dream I have had in a very long time. It was all about death and I woke up terrified feeling it definitely was an attack of the enemy. I, Heidi, have not been scared to live here in Tanzania since arriving. We have felt so safe in our home at the base and all of a sudden, after the dream, I was terrified to be here. We woke up in the morning and Nick went to help with DTS as usual and I received a text from a friend at another YWAM base asking if we are okay. I had no clue what she was talking about. She said that I may want to go talk to our base leaders. I headed right up there and found out that seven men had broken into our base and after a rally of gunfire, two of the thieves are dead. Four escaped unharmed and 1 was shot but fled. The men were only after the office and its supplies. It was a well thought out plan. They must have been planning it for a while.
My initial reaction was, "thank goodness we are all safe" but then the reality of the situation set in and fear took hold. Nick and I did not hear a thing that whole night. There were at least a dozen gunshots and we didn't hear a thing. The thieves were down by our house and we didn't hear anything. Everyone kept telling me that was God's blessing in our life cause if we would have heard we wouldn't have known what was going on and would have been afraid all night. Instead we had a good nights sleep and didn't have a night of fear. Instead of this comforting me it has brought the fear that has kept me awake the nights following. "How did I not hear something so close to my home? What happens next time when they target my house because I am a white person and we don't wake up? Will they get through our front door without us knowing?" They have picks for the locks that can open our front door without us even knowing. How could I sleep so hard that I couldn't hear that? So, every night since then I have stayed awake, checking on every noise that i hear outside. In Tanzania, that is a lot of noises!!! Chickens, dogs, rain, guards walking by, neighbors' music, etc. Nick has slept peacefully through the night except for the times I am too afraid to check on a noise myself so I wake him up. I continually recite scripture in my bed and pray that the Lord will give me peace. I know that God is in control and that He is with us and no matter what happens He is present but fear continues to grip me. After the attack people have been walking around either very afraid or apparently untouched by what happened. Some people cannot walk outside anymore at night and make sure they are inside by the time it is dark. Others have been checking their homes as soon as they get home and looking in every corner and under every bed to make sure someone is not hiding at all. Others haven't changed their routines at all. We are all taking this differently. Yesterday we had a base meeting to discuss everyones feelings. It was good to know that I wasn't the only one that was fearful about what could happen but it was also good to continue to soak in the knowledge of who God is. I continually ask myself why I am so afraid to die? If I truly believe in my Savior and everything He has promised me why am I so afraid to die and go live with him eternally?? Isn't that everyone's amazing promise who believes in Him? I get to praise my Jesus every minute of the day with no interruptions! If I truly believe then why am I so afraid? If I am in love with Jesus and truly live in a love relationship with Him every day then why wouldn't I welcome heaven? Not that we should want to be done serving him here but that the fear of this life ending is so strong, that the excitement of living with Jesus is overshadowed is confusing to me. Why? This question is drawing me closer and closer to my Savior who wasn't afraid to die for me. Please pray for us. We are safe. We are all okay. The base has instituted extra security measures and the measures they already had we're effective. But the seed of doubt and fear has been planted by the enemy and we ask for your prayers so that the overwhelming presence of God can uproot those seeds before they are able to produce fruit.

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 The Victory 

A year and a half ago a 16 year old young girl named Lightness was convinced that an older man was in love with her and wanted to marry her. She was a Compassion International child one year short of completing secondary school. Both of her parents are dead with her 4 older sisters to help raise her. After getting pregnant with twins the man told her to get an abortion. She stood up to him. She would raise them herself if she had to. He left her, pregnant, with no way of providing for herself. She was dropped from school sponsorship because of being pregnant but she valued the babies inside of her and sacrificed for these two little ones. Miraculously, this little 17 year old gave birth in august to twins on the road en route to the hospital! She was a good mom. She made a way. She figured out how to get by with no support from anyone seventeen and alone. But things didnt stay that way. 3 months ago, the father of the twins came back..........

2 months ago we decided that we needed to look into adoption so we would know what to prepare ourselves for with our family. We always knew we wanted to adopt but we weren't sure what had to happen to adopt in Tanzania. To our surprise they told us we could start the process right away. We were shocked and just started praying. We had just started feeling settled here and I was starting to understand how to be a mom and housewife here. Cooking, cleaning, laundry, water.....everything takes so much longer here and I barely have enough time to do all those in a day let alone take care of a new baby. The more we prayed the more we felt a peace about just taking one step forward and visiting an orphanage to see if any siblings had been brought in that were available for adoption. We called and some twins had just been brought in. Their story was very fishy so they couldn't promise they were adoptable but we could come visit anyway. We prayerfully took the next step and went to visit the orphanage. We met 10 different children available and after leaving we both agreed that our hearts just broke for these twins, Kelly and Dylon, that were only 6 months old. We started trying to find more information about them while visiting them every Sunday before church. We prayed and prayed for them, asking Jesus to give them the best. Every step seemed insane to us and to others that we sought counsel from but we just kept feeling the lord say "I want you to help these orphans...keep going". We called social workers, hospitals, city representatives, and got the story kind of put together. The children were left in a house and the neighbors heard them crying all day and finally went to check on them. The mom had left them. They were brought to the orphanage and we were told we needed to find the parents to have them sign off on the adoption. We kept trying to get more information. We then found out from a social worker that the mom was a prostitute who would be hard to find but the dad was a very nice man working in the mines and couldn't take care of the children. After hearing about her being a prostitute, we decided we should probably get the children tested for HIV.
This past Saturday we dropped our girls off with a friend and picked up the twins and headed to the hospital in Arusha an hour away from the orphanage. The place to test them was closed as well as two subsequent offices but we decided to stay the course and do a quick test. That meant waiting for the doctor. :) We took our spot in line and sat down across from a little girl that was staring at us. This little girl was around 3 and would not stop staring at us. She kept saying to us that these kids were hers. We thought she was having a hard time seeing white people with black babies so we just smiled. Then she said, "Saumu, Saumu". We just smiled, got up and left not sure what she was saying. We went to a small little shop in the hospital to look for a snack and she followed us! She wouldn't stop. We kept telling her to go find her mom but she persisted. Finally her mom came in and said "do you know why she keeps telling you those kids are ours? Because they are! They belong to my sister. The girl's name is Saumu and his is Sayid. Their mother has been looking for them." We proceeded to describe to her what we knew about her sister. She told us that was a lie. The mother is a good mom; she is young but loves her babies. She told us her name...Lightness! The dad came and forcefully took them and told her he didn't want her raising his babies and he would take them to to his mother's home in another distant town. That was two months ago. We told her where the babies were found and who brought them in. She let us know that the dads brother was the "neighbor" and they must have planned that whole story. The mom is not a prostitute she is a student. She has been crying every night for her children. She didn't know where to find them but knew if she went to the grandmother's house she would be beaten and maybe killed. We were amazed. We continued to question her and found that this was truly the aunt and the mom was a good woman. We drove back with the aunt to make sure she knew where the orphanage was. She was shocked to see the orphanage was 10 minutes from the Lightness's house. She called Lightness and we waited to see what would happen. The orphanage was very careful to make sure the Lightness couldn't run off with the twins. We watched as they brought the mom in and showed her the children. They were asleep and she just sat and cried. Kelly/Saumu woke up and we watched as she pushed herself up and looked at her mom. The mama asked if she could please just hold her daughter. With tears in her eyes she picked up Kelly/Saumu, and held her for the first time in two months. She looked over her, felt her skin, brought her to her face and kissed her..... It was like a fairy tale. I stood to the side crying, being so thankful our God would choose us to be able to be his hands and feet to these orphans. Our hearts broke knowing we would be saying goodbye but we couldn't have chosen a better ending than this. God's plan is always the best. We had been praying that He would protect the little ones and that He would make a way when it seems like there is no way. Our girls loved these babies and we were afraid they would have a hard time saying goodbye but when we told hannah we found the mom she said "thank you jesus. That's what we have been praying for mom! Thats just perfect." In the midst of the fear at our base and Satan trying to destroy Gods work going on here in Tanzania we were able to see a miracle happen before our eyes and we couldn't be more grateful for His faithfulness and goodness. The seeds of fear and death that the devil plants in our hearts are always uprooted and replaced by redemption and restoration of broken dreams, relationships, family ties, etc. True religion? God does watch over the orphans and widows. What could possibly be more important than that?

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Running water

We have not had running water for more than a few hours since December and I guess we have just kind of gotten used to it. The whining and complaining has lessening now to where we haven't really even expected it....until this week. We have had fast, clean water inside our house with really good water pressure. It is like a totally different life and it has kind of left me with a funny, uncomfortable feeling. I thought I would have been overjoyed, but I am weary of it. I have been taking some time to reflect on this and I think the reason I am weary is because I am afraid. I know that my own humanity is prone to discontent and complaint. I know that it is a short road back to grumbling and that makes me frustrated. "Lord, why did you bring such good water? Don't you know this is going to ruin us and make us complain again?". Then, I hear the voice of Jesus saying, "really, Nick?".
The book of II Assumptions says, "it is better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all". Scholars still disagree as to the authorship, but I think that he might be a close relative of the psalmist as he says,
"Praise the Lord. How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him! ...Sing to the Lord with grateful praise; make music to our God on the harp. He covers the sky with clouds; he supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call. His pleasure is not in the strength of the horse, nor his delight in the legs of the warrior; the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love...He grants peace to your borders and satisfies you with the finest of wheat...Praise the Lord."

It makes sense to me, and even noble to not want to be tempted by luxury, but to go around shouting at the top of my lungs, "get behind me Satan, you snake, you fiend, you running water, you evil siren of the lake!" seems unappreciative. What makes a whole lot more sense is to agree with David in praising the Lord because it is pleasing to Him and fitting to praise Him because He gives us the finest grain and causes the rain to cover the earth. We put our hope in Him and not in grain, rain, or running water. It makes sense to praise Him for the blessings rather than loathing the things He blesses us with lest we should miss out on more reasons to be grateful.

We moved

We Moved!

Wednesday night, Heidi got this terrible food poisoning. We learned a new Swahili word, kutapika...to throw up. She was sick until about 4am and them finally got to sleep. Then, Thursday morning, we were made aware that another apartment opened up with more space, but if we wanted it, we would need to move within the next 3 days. So, with Heidi sick and only three days, we moved everything we have here up about 3 doors and now we have 3 bedrooms! So, when any of you are ready to come visit, we have a room for you!
As we went to devotions today, I was thankful for this new bigger apartment, but as we entered the main hall, I was reminded of something about the human heart. We are always asking for more. I remember when I first thought about moving to tanzania, I was so excited just for the opportunity to go and serve. I didn't care if I lived in a mud hut, just to serve my creator was enough f or me. Then, after the first few times visiting, I began to ask God for more. Lord, I'm gonna need a house when I get to Africa. But lord if I could just have four walls and a bed, then, I would be satisfied. I just am grateful to serve you! Then, as we arrived in this great apartment and unloaded all of our things, settled in again I found myself praying to God, "Lord, if I could just have a little more space, just one more bedroom so we could have a little more room, well then that would be enough." I am wondering how long it will be until I ask for more.
I reminded of the places where God welcomes us to ask of Him for our heart's desires. Sometimes He even dares us to watch and see what He will bring by our faith and trust in Him. But in the midst of the asking, I feel challenged and cautioned about the fine line between contention and contentment. Because I have a desire does not mean I have a need. God is faithful to fulfill our desires, but I don't need more space. I don't need a newer, nicer, bigger place to live. I want it. Ask, nick. Ask for what you have in your heart and work for it, but don't mistake the kindness of the Lord for an open-handed Sugar-daddy that requires a command rather than a request.
Today, Lord I am grateful for what I have. I am thankful for what you have given, provided, delivered to me, answered from my prayers. Thank you.

His Voice

Hearing God's voice is not something you can write a how-to book about. Its no more use writing a book about how to understand your wife. There is no way anyone will ever explain the intricacies and complexities of my wife because of the way they understand theirs. Its the same thing with the intricacies and complexities of following the voice of Jesus. He's out Jesus, all of ours, but just as richly and purely, he is my Jesus and His and my relationship is unique. Its funny how often we try to get hints from other people about how they heard God speak. Then we try to apply it to our situation and it never works out very well. "Pray every night before you go to bed! That's the best time." "Pray in the morning. Right when you wake up. Give God the first fruits of your day." "God's voice comes through quiet meditation." "God's voice comes from the voice of other people." These last few weeks, Heidi and I have been seeking the Lord. We have been wanting more and more of His wisdom, wanting His direction, wanting what He wants. But instead of trusting, listening and waiting, it has been so tempting to look at what others are doing, the way other people are serving the Lord and following Him and try to mimic that. Hey, if it worked for them, well then it will work for me. Its even more tempting to trust God's past works instead of His voice when people are so quick to be approving of ways God has worked in the past. New ways are scary for more than just you and me, but they are scary for pastors, neighbors, co-workers, bosses, supporters... But beyond all of that, there is this strange, exciting, comforting and peaceful quality to the voice of God that overcomes every uncertainty. Somehow, someway, when you hear God's voice its crazy, scary, but clear and it just seems right. Sure, you can find support or opposition for almost anything you want in the Bible, but when God speaks His words just seem...right.
God has been leading us all our lives. Sometimes the decisions we make are simple, sometimes hard and scary, but the more often we trust the quiet and clear voice Jesus, the more we see how incredible and beautiful He is and how sweet His plans are.
"the word of the Lord is right and true...the plans of the Lord stand forever" ps 33

I am here

"I am here. I am here." How many times does Jesus remind me and how often do I forget that I am not alone, I do not do the work that I do in vane, I do not walk through my life aimlessly and without purpose? These last few weeks I look around and see all of the needs, the least of which sometimes is monetary. The little tiny sliver of ministry that I awkwardly shuffle through seems like such a small drop in a vast ocean of dry religion, poverty, sickness, abuse, misunderstandings of God's character...
Then God opens my eyes and turns my head, He whispers in my ears, "I am here".

Yesterday a group of 22 maasai women graduated from a sowing and tailoring class. They were proud of themselves! They saw that they were worth the time and energy to be educated. They saw that they were smart. They saw that they were able to make a product, a profit, a difference. That was awesome!
But more awesome still, I saw something I haven't seen before. Some of the womens' husbands came. And for the first time, I saw pride in the eyes of husbands for their wives! I saw men stand up in front of a group of their peers in support of their wives in their accomplishments. I saw men clap their hands for their wives. I saw men stretch out their hands in prayer for women. I'm afraid I feel the need to quote 90's Christian rap music, "you know who's doin' it? God is doin' a new thang".
Isaiah says, "watch, I will do something new; now it will sprouts up, won't you see it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, I will make rivers in the desert."
God opened my eyes yesterday, turned my head to see new things sprouting up, and whispered in my ear, "I am making a way...through you" (and because the English language is limited, I need to note that this "you" is plural, "through y'all")

Learning Maasai

I have been working with several different tutors and it is coming slowly but surely.  It is really fun talking with the men.  They always laugh which is right up my alley because as far as I'm concerned any attention is good attention.  Which is where I found myself today.  The maasai sometimes refer to themselves not as their first name, but as the father of their children.  The word for Father is, "Menye".  So, I was trying to tell a man I had just met, in front of a whole bunch of Maasai young men, "I am Menye Hannah."  Instead, I said, "I am Mwenye Hannah."  You know how sometimes people have a huge gap in between their teeth if their teeth come in funny?  Well, the Maasai have a word for this.  It is ironically close to the word for Father.  So, I told all the maasai men my name is "the gap inbetween your front two teeth - Hannah". 

They can read!!!

It has begun! After years of preparation, work, prayer, and patience, last week we finally began our literacy class? I have spent the last few weeks going from Boma to boma inviting every man I could find to come and learn how to read. Over 20 men, young and old, signed up to attend Tuesdays and Thursdays. This week we have had 5 students coming and it is awesome. I expected to have about this many to start and we am really excited. One old man, a well respected elder named Mrefu (translation: the tall guy)is 78 years old and has been early to class so far. Also an 18 year old named Omega comes so it is an interesting mix of men.
Week one: so far we have been learning how to open up our books and how to hold a pencil. The second half of the week, we learned how to write on the lines and then where to go when the current line is full...to the next line. It is awesome! I can't wait for each class to begin!
Every time we meet, I have been praying and preparing for little bits of the bible to share about the importance of reading and writing. We talked one day about how God created the entire universe using words. Then, another day we read about the Word. How God calls Himself the Word. They have been so encouraged by those things. Sooooo, now I'm asking for help!!
If anyone has come across a place in the Bible where there is some kind of importance placed on words, reading, writing, education through books, etc I would really love some references.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support. "He who began a good work in you will continue until it is fully completed."

Riziki and Sara update

Riziki and Sara went home last night.  When Riziki's mother saw her alive and healthy, still with her child, she said, "my daughter has been saved from death."  Then, she gave her heart to Jesus.

Introductions - Riziki and Sara

I (Nick) apologize for not updating sooner, but there have been a lot of new developments here in Tanzania and we are now finally getting a regular schedule.  Therefore, a regular schedule results in a regular posting!  Anyway, this coming series I have titled "Introductions".  This past 4 weeks I have met a series of people that have been marked by God in a real and imprinting kind of way and I would like to introduce you to them. 

This is Riziki.  She is 15 years old and has a two week old baby.  She hasn't been married yet which is strange for the Maasai.  I assume probably her father and the father of a neigbor suitor haven't arrived at a brideprice yet.  Of course, that doesn't keep Riziki from gettting pregnant at 15 years old.  Her Maasai name is Seketer, but now that she has become a Christian she recently changed her name to Riziki.  Riziki is the word that they use in Tanzania when they are praying the Lord's prayer, "Give us this day our daily Riziki"  Essentially, it means provision. 
On Monday this week, Heidi had some time to go out to a Boma and visit some women that had recently given birth and she found herself at Riziki's house.  When she arrived, Riziki and her baby looked bad.  There really isn't any better way to put it.  This 2 week old baby, Sara, wasn't moving.  She couldn't have been more than 3 pounds.  She wasn't eating, crying, opening her eyes.  And there was a big sore inside of her mouth that was preventing her from breastfeeding.  Riziki on the other hand had a weak look to her and a similar sore on her mouth.  Since syphilis is a common ailment here, it looked like a firm diagnosis and given the potential for the baby to have contracted it in childbirth or breastfeeding, it seemed like an important thing to take care of right away. 
Heidi came back to the base and I drove our new minivan, just imported from Japan, out to the middle of maasailand to pick them up and take them to the hospital. 
We arrived at her boma and found her father there.  As we presented to him the importance of sending his daughter and two week old granddaughter to the hospital, he was more concerned about the cost and the length of time they would be gone.  After much deliberation, he conceded that he would allow us to take them to the hospital, but if the bill came out to more than 6 dollars, he wanted them returned because he had no money to pay any more than that.  (later I came to find out that this was one of the richest men in the area with over 1,000 head of goat and hundreds of cattle)  Or, of course, we could pay if we wanted. :)
Of course, then, we picked them up and rushed them to the hospital as it was nearing 9:00pm.

We got to the hospital and checked them in and right away the nurses informed us they would have to stay the night.  The mom was extremely anemic as she lost lots of blood during childbirth, and the baby had a high fever and needed to be looked after.  We said our goodbyes and were on our way out when the head nurse stopped us and asked us what they would eat?  I looked at her and said, "well, whatever you have for them I'm sure they will appreciate."  Silly me...hospitals don't provide food, or drinking water, or bedgowns, or plates and utensils, or anything.  At one point, they even sent us to a nearby pharmacy because they didn't have the medication she needed.  So out we went in the middle of the night to look for an open restaraunt that might have something we could take back for them to eat. 
When we came back, the two week old, 3 pound baby was so small and weak that they couldn't get an IV into her because her baby veins were continually collapsing and it was all I could do not to jump over the counter, take that huge needle from the nurse and defend that baby with my life.  Of  course she was only doing her job, but it was heartbreaking.  Finally the night was over and we went home to get some rest before we returned in the morning, but before we left, I noticed a black piece of cloth tied around Riziki's neck and another tightly around her arm.  I still know so little about Maasai culture, so I left it alone.
When we came back the next day, this poor 15 year old girl was ready to go home with her baby. She had never been in a car before, let alone to the middle of a bustling city like Arusha and she was terrified. The nurse came back with all of the bloodwork and informed us there were several diagnosese and they would need to stay 3 days in the hospital, fed every day, and some kind of provision made for a change or washing of clothes.  We were far past the 6 dollars now...
Every day I came, I brought food, soap for washing, clothes for the baby, tea and drinking water and, most importantly, some words from the Lord and prayer.  I sat down with Riziki and talked to her about Jesus and how good he is to take care of us when we need Him the most. 
At the end of the 2nd day, before I left, this little girl, so young and already a mother, looked up at me and said, "nafikiri mimi sihitaji kuvaa vitu nyeusi hivi bado. ( I don't think I need to wear these black things anymore)"  The black cloth around her neck and arm were given to her a few days before we found her.  The old man who knows about the spirits came by her boma and tied those around her to let everyone know when they see her that she is nearing death and to prepare themselves.  She looked up at me from her hospital bed, next to her baby that was now eating well, awake and alert, without any prodding or convincing, and asked me if I could help her take them off.  She didn't see any need for them.
I sat down and started untying the cloth and stopped, realizing there was no need for me to have any respect for a black death band binding the hand and kneck of this daughter of a living God.  Instead, I took out my pocket knife my sister gave me for Christmas and cut her loose, the whole time praying a prayer of praise to a living God that actually does talk to his sons and daughters, new and old.  I sat there on that hospital bed giving thanks to a gracious God that works through every situation, good and bad.  I left, got into my car and wept in the quietness of the presence of the Lord after proclaiming the Provision of healing that God brought to a girl named "Providence"...Riziki. 

Promise

First of all we just wanted to say we are so sorry for not updating our blog sooner. We have heard a lot of you say you would love to hear what is going on and I am sorry we haven’t taken the time to update it.  This past month has been full of amazing things God has done here in Tanzania and in our lives.  It has been a refining last month as well.  In this past month Nick went on outreach to Singida to join the rest of his team in the work God was doing there, the Holy Spirit moved and 8 people met their Savior,  I met another family from Canada and Hannah and Hailey had their first “playtime” with kids speaking their same language,  my parents returned to Tanzania and celebrated a late Christmas with us, we received our car, went through a month of a lack of water coming into the base, Nick along with 31 other students received their DTS certificate of completion, we took a trip to the coast for some good family R&R and just last week we became official staff at YWAM Arusha! .  We would love to expand on those things but I really just feel like the Lord is speaking to me to proclaim the promise He has fulfilled in my life. 

Are there times in your life where you feel God has put something on your heart; a passion for something but you feel as if He put it there and then never did anything with it? A promise not yet fulfilled? 7 ½ years ago Nick and I stood at the altar and made a covenant to stand together in life, to walk hand in hand and serve the Lord faithfully with our lives.  To go wherever He is leading us to go.  At our wedding we had 2 songs played.  When planning the wedding these two songs were thought out by the two of us for a long time. We didn’t want to play just any song but we wanted the song to be a proclamation to the Lord.  Something we would hold to in our marriage throughout our lives.  One was talking about going to the nations and that being the cry of our heart.  The other one is called “eagles wings”.  It says:

“Here I am waiting, abide in me I pray. Here I am longing for you.  Hide me in your love bring me to my knees. May I know Jesus more and more. 

Come live in me all my life take over. Come breathe in me and I will rise on eagles wings”

Whenever I hear that song my heart longs to sit and be with Jesus.  To join in the song He is already singing over my life.  The song always reminds me of the promise, the passion God put in my husband and my heart to serve him overseas.  To take over all my life and take us where He wants us.  These past 7 years of marriage have been amazing.  There have been so many amazing opportunities to join in the work God is doing in America, to be missionaries to our home land.  I wouldn’t trade those experiences  for anything but there was still a longing in my heart to see that promise He had given us carried out.  I knew He had placed it in our hearts.  All of this is brought up because last Monday at the weekly devotions at the YWAM base they sand “Eagles Wings”.  Out of all the songs they sing, mostly Swahili, for some reason this song was on the list and it moved me to tears.  We have been here 5 ½ months and to be honest the transition here with a family has been a lot tougher than we expected, but when I heard this song it brought back the passion and the promise He put in my heart at 16 and in Nick and my heart 7 years ago .  I was living in the promise all along but now I feel like that longing has been fulfilled and is being replaced by a new passion, a new vision for ministry here in Tanzania.   7 years later we are here!! No more saying someday.  No more wondering what/where God is taking us in this promise. I know that with Jesus creating new passions in our hearts we will start to experience the “when” questions again but as of now I sit in His peace, here in Tanzania with my family of four after waiting 13 years I feel as if I am sitting in the middle of the rainbow of God’s promise, experiencing his faithfulness daily.  Thank you Jesus for meeting our needs, for listening to our hearts and for giving us the opportunity to know you and your heart and join in the work you are doing.  Help us to constantly be reminded of how faithful you are.  Thank you Jesus for letting us be part of your plan.  Thank you for what YOU are doing here in Tanzania and everywhere else around the world.  Thank you

Please be praying for us this coming week. Nick has the opportunity to teach in the DTS at the Kilimanjaro YWAM base.  We are excited about the 5 days we will be away and it is such an important time of growth for the students. We know God will move there and teach them using Nick as his vessel.