Moving Forward

It is an exciting time to be around Angel House Orphanage and Angel Secondary School. Things are happening all of the time, and both Volunteers in Mission are honored to be here for this time. School is about to be dismissed for a long break  of one month because of census in Tanzania. This is a  break the school has never encountered before because it only happens every ten years. All of the students who have asked, as well as teachers and staff are all looking forward to this  break.
However, they will still be kept busy. Savannah and Rchel are going to teach keyboarding classes and computer literacy. The hope is to teach all of the students to type well enough that they can add this to their education. There will also be opportunities for students to meet and study their subjects and to study for exams.
One exciting idea hatched by the missionaries was to host a girl's Bible study group at the Mission House on Friday nights. All of the Secondary girls were invited for dinner and a sleepover and a study on the book of Ruth. They taught one of their worship songs and were taught an American song in return. They all had a wonderful time. There will only be a sleepover every other week, but Bible study weekly.
Construction began on the Boy's hostel this week. It took fifteen loads of rock  before the foundation could even be constructed, and now the foundation is halfway finished, rooms are divided up and bricks are being made. The decision was made to make the bricks at the site, to cut down costs of damaged bricks. It also gives school administration quality control. Plus, in the future when they do construction, the furnace and materials will already be there.

The second plowing of the school shamba took place this week, and now are waiting on a third. Once the third plowing happens, they will be able to start to work and to plant it. They are going to grow corn and green vegetables that they eat for breakfast and lunch, cutting down on the cost of food. The project could have been completed before this if the tractor hadn't broken down continulously and needed repairs. You know what they say, This is Africa.

Busy Week

Good news abounds at Angel Secondary School. Students came back to school after their winter break, to exam results, which were good for many students. All of the Angel House students passed their exams! They are doing so well.
Work has begun tilling up land for the school shamba. On Monday, Joseph and Mwita measured and surveyed the land to be used for the shamba and on Tuesday, a tractor was out there. When asked what they are growing in it, Joseph so sweetly replied, "vegetables." It will probably have corn and cabbage and peppers and spinach. The hope eventually is that the school can be totally sustainable and that good farming practices are taught to all students, as a practical class. Benson says he is a great farmer and is good at teaching too, so maybe that could be his role. Of course, that could have just been Benson messing with us too.

Many thanks to the Woodlawn United Methodist Church for the fantastic lab equipment donated to the school. The students got to use it yesterday, doing an experiment to discover the presence of starches, sugars, proteins and fats in foods. They were so into it, and answered questions well in class. Seeing a visual of the science lecture made it all real. They are all looking forward to more hands on with the microscopes and other materials.
The kids welcomed the new visitors with open arms. Nurse Savannah Swanner has had her hands full already, washing kids' heads to treat infections, treating sores and infections and dealing with malaria first hand. If that isn't enough, this week a run of chicken pox has made it's way into Angel House, making several of the kids quite itchy and miserable. She tried to get them to drink Gatorade, but Paulo made it clear how he felt about it. Instead of drinking his bottle, he put corn in it and carried it around for the rest of the day.
Rachel, me, also feels very welcomed. My project to start with is to make a file for each kid, so that Anna can put birth certificates, letters and report cards in it. The kids are learning my name well and I am also teaching them their colors. I have a feeling a year won't be enough time with these wonderful kids.

A great future

Friday was a great day in the life of Grass Roots Ministries, Tanzania. Our former Second Master Joseph Nyiraha was announced as Director of operations of both Angel House Orphanage and Angel Secondary School.

Joseph is a different kind of leader. But the Kingdom of God is a different kind of Kingdom. He leads from the heart, and listens more than he talks, and we believe God has chosen him for this leadership position within the project because he will lead us like Jesus would.

Congratulations to Joseph, and praise to God for the upcoming vision and leadership we have received through him.

Grass Roots Tanzania Director, Joseph Nyiraha

Rainy season, part 2, commences

The other night, Liz and I decided to try and beat the rain (though it had already started falling) and found ourselves on a dirt road that was slipperier than we could have even thought possible. She was a great sport as we slipped and slid our way along the 4 kilometer dirt road until we reached pavement. Drenched, but happy to be home, we agreed that it had been a learning experience that taught us to rely on the truck a bit more during these coming months of rain.

An interesting past couple of weeks...

In the last 10 days, three of the five of us were brought down with malaria. Mark and Pam and Liz must be sweet meat. Eric and I were the lucky ones this go round. While they were in bed, Eric was managing construction and I was with the soloists for the final recording before the Angel House Choir CD was mixed and mastered. If there's one thing to be said about living and working here, it's that it is NEVER boring.
Holly

Mark laid up in the hospital being treated for malaria.

The Angel House choir's recordings being mixed in the studio.

Angel House chicken coop

Angel House is about to be in business! Our goal as a project is eventually to be as self-sustained as possible, and we'll be starting rather shortly with chickens, thanks to some generous donations and some hard work by Mark and Marwa. I look forward to watching Richard research and start the business this fall, and am excited at the possibilities it brings, such as the people of Tarime starting to support Angel House more and more.

Coop is set out at the corner of the fenced area next to the shambaBahati helping Marwa and Mark inspect their hard work