And from Kathi...

     I have seen cabbages the size of basketballs here inTanzania.  So, I have used a cabbage to illustrate teaching moments with the mamas and older kids when talking about seeking Jesus to heal the layers of false thinking, grief, fear and pain in our hearts. As time goes on here there are more opportunities to have some quiet times to talk to some of the kids about their stories. With eyes cast downward and in a very quiet voices, some of the older kids have shared of their pain of losing their families to death or separation.  Tears don’t come easy for these children.  They guard their hearts fiercely to protect their deepest thoughts and emotions. The kids and I have been writing back and forth in notebooks this month and I have learned so much more about their pain, past experiences and doubts.  Questions like “Why did God take my mama away from me?  “Why do I have to be an orphan?  “If God says he is good, why does my heart hurt everyday?”  Their letters to me have hurt my heart more that words can say, but these questions have opened a door to for us to seek God for answers to these deep questions from their hearts.  Life is hard here for everyone, but so much more so for these vulnerable, precious children.

     I would like to share two stories with you that have really impacted our hearts. Last week, we spent a few hours with the kindergarten class reading and playing educational games.  It was a beautiful afternoon so we finished up by sitting on the grass in the middle of the houses to read books together.  Our conversation flowed easily from frogs, to the stars in the sky, to why some of the children are not at the children’s home anymore.  Wow!  Where did this come from?  I talked with them about adoption and forever families.  The small group of kindergarteners around me agreed that this was a great idea.  I then shared with them that the president of Tanzania stopped all adoptions for a while.  The kids were not happy to hear this.  One seven year old boy who is very bright but often involved in the craziness that occurs here said something I will never forget.  He said very boldly, “If I were president, I would make a new law that said that all children should have a family.  That will make God very happy.”  I was stunned that such a profoundly true statement should come from such a little guy.  This boy came with a baby sister to the children’s home several years ago.  He was the one to find  his mama dead in their home.  Even he understands that God’s heart is that all children are loved and cared for in a family.  That is the deepest desire of each child here.

     

     I would also like to share with you the story of little Happy.  We met little Happy almost two years ago during our first visit to the children’s home.  Happy’s name did not fit her personality at that time.  A social worker and policeman had recently brought her to the home from a hospital where Happy was treated for burns to her face, back and extremities.  The police report stated that Happy was burned with a hot spoon by a woman who was “taking care of her.”  Happy was very scared and angry during her first few months at the home.  She bit and hit other children, stole food and cried throughout most of the day.  During each of our visits, we saw huge changes in Happy. She had learned to interact well with the other children and was beginning to trust the mamas to care for her.  She now loves to sing and dance. Happy has made huge strides in her learning in preschool in the past year as well.  One afternoon, I asked one of the mamas who speaks English to help me talk to Happy so I could learn more of her story.  Happy shared with us that her home was in Burundi before she came to Tanzania.  The mama told me that there had been lots of violence and fighting so Happy might very well have come with many refugees into this country.  Somehow Happy ended up staying with a woman to care for the woman’s infant.  Even though Happy has no idea how old she is now, I can’t imagine she could have been more than five or six when she was caring for that baby.  Happy said that the woman came home one day and found her baby crying.  She then placed a spoon in the fire and then used it to burn Happy in many places all over her body.  Happy’s physical burns have healed into scars, but only God has been the One to start to heal the deeper wounds to her heart and mind.  

Beware the serpent!

One of the many reasons I love being in Africa, is that I am freed from the many distractions and busyness from everyday life in America.  This allows me the freedom to ponder some of the deeper spiritual truths of daily events that occur that I would otherwise overlook back in the United States.  Yesterday, one of those events occurred and I wanted to share about it.

While doing laundry behind one of the children’s houses, Mama Adele spotted a large snake in the grass just feet from where she was hanging up clothes.  We heard the commotion and ran over to this area and spotted what turned out to be a Boomslang.  Fortunately, it was already dead as one of the dogs probably killed it the night before.  Boomslangs are an extremely dangerous snake (among mambas, cobras, puff adders, etc. that live here) and are highly venomous.  Their venom is a hemotoxin.  This means that it attacks the clotting mechanisms in the blood and the victim will hemorrhage internally.  The interesting thing about a Boomslang bite is that the effects from the venom can be delayed for up to 8 hours so that a victim might be completely unaware that they have received a serious bite until it is too late.  There is a 60% risk of death following a bite from this snake.

So as I was on my daily morning walk today, I was extra vigilant in scanning the ground ahead of me for snakes.  I was also reminded of how the serpent can attack us in our daily lives.  He comes, most often sneakily and under cover of darkness, attacks and “injects” his venom.  We may not be aware of this attack until our lives spiral out of control, relationships are damaged, jobs are lost, etc.  Fortunately, we have a very powerful antivenom available to us in the saving, redemptive power of Jesus Christ who can restore us to complete healing!  

So friends, be ever vigilant for the serpent and cling to the One who is our ultimate protector and healer!

Blog July 17, 2017

Happy Monday! As we say to the kids during their break this morning from preschool classes.  We arrived at the Children's Home 10 days ago to a very warm and exuberant welcome from the kids and staff.  Since then the days have been filled with teaching the younger children reading and math readiness skills, reading the new books we brought over and over again, doing writing with the older kids and art with everyone, and getting reacquainted with everyone.  We watched The Queen of Katwe with the older kids last weekend- a true story of a girl growing up in a slum in Uganda who uses her love of the game of chess as a way to overcome many challenges in her life.  The kids could relate to to much of the movie and reacted with a loud cheer when she won the an international chess tournament.  So... as you can imagine, after washing clothes and other chores this weekend, we spend several hours learning to play chess.  Mama University was off to a great start last week with classes on loving and working with orphan children with abandonment and rejection issues- I really love this time with the women who are such a vital part of this ministry.  Sarah has been working with the preschoolers and loves her time with the babies!  Scott is doing physicals on the kids this week and is continuing to work through issues to open the community clinic here in a temporary building.  My favorite time of the day is bedtime- stories, prayer, lots of hugs and kisses until everyone is cozy in their beds to sleep. The sponsor Facetime calls with the kids have been wonderful so far and we are excited to all the children who are sponsored to have this opportunity to connect with and thank their sponsors during this trip.  We have watched some science movies on the human body and God's creation of space with the older kids.  We are so encouraged with the questions from the kids and prayer time with them during nightly Bible Study as well.
   Many of the older kids are beginning to communicate their stories- memories of their families and the nightmares so many of them have lived through before coming to Falco.  I believe we are seeing a miracle of God's healing love and redemption beginning to play out in Joshua (name changed)- a six year old boy from the home.  We met Josh when first coming to Falco over a year and a half ago. We learned from the social worker here that Josh came to Tanzania with his mother, brother and little sister as destitute refugees from Ethiopia when Josh was about two years old.  While begging for food along a road, his older brother was hit by a passing car and killed.  The story goes on that Joshua's mother then abandoned the two younger children.  Josh and his little sister were placed at a government orphanage until Josh aged out at age three.  After coming to Falco, he was diagnosed
with a chronic disease.  A memory is etched in my mind of seeing Josh for the first time a year and a
half ago of a little boy with dark circles under his eyes, his mouth open and almost unresponsive to others around him.  As I watched him in his preschool class, Josh's face was turned toward the ceiling; he did not sing with the other children or seem to be apart of his surroundings.  Josh seemed to be in his own world refusing to be touched or interact with anyone.  My heart went out to this little boy and I have often wondered if the trauma and abandonment he experienced caused him draw deep within himself.  Although Josh grew a little physically each time we visited, I saw no change in affect or desire to connect with others.  When we arrived 10 days ago, I noticed Josh out of the crowd of children right away.  We had committed to pray for him while away and I was excited to talk to the mamas about him.  Josh looked right at us as we approached him and the other kids. Then, for the first time, I saw him smile!  For the next nine days, we made a special effort to talk to Josh many times a day.  He gradually began looking at our faces when we greeted him and sometimes would even bless us with a smile.  Last night while doing the goodnight routine in the little boy's house, I approached Josh's bed very slowly.  He surprised me by scooting closer to the edge of his bunk bed so I could touch his arm.  As every night before, I prayed over him and said, "Good night, Josh! I love you!"  As I turned to leave the room, I heard a small voice softly say, "Love you, too, Mama."  I quickly turned around to hear the other little boys in the room cry out, "It was Josh. He say that.".  Tears came to my eyes as I came to his bed again and touched his face.  The mama who was with me in the boy's room for the night routine came to me and said,"God is so good!"  Yes, yes He is!  Over Josh's time at Falco, God is doing a new work in this precious boy.  God is working His healing power in his mind and heart and helping Josh to come courageously out of himself to connect with others.  The other little boys cheered loudly for Josh from their beds.  We had all witnessed a miracle
in this little boy's life and, once again, were reminded that God is so good even in the midst of such brokeness and pain.

 

We have safely arrived at Falco and were warmly welcomed by the children and staff.  It was great to see everyone.  All is well here and everyone is healthy and happy.  We had a wonderful church service yesterday morning and it was awesome to again be present as the children were worshipping with their entire beings, raising their beautiful voices heavenward.  

 

One of our suitcases did not arrive in Tanzania with us so we filled out all the appropriate paperwork but not expecting to ever see it again.  This suitcase had a lot of sponsor gifts, letters to the kids and other important educational materials.  Saturday evening, we had the kids pray that this suitcase might be located.  To our astonishment, a van arrived here right during our church service the next day and delivered the missing suitcase!  We know that in the whole scheme of things, this "problem" was relatively minor but it was a great testimony to the kids that we can go to God with even our "small" problems and He is faithful!

 

We are still waking up at 2-3 in the morning ready for the day but hopefully our sleep schedules will get squared away soon!

 

Blessings,

Scott and Kathi and Sarah

Dear family and friends,

We can't believe it has been almost 3 years since our last post.  There have been so many changes over this time it has been staggering.  God has redirected our paths and we have been serving at a different children's home in Karatu, Tanzania for almost 2 years.  The organization is called Falco Children's Village and can be found at www.falcoschildrenvillage.com.

The children's home presently has 78 children and had needs that matched up to our giftings perfectly.  We have started a new child sponsorship program and have 31 children sponsored in the first 6 months!!  In October 2016,  Scott applied for a grant that was approved to start construction of a small medical clinic on the compound.   This clinic will provide care for the children, staff and surrounding village.  Kathi has been busy with the spiritual development curriculum and is starting to lay the groundwork to open an international school to serve the children at the home as well as the surrounding community.

With God calling us to ever-increasing involvement in African orphan care, Scott will be shifting gears at the end of June and starting to work part-time in Urgent Care again.  This will free us up to be able to spend more time in Africa.  We will be heading back the first week in July and will return in September.

Please pray for us as we enter this new but exciting phase of our lives and follow God's leading.  We will post updates here in the coming months so stay tuned!!

Again, our thanks for your support and prayers!

Blessings,

Scott, Kathi and family

Jambo to family and friends, We are finishing up another week on the Hill with the kids and community!  The birthday celebration with special devotion, cupcakes, small gifts and a bonfire worship was lots of fun for everyone last Saturday!  After an awesome worshipping the God who made us and made all the stars that were in the sky that night, the kids were in awe of the clearly seen white Milky Way band across the sky, several of the kids and staff stayed up late with our family after seeing the Jesus Movie to lay on our backs under the stars. The kids were presented with their tie dye t shirts they had made the day before and wore them on Tuesday to a special worship and picture taking time on the mountain.  One of the children commented that with all the kid's wearing their colorful t shirts "they looked like a rainbow from God".  Well said!  We have been spending our nightly devotions really focusing on Jesus with scripture reading, Bible stories, new worship songs from America, lots of prayer time asking Jesus to help us to believe that He is indeed everything to us.  Scott is working hard in the hospital down the hill in the nearby town.  He is continually being challenged with seeing patience with trama and diseases uncommon to his U.S. patients.  James has been his "assistant" on these days and takes his new position very seriously.  Matthew and James are doing down to a friend's home in that same town this morning to watch a pig slaughtering in preparation for a pork roast we all are excited to go to tomorrow night.  There were no other volunteers from our family to go with the guys. She has "recruited" our entire family to help with homework from 7:30 to 9 every school night.  The kids know not to ask Mom for any math questions which adds a predictable laughter every night.  Sarah loves hanging out with the older girls and reading Bible stories to the little ones.  The daily after school volleyball games are helping Sarah get ready for her season in the fall.  Today, the Smith family is leading an education team to the Hill for a week to teach at the local school. It will be cozy in the guest house each night! The students and teachers are all so excited to have this opportunity and I know that the U.S. teacher's hearts will be changed forever during their experience here.  Please pray for the mamas and young ladies who will attend the all day Seminar this coming Saturday.  The excitement for this event in this community is at an all time high!  We believe that God has a wonderful plan for speaking to all these women.  Lives will be changed when these ladies, whose lives are so very difficult, encounter the love and grace of the Lord.  Please also continue to pray for physical and spiritual protection for our family.  We also are asking God to be in our words and all our interactions with others each day and to give us spiritual eyes to see beyond the battle into the hearts of these precious children.  The stories of their lives prior to coming to the children's home are heartbreaking, their passion for the things are God is inspiring and any time spent with them is a true gift to us. 

                                                                                             Friday, July 18, 2014

 

Dear family and friends,

     Six days on the Hill!  We are enjoying every moment with the kids and friends this week!  We await the kids getting out of school for fun like volleyball, chalk drawings, Bible story reading, talking and sharing along with nightly devotions (Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!) and all six of us helping with homework.  Today we are preparing for the weekend- popcorn and movie tonight, t-shirts with tie-dye after school, Jesus posters and crafts for Saturday along with the long awaited birthday party celebration at night.  The kids remember blowing out the candles, although it was not clearly communicated to not eat the wrappers and candles with the cupcakes, and singing their own Kenyan version of “Happy Birthday”.  Scott has worked down at a hospital in Kilgoris with the Drs. Magita for a few days this week and is experiencing a high learning curve to treat malaria, typhoid and other diseases common to this area.  Kathi was happy to reconnect with the mamas of the community a few times this week for Bible study and to discuss the upcoming Mama’s Seminar on Saturday, Aug. 2.  They are very excited to be hosting probably over 150 women of all ages on this day for worship, Bible teachings, prayer and fellowship.  Please pray for the women of the larger community for this day that they would experience God’s love, forgiveness and provision in a new way and that they all would leave renewed in their faith.  A young mama shared with me that, last year at the woman’s seminar, she wrote a prayer on the small slip of paper asking God to bless her with a long- awaited daughter.  She then nailed it to the cross.  God answered that prayer and I was able to hold the beautiful “Cross Baby” (as her mama refers to her as) earlier this week- God is so good!  Matthew and James are working on a shelving project for all the new books donated by Oasis.  Megan is starting a reading program with the kids soon to strengthen their reading and comprehension skills and to build excitement in reading all kinds of books. She has been having a blast helping the kids with their yearly sponsor calls to the United States.  The looks on both the kids and sponsor families’ faces are so precious!  Sarah, James and Matthew have really enjoyed reconnecting with the kids this week and are looking forward to many more hours of hanging out together in the next weeks. Even though we have been gone from the Hill for a year, there is an appearance that time has stood still in a way for this community. Despite this,  the kids at the children’s home have grown and changed quite a bit both physically and, especially, spiritually. Their testimonies are filled with a new sense of God’s presence, love and provision during this past year.  In their eyes, we see a hunger for the things of God and even their worship demonstrates a growing faith and trust in Jesus. Please continue to pray for our family, the children and the community here.  We are continuing to sense a need to pray for His spiritual and physical protection and wisdom during our time here (which we are reminded daily is too short).  There is nothing we can bring to this “table” that is worthy of anything- of that truth we are so sure of.  Our desire is that God will work through us- that our words would be His words, that our actions and decisions would reflect Him only. 

                                                                                                       In Christ,

                                          Scott, Kathi, Sarah, Megan, James and Matthew