Martin July 2018

Dear friends and family,

As we are quickly finishing our fourth year in Tanzania, we marvel at all the ways God protects, feeds, clothes, and encourages us in our ministry. Recently, Sara (fellow Village missionary), and Peggy were able to take a part day “birding” trip with a friend from our local church. It was an amazing time looking at the diversity of God’s creation and seeing many new and beautiful birds.

I was reminded of The Teacher’s College (RICE) has grown this year, not so much in numbers, but in the education level of those attending. It is wonderful to see that the comprehension of English is better and the students can navigate the material with better success. We see much enthusiasm among these students for studying the Word of God as we make our way through the study of Romans.

Preschool at Karata started by a former RICE student

The children are growing “like little weeds” this year, evidenced by the number of shoes we are having to purchase. As we have added a basketball team to our current tennis team, and are developing a volleyball team, many new shoes are finding their home on the feet of our athletes. Many of our children are talented and diligent athletes. They often win their matches, and three of our younger children were chosen to play on a Kilimanjaro area soccer team that only lost in its last match again a team from Dar es Salaam which is a really densely populated area of the country.

Active children means occasional “repairs”, sometimes even stitches!

We have changed our school schedule to align with the schedule of the Tanzanian National schools. The changes are small but have impacted us slightly, especially as we have volunteers visit for MiniMissions. I am amazed at how God has opened opportunities for them to serve in ways that are different from their expectations, but mostly they have an even better experience than expected.

Rafiki School classroom in session

We are thankful that God continues to protect our health that we might serve Him here in this beautiful and amazing country.

Please pray for us for safety on the roads here in Tanzania. Also pray for us as we take six weeks in September/October for Peggy to have cataract surgery. We hope to see many of you when we are in the States during this time. Pray that all our children and students at the Rafiki Village Tanzania will come to know the Lord in a personal way. Please pray with us for certification of our Teacher’s College and our Secondary school.