Martin Mar 2019

As I think of the work here in Rafiki Village Tanzania, I cannot help but see all the amazing opportunities of impacting hearts for Christ. In the mornings, I see nearly sixty children from homes all around the mountain, rushing to eat a small breakfast before heading off to their classrooms. As soon as they are in their classrooms, these children (ranging in ages from three to six) begin their day by worshiping God in song, sharing memorized scripture verses, and hearing a new story directly from God’s Word.

Day students rushing to breakfast

Then, I see our sixty resident children finishing their breakfast and lining up for the morning assembly where they begin the day together in prayer. After this they too are off to their classrooms for the same Bible lesson that the pre-school is studying, just at a deeper level. While the primary students rush off to their classrooms, the mothers, kitchen staff, and grounds staff and other support staff gather for a hymn and the same Bible lesson as the school children. We end this session with prayer and another hymn.

Resident children lining up for school

School opening

At the same time, the teacher training college is led in singing and the same Bible lesson at a deeper level for about forty-five minutes as they begin their day. We are only missing the secondary students who are currently going off campus to a national secondary school until our laboratory buildings are built as part of having our secondary school registered. On Tuesday and Thursday evenings, these fifteen students take time to study the same Bible lesson as the rest of the Village.

With these Bible lessons each day, we are able to touch all the way from 3-year-olds up to our oldest employee. Many are true believers in Jesus, but others are indeed learning more about Jesus and His work and will soon make a decision to follow or reject. What an awesome responsibility and yes, opportunity we have here at this Rafiki Village.

Currently the fields are plowed all around us awaiting the beginning of the rains. The seeds are ready to be dropped in the soil and the rains will water them and they will grow into an abundant crop. We have the same opportunity here in the souls of our children, day students, teacher training college students, and staff. As these come to Rafiki each day, the soil is prepared, the seeds are dropped, and they are watered. For many we will be able to see the harvest! Of course, we need more workers in the harvest and you too can be a part of it in many ways. You can come here to our Village on a short-term mission trip for two weeks up to a year. You can become a full time missionary and God will give you amazing fruit. You can teach these small ones, or the large ones and see the results even in this life. For you young ones, God will redeem your time and for the old ones, what a wonderful way to have a wonderful retirement with fulfilling work. For those of you who cannot come, we do appreciate that many of you support us in prayer and financially. You too are watering the “seeds”.

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