Pederson August 2022

I pray this finds you hearty and hale in God’s goodness. I am so grateful that I was able to see so many of you this summer. Thank you for taking time to meet with me and share words of encouragement. I am loving being back in Moshi. The Village is very quiet right now as school is out, but as always, we stay busy!

In May before school let out, we officially celebrated our first group of secondary graduates. They have moved out of their Rafiki cottages and have been reunified with extended family or community members. Six of the graduates have been accepted to and are attending Advanced Level Secondary Schools and two are awaiting to begin college in the fall. We also had the local fire department visit the campus to teach about fire safety. Our Village is thankful to have such a good relationship with our local community fire department.

Graduation celebrations

Learning about fire safety

Our grounds workers have been hard at work updating our dining hall ceiling and walls. I am always struck by the willingness of our staff to give of their time to help Rafiki. Two of our Rafiki Mothers are coming twice a week to take care of the cottage gardens. Also, our seventh graders have a big national test this fall. Thank God for faithful workers!

A light kitchen remodel in progress

Grade 7 hard at work

I also had the opportunity to visit Mwika Bible College along with my fellow Long-Term Missionary Laurie Eastup. It is a college on the slopes of Kilimanjaro which is owned and managed by our church partners, educating evangelists and pastors. They are recipients of Bibles donated by the Rosemary Jensen Bible Foundation. Laurie and I delivered to them our visit. Pictured below is Laurie with the Principal of the college accepting one of many boxes of Bibles donated to the college.

Some of our primary teachers volunteered their time to do half day revision with our students. I have also set up meetings with groups of our local widows. Please pray that the meetings will be fruitful and that we will be able to develop new products wisely.

National Worker Bible Study

While I was in the States, I had a prayer request which was shared with some of you. We had an inspection about a month and a half ago where we were given a list of expensive adjustments to make. I was able to check into what happened when I returned. Friends, God works! Our inspection was sent to the government and instead of sending us an official report of all we had to do, it was filed as seen with no additional changes needed. God covered the eyes that He needed to. How good is our God who answers all that we ask and more?

I have agreed to another term with Rafiki through 2023 and I have quite a bit of moving going on over the next few months. I will fly to Addis Ababa on October 8 to work at the Rafiki Village in Modjo, which is about 45 minutes outside of Addis Ababa. After three months I will then fly to Accra, Ghana on January 3 to work in that Village. I do not have any additional plans, but the Lord knows better than me!

Scenery from a walk near the Village

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