Sewing Class Bursting at the Seams

Sorry for the play on words, but if you were here you would have to agree. We have 22 girls in both our sewing classes on campus. We need to put the girls into a new location where they can consolidate their space and food. We need the house some of the girls are staying in and the room the other girls are staying in. So, we are going to use two of our classrooms to house the girls. They will be right next to each other and will be able to utilize same areas in kitchen, bath area, toilet area, etc. Their food will be combined and will be documented how much they have put in and taken out and then we will assign a couple of the girls to cook each of the meals. Right now they are all responsible for their own food and fixing it. But it is getting to be too big a project to have 11 fires going at one time or having the girls stand in line to wait to fix their food. We have a cafeteria and kitchen area that they can use at the school so we are going to implement it this week.

We have been so busy here; getting bricks, sand, gravel for our buildings. We have the walls up on 3 buildings and the walls will be started this week on our fourth building. Once the walls are done on the fourth one, the fundis will be assembling our metal trusses for the rafters and then our metal roofs will go up. I think we will be putting up T & G (tongue and groove for those who don't know what T & G is) wood slats for our ceilings in these four buildings for they will be housing people and we need a ceiling to keep the temperature warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

We have the Bowmans coming in about two weeks and we are really looking forward to them coming. Time is really flying quickly, and it really does when you are having fun or when you are busy. I guess you can say we have some of both – fun and busy times. Anyway, the Bowmans will be living in a room off of our house until their house is ready.

Janet has just left to go to Mafinga to pick up 13 bunk beds for our girls. When we told the girls, there were a lot of smiles and hi-fives being done. Some of these girls are sleeping on mats or the floor. So this is really exciting for them. The Lord has really been working on campus and is blessing the work we are doing here. We are not without troubles. Satan likes to do his work too, but greater is He that is with us then he that is in the world. One of our springs, the one that houses our drinking water has either dried up or there is an issue with it where it is producing hardly any water, and what is coming has a foul taste. So we have to boil water to drink until we can dig up the tank and see what the problem is.

The Lord has never promised us life without problems, but He has promised that He has provided a way to get through it. So it is in each of our individual lives, we may have problems, but the only safe way to get through is God's way. Trusting in Him and doing things His way we will survive. Life may seem full a problems or just one big problem, but God has the answer for each and every one. Look to Him, talk to Him and He will direct your path.

Gotta get back to work.

Signing off from Mago, TZ, Africa…

Deniece

Good-bye to Barry

We have had a young man here for the last 2 months from South Africa that has been helping out here. He has driven Janet's big truck to fetch bricks, gravel, and sand from either on campus to job site or from off campus to our job site. He has also helped construct ceiling trusses for our houses using the one-day-church parts. He has been a great help with the labor force but spiritually also. For the last month he has preached 4 sermons at church, which means they were in English and I was able to go to church for this past month. Baraza translated for him into Swahili so we were all truly blessed. It was good to go to church and listen to a sermon instead of watching a DVD on computer.

He will be going back home and letting the Lord lead him as to where he will go next. He has left the work force a couple of years ago and really feeling the Lord leading him into the mission field. He is a relatively new Adventist being baptized 4 years ago. He is open to the Lord's leading and is trusting in His direction. He says he has been humbled by working here and prays the Lord never to let him forget his experience here.

We have started bricks on our girl's dorm. We put in the plumbing under the floor for a legitimate bathhouse. We have 3 shower drains installed for 3 actual "running water" showers, 3 squat toilets and one sink all feeding into a septic that is being dug. It is exciting to see progress in this area. Now to see it in our own house, we have yet to see. Janet says it would be a shame for them to get one before us. We have contacted a plumber who says he will come and install ours. Janet has his number – we'll see, it does seem to be closer now than what it has been…. The footer has been poured for our fourth building this year which is another staff house besides the girl's dorm. So, this year, we have a boy's dorm and staff house down at the school campus and up the hill next to the church and across the walking path on our newly purchased property is the girl's dorm with another staff house. None of the buildings are quite done, but we hope to have them done by December. Down by the waterfalls Janet wants to build another staff house. I don't know if that will be this year or not; depends on money and time.

Last night (Saturday night, 8/7) we, Barry, Janet and I went over a schedule that we would like to incorporate here when the dorms gets occupied. We do not want a lot of idle time on the kid's hands. We are planning classes two nights a week, vespers Friday and Sabbath evenings, prayer meeting, game night, and campfire night. We would like to incorporate the young people in the sermons and prayer meeting nights and in some of the other meetings so that they can witness to other young people and also gain experience at leading out at church. It is getting close to the time that this will be put into action. Praise the Lord!

Our Advanced Sewing class starts tomorrow in one of our new classrooms; and Janet would like to move the carpentry class on campus by September/October. There will be a lot of activity going on here soon and we hope that the Lord will be seen on campus. Please continue to pray for us and the work that is being done here. Also pray that the people will see Jesus in us.

As I have been reading the Bible and also Jere Franklin's book about survival in the time of trouble, the quote that says something along the line of: "We have nothing to fear accept when we forget how He has led us in our past…" keeps coming to my mind when I look at my life in the last 10-15 years and can see how our Heavenly Father is leading in my life. That quote that I quoted last blog from Mount of Blessings also keeps coming to my mind and I can say without a doubt that even though at times I did my own thing and even at times strayed from the Lord, He has been faithful to not give up on me and to continue to work in my life. I praise the Lord for His ever loving patience with me, His guidance, and as I continue to grow I praise the Lord as He works with me day by day. I also pray for you and that you will gain an experience that will draw you even closer to the Lord. May His will be done in each of our lives.

That is all for now…

Signing off in Mago, Tanzania

Deniece