OCU students going home.......

Today is the last day the Oklahoma Christain University students will be here at the mission.  Tomorrow morning, we will leave early for Dar Es Salaam.  The whole day will be traveling.  Then on Wednesday, we are planning a short excursion to the beach before going to the airport for there late flight out of Dar.  I have so enjoyed being a part of their group.  It is amazing how close a group grows when they spend a couple of weeks living together and working for the Lord.

Several of the girls in the group have painted pictures on the walls of the primary school and the Chimala Bible Institute.  They have really done a great job.  The boys tore down a walking bridge which was about to fall down and have been working really hard and long hours to build a new steel bridge.  They are not sure they will have it completed today, but it will be mostly done.  They are so proud. 

However, the event which affected us all the most and drew us together was the fire at the secondary girls' school.  It is very hard to explain to you the intensity of that night and the days/nights following.  When we arrived at the fire, it was huge.  It appeared to be a lost cause.  My thought was we would just have to let it burn itself out.  However, as soon as we were sure no one was still in the building, many people began to work on putting the fire out.  People from the village could hear the fire alarm going off and they came to help.  We worked side by side for hours putting the fire out one bucket of water at a time.  It was amazing.  We actually kept a large part of the building safe!  Everyone's safety was the number one goal and putting out the fire was the second one.  God used man/woman, young/old, christain/non-christain, Tanzanian/American working side by side for the good of the community.  Something which at first glance seemed impossible, became not only possible but a reality.

I am praying that God will direct me in the way he wants me to go in the mission field.  Chimala sure seems like a good place to be.  There are 500 students to reach out to as well as many villages and village churches.  The work here is stable and in need of some additional hands, minds and hearts.  I know that the language would be one of my first challenges here.  I would need to learn Swahili in order to be more effective.  However, there is a good Swahili Language School nearby.

Today is a beautiful day outside with very light breeze and the temps in the mid-80's.  This is the day that the Lord has made.  Let us be glad and rejoice in it.