Tuesday, July 22

We woke up to a gentle rain this morning, even though this is supposed to be the "dry" season. Actually, the weather has been better than expected. Temperatures have been in the 80's but it's so terribly humid that it seems hotter. There's no such thing as a "good hair day" here!

The second marriage enrichment has begun. It's being held at the home of the Tanzanian couple, Edmond and Dorothy Lyatuu. During the session our people at the Ziem house are hosting the missionary children and presenting a scaled-down version of VBS for them. This all takes place in the morning with VBS at HPCC continuing in the afternoon.

Our men bought all kinds of building materials yesterday for the repair projects. They purchased several 16' lengths of lumber which were delivered on a bicycle. What a sight!

Neva, Everett, and I had the privilege of going calling with Pastor Alphonce and Rochelle this morning. The first person we called on was a young woman named Janet. She lives with "Mama Jackie", a member of the church. Mama took her in when Janet had no place to go and was suffering from depression. Janet's desire is to apprentice to a seamstress. Her tuition would be only $15 per month for 12 months, but that is a great deal of money for her. I think we found a solution for that problem.

Next, we visited Dorothy, a widow from the church who has 9 dependents. Her home has no electricity and floods when the river rises. Both of these women live in abject poverty and would gladly work if they had the opportunity. In spite of this, they have such sweet spirits. We're still trying to come up with an idea to help Dorothy, and we're praying for both households.

VBS drew in even more children today...over 90. The ground had dried up from the rain,, so the kids were able to play their games outside.

The 2 injured people I wrote about earlier are doing well. Please continue to pray for Janet and Dorothy. Visiting them was the most moving experience of our trip to date.