Wednesday, July 30, 2008

"Reflections from our team" - Wednesday morning

Daryl Huffman wrote:
One of my prayers is that I can bring home their enthusiasm for the lord, their dedication to the church and the sacrifices they make. One example of sacrifice shown to us by the Tanzanians is that it’s an honor to be invited to someone’s home. On Tuesday we were invited to Festo’s home. It was ten feet by ten feet for Festo, his wife and child to live in and consisted of a bed, couch and table. The kitchen was in a communal hallway that other tenants shared. The bathroom was four pieces of tin wrapped around some sticks located outside of the building. From Festo’s house we went to Revina and James’ house who also wanted to share a drink with us. Offering guests a drink (coke or water) is how they show honor to guests as it is all they have to share. There were eleven of us were in their one room home so we accepted their offer as it would be offensive for us to decline. They purchased 11 sodas at a cost of 3000 shillings ($2.75US), to us this seems like nothing, to them, Revina is a teacher and makes about 15,000 shillings a month, so this was almost one weeks wage just to share a soda with us. Talk about sacrifice, this is one truly impressive gesture and so many of these people have this attitude. How do we obtain this type of sharing attitude for ourselves?
Neal Huffman wrote:
As part of the Sunday worship service, the Haven of Peace congregation wanted to honor the previous mission team from Jefferson Street Church that had been working with them all week. They took a special offering for the pastor from the US team. They placed the pastor at the front of the worship pavilion in a chair while the congregation came by and placed offerings in a basket. The Masai tribal members were dressed in their native garb that was beautiful in color and splendor. The women had long blue colored print tribal wraps on with long silver earrings, necklaces, and bracelets. As the local pastor prayed for the American pastor and his team, the tribal members stood up and got in line to give. Several of the women removed some of their jewelry and placed it in the basket as their offering. I was touched with their giving when from appearances they have very little if anything to give. I was incredibly humbled by their heartfelt attitude in giving their prized possessions when I, many times have given out of abundance with an underlying selfish attitude. God forgive me.

One day we taught on parables. The first parable we shared with the pastors was on the Good Samaritan found in Luke. We would read the verses, have them translated into Swahili, and then come back and expound on the underlying points Jesus was attempting to communicate to the Jewish leaders and people of the day. Our goal was to share with them about who their neighbor is since that is the question that the Good Samaritan story answers. We shared about how the Jewish Priest walked on the other side of the road away from the beaten man. We shared about how the Levite walked on the other side from the beaten man. We shared about the Samaritan (who was disliked by the Jews) took care of the beaten man and paid for his care from his own money. The good Samaritan treated the beaten man as his neighbor. After we shared, we asked if any of the congregation had questions. One man stood up and very respectfully asked the following question: “One day, I was walking down a road with two women from my village on our way to a meeting, in the distance we could see a man being beaten and robbed by men with knives. In our fear, we hid in the bush. Were we wrong in not helping this man?” Wow! At that point Daryl and Neal looked at each other hoping the other one would respond. We prayed, responded, and God blessed our time with these pastors.

Nikki Rainey wrote:
We are in Africa!!!! I cannot believe this and it is soo much more than I could have ever imagined! Being worried about flying seems soo silly now. In a heartbeat I would do it again and again and again. Each day seems to bring something new that I thought I would never be able to experience. The flying for 26 hrs on Friday and Saturday, the 3 hr church service on Sunday that seemed to fly by, seeing the Masai tribe, holding a Masai baby while his mother is being baptized. Monday digging the ditch so they can have water, playing with all the wonderful and loving children. They have soo much love and joy- all Tanzanians do. It really makes you wonder and feel soo horrible and ashamed that as Americans we always want just a little bit more. Yesterday, some new friends that have become soo dear to my heart, invited the entire team over to their house. James and Raveena invited all 12 Americans over to their humble home. It was smaller than my college door room, but they were soo proud to have all of us over. They wanted to buy each of us a soda. For 10 sodas, it cost 3,000 shillings. Raveena is the only one with an income right now, and she is a teacher – they make 15000 shillings a month. Buying those drinks for us was an entire weeks income. Never in my life have I spent an entire weeks income on a someone who was not family , much less someone I knew for 3 days. I was soo filled with emotion for their acts of generosity. They gave with a honest and grateful heart.
Teaching the children with VBS has been such a learning for me. Some of the children know more than we do. They share their parent’s fire and desire to learn more about Christ. But the first day the children would not respond to me, but we did teach them “duck duck goose”- They loved it! On tues, VBS went very well. We talked about Jesus feeding the 5000. Of course we asked them questions about the story, but one of them was ‘what was the name of Jesus friends. We were looking for ‘Disciples’- but they responded with the NAMES of the disciples!!!!! AHHHhh our kids would do well to remember the first few! Then we taught them ‘Making melodies” They loved it, and they sang with all their heart. Right now as I am writing, the verse that comes to mind is Matthew 18:3-4. “Assuredly I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you by no means will enter the kingdom of Heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven”- God bless these Children!!!!!

Mary Pat King wrote:
Ok for all you out there who could not believe I would go on a mission trip, I’m here. I have felt the presence of God here. On Sunday we had the privilege of praying over the Masai. I asked God to use me for them. I felt a tingling go through my body, while I prayed for Margarite as she had the flu, and Lale who wanted Jesus to come into his heart. It was very humbling. On Tuesday we stared to really make connections with the people there. On Wednesday Cheri , Deanna and I taught the women of the church. Unlike us they never interrupt or try to talk over anyone else. The humbleness of these people is a breath of fresh air. As everyone else probable wrote, we went to James and Ravena’s house and they gave us soda’s which amounts to ½ of their monthly pay! How many of us would do the same? I love this place, I just pray I come home with more humility than I left with. Praise God!

Lindsey Huffman wrote:
The VBS for the kids we are doing is becoming a hit. Each day more children come from around town to gather and learn about Jesus. We had approximately 70 kids yesterday and are expecting more today. The children here are absolutely beautiful. They are so easy to love on and they crave your attention and affection. A couple days ago after we were building the water tower, Anna took me around her house to the back where the women were washing clothes and dishes. They willingly poured water on my hands as I rinsed the sand and dirt off. Another lady sitting down noticed I had a lot of dirt on my shirt, so Anna took me inside her home and took a clean shirt off of the clothesline, which she used to wipe the dirt off of my own shirt. Wow. After coming outside, Anna noticed a smudge of mud on my arm, so again she took me around the house and personally wiped the mud from my arm with water. It was quite an experience, as Anna is only 10 years old. All of the children are very mindful of their elders, and even their peers. They all look out for each other and respect one another. If one child falls down and hurts himself, another child will come over and tend to him. James, another member of Haven of Peace church asked me yesterday what I was thinking about, “Jesus or home?” I then asked him what he was thinking about and he replied that he was thinking about praying to Jesus tonight and thanking Him for his friends, his strength, his good health, and all of the new friends he was making here. They have so little yet are thankful for so much. The first thing Abel replied when asked what the best gift he’d ever received was “his life and his education”. They appreciate the simple things in life that we so easily take for granted. I love you Mom, Dad and Grant!! 

4 comments:

Grant said...

WOW!! How incredible your experiences have been so far, and in only a matter of days! I can't wait to hear about what else God has in store for you in the next week and a half! Everyone over here is continuing to pray for your safety and ministry. The impact you're leaving on the lives of the people over there will not soon be forgotten! I thank each one of you obeying God's call to missions and for stepping up in leadership. Have some more fun and stay safe! Ps. I love you, too, Lindsey!!

Anonymous said...

Incredible !! So good to hear from the Huffman clan (especially Lindsey's call). How good to hear your voice! Glad to hear everyone arrived safe and ready to work. I know God will use each of you in a mighty way for being willing to GO and DO his will. I pray for your safety and strength every day. Be careful and know that you are missed and loved. I Love You - Byron (Dad)

Jan said...

We are so proud of you guys! We will keep checking in and praying for you. Keep up the good work!

Anonymous said...

This is really Mom. I love you Lindsey!! Your trip sounds amazing! I wish we could be there. Send our love to Daryl, Neal, and Dad. I've been praying for all of you every day. I know God is working through each one of you. Stay strong and safe as you continue to share your heart and God's love. We are so excited for all of you as we know this will be a life changing experience for all of those you come in contact with(and for each of you). I love you! Lori(Mom)