March 2014 - Building the school, TWO Safaris, and guests

The group from the U.S. stayed until the 15th of this month. 

One-Day-School crew and some school staff

The building of the One-Day-School campus consisted of 12 buildings, 10 classrooms, a bathroom and a chapel/hall.  Jason (our director) and a crew of workers worked very hard for a long time to get the site ready before the group from America arrived.  They had to prepare all the foundations and do all the cement work.  Other arrangements had to be made before their arrival.  Jason and Antionette worked very hard to try to make this effort as successful as possible.  I praise the Lord for all that God accomplished through them.

Foundations are ready!  Thank you Jason and your crew.

Jason and Antionette - two big assets to this project. 

Joshua helped here and there.  He helped with the charging of batteries for power-tools.

Joshua running the battery charging station the first day.

First injury.  Dr. B put two stitches in Gary's finger

Behind the scenes we are trying to keep everyone fed

The group LOVED all the fresh fruit.

Things are starting to come together

More buildings framed

Sides going on

Roofs and doors on and some walls

Finishing touches to the outside

Doug helping to build some of the desks with Craig

The outsides are done!

Inside each class over the blackboard "Jesus Loves You"

Inside each class there are pictures

Jesus loves all the children

Jesus' return - the first resurrection (1 Thess. 4:16, 17; Matthew 24:31; Luke 21:27; Rev 20:5,6; Rev 1:7

Buildings complete

We stayed in Iringa through the 16th to get most things wrapped up there.  We were thankful for lots of help from the Kibidula team to get the buildings finished.  
After the buildings were done, the group had a safari trip planned.  We got to go with them! 
After two years of living here and visiting Africa since 2010, we finally went on our first SAFARI!  And actually we went on safari TWO TIMES in this same month.  We enjoyed seeing many of God’s beautiful animals.  It was a huge blessing for us to have these gifts given to us.
Upon leaving, the group from the U.S. left many things that needed attention.  Kitchen things needed cleaned and packed away for next year.  The mosquito nets needed repaired and cleaned.  There were lots of clothes and bedding left behind to wash.  With it being the rainy season, it took me two weeks to get all that completed.  Sunshine is so helpful for drying things!  Everything is all packed away, ready for them when they come again next year.  We look forward to working with them again, if God allows.
Just three days after returning home, our friends Rita and Fletcher from Wisconsin arrived.  (We spent several days with Rita and Fletcher last year when we went “home” to the U.S. to visit.  They took us to the airport for our departure also.)  It was great to see friends again.  Fletcher will be staying here for a year or more to build the airplane.  We spent the next two weeks with them doing various things, giving tours, going on a safari and going on the return trip to the airport for Rita to Dar es Salaam. 
For the trip to take Rita to Dar es Salaam to return home, one day was scheduled for safari in Ruaha National Park.  Other stops on the trip included going to a beach for a few hours, as well as the Masai markets in Iringa and Dar es Salaam. 
At the Masai Market in Dar es Salaam, Joshua slammed the truck door closed on his right index finger as he was locking the door upon arrival.  I praise the Lord that we knew exactly where to get ice cold water (and ice) there in the market due to a previous stop in this market.  We immediately got super cold water from a vendor there.  We made Joshua keep his finger cold for about an hour (not without much protesting.)  After that, we hardly heard a peep out of him about it.  During that first 30 minutes, I wasn’t sure if it was broken or not.  He couldn’t control his crying for a long time.  It did look really bad for about 30 minutes.  His finger was severely compressed after we got the door unlocked and opened.  It was discolored on both sides and a small area where the skin was broken.  God had His hand over it and has brought FAST healing.  
We said good-bye to Rita at the airport with much tears and prayers.  We are thankful that she arrived home safely.
I saw more accidents and broken down vehicles on this trip to and from Dar es Salaam than on any previous trip.  I praise the Lord for His constant watch-care. 
I am so thankful for all the prayers of our friends.  God loves to answer prayers.  When we pray, it opens the opportunity for God to do that which He longs to do for His children.  He loves us so immensely.  We understand so little about how wonderful He truly is.  We only see glimpses of Who He really is.  He is WONDERFUL!
Satan is working so hard to deceive people into a false understanding of God’s true character.  I am so thankful for learning more and more about our Loving Heavenly Father, day by day.  He is so patient. 
It is such a privilege to be His child.
PICTURES TO FOLLOW ON THE NEXT POST!