Safe Arrival in Tanzania
We are finally here! Kelly and I have safely arrived at the Chimala Mission with Bill and Bill Cyndi Stinson after a Fastjet flight from Dar Salaam and a ride in the mission Ambulance to the Mission from Mbeya. We had a great trip here and we are so eager to start the work of getting the farm going here to help finish making this a completely self-sufficient mission effort as well as preaching and teaching.
The work they are doing here cannot be put into words. We spent some time with Cheryl Bode yesterday and she told us of the great work the Mission Hospital is doing especially in the area of malnourishment. I look forward to working with her in this area. I believe that by planting Moringa trees here and harvesting the leaves we can aid in overcoming some of the malnourishment issues as well as educating people here about the benefits of this great tree that grows wonderfully here.
We were able to stay tonight in the house that we are going to be living in here during our 6 months here. It is called by everyone here the Mays house after brother Mays who was a Dr. and lived here when it was built. It is a nice home. It is very large and they recently put a fresh coat of paint on the walls and the concrete floors. There are beautiful African paintings all over the walls that remind us of the beauty that God has created for us. I am thankful to all the workers at the mission who worked hard to prepare the house for us.
Today, Kelly Coldwater, Bill Cyndi Stinson, and Myself (and others I am sure!) will be taking a tour of the mission to learn all of the different parts as well as to learn about the land and water resources we have available. I am excited to see the already existent drip irrigation garden that was recently installed at the preaching school as well as the gardens and chickens that brother Richard Rogers and his wife have been working on. I will be taking soil and water samples to get a baseline of our soil quality and its needs. We also will be GPSing the property and using our drone to get aerial video and photos of the property. I hope to be able to accurately asses the land and its ability here to produce. There are no doubt obstacles that will have to be overcome such as an extended dry season but I am certain that with hard work, knowledge, and a united group effort we can achieve great things on the mission farm here. Please keep us in your prayers as we work hard to increase the Kingdom of God.
