Archive for the ‘Africa’ Category
“Sending Off Our Pastor Again”
The countdown until James’ departure for Africa on June 16, 2010 has come and gone. Earlier today, Wednesday, June 23rd, James called me using his Motorola phone with a SIM card. He is adjusted to the environment in SakilaVillage, Tanzania. I was relieved to hear that! I am sure all of you in the Smith Family and at Morning Star are glad to hear it as well.
Since his arrival, there has not been electricity in the village, or more accurately, the supply has been intermittent. James does not forsee having electricity to power his lap top or the Internet until next week. In light of that I will post these “send-off” pictures in the meantime.
When I spoke to Bishop Eliudi Issangya this morning he was exhuberant when declaring that, “James had arrived safe and sound. ” Eliudi will host James during the visit without the help of his wife, Mama Helen, who died on February 2, 2010. She will be missed greatly.
About to say good-bye again ~
On a personal note, I am writing a daily journal this time around of James’ trip to Africa. We’ve never taken the time to count the exact number of trips he’s made. The estimate of twenty-one or so has served to make the point that he has gone there a lot. On “Day 3″, which was last Friday, I pulled out James’ old U.S. Passport and attempted to count the Tanzanian, South African, Mozambique-ian (heh-heh), and Kenyan visas stamped on the pages. I wasn’t able to do it which was daunting for me since I love to count things. hahaha… Anyway, he’s been using his new passport since the trips in 2003 so I would only have half the number anyway.
Paul trying to pack James into the back of the Subaru.
Here’s a shout-out of “thanks” to Paul Grimsland who drove James to JFK on June 16th and there’s a good possibility that he will be making the trip down to JFK again when James returns. Don’t tell Paul I said that though. Paul is punctual and reliable and a good friend who’s heart burns for doing what he can to provide educational opportunities for impoverished youth through H4C child sponsorship programs. I can tell you that Paul loves these kids! By way of making that point, read some of his MBELE! blogs posted earlier in the year on www.Mbele.org (You will find the archive box on the right side of the web page.) Another tremendous brother in the Lord, Vinnie Smith, has driven James to and from airports many times over the years. Wow, personal drivers sure make the difference in getting started from home and getting back to home.
Pencils for Africa from Radnor High School
This backpack in the picture above holds a lot of pencils, more than one thousand, and a lot of caring by the students of Radnor High School which is located west of Philadelphia in the great state of Pennsylvania. I plan on writing a blog titled, ”The Journey of the Pencils”, to tell the fascinating story once James sends me a picture of the recipients in Africa. However, this will be the first “thank you” to all those PA residents who assumed a role in this effort to demonstrate concern for the children in an African village school.
When we spoke earlier today James asked me to thank all of you within Morning Star Christian Fellowship for your love, prayer & financial support and for reinforcing his ministry time in Africa. Eliudi sends his deepest thanks as well.
Sarah
In Memory of Helen Issangya
Mama Helen with one of her daughters Rogathe and one of her grandchildren, Shirley.
The first time I went to Africa was in 1993; that seems like two lifetimes ago. Since 1993 I have been back to Africa well over twenty times (thank you MSCF!). Most of these times I have stayed in the home of my dear friends Eliudi and Helen Issangya, in Sakila, Tanzania.
The first time I rode from the Kilimanjaro Airport to the village of Sakila I felt as if I had travelled to some foreign planet, or possibly the moon, that’s how strange it was to me (and also to my good friend, Mike Wood). Now when I go to Sakila it is truly my “second home.” Other than my own house I feel most at home when I am in Sakila. Much of that credit goes to Mama Helen Issangya who saw to it that I was welcomed and cared for over the last seventeen and a half years. This dear woman, wife of my great friend Eliudi Issangya, and mother to six children, has now passed on to her eternal home, a greater home. A land that will never grow old.
This blog is a small attempt to show her the honor and respect that is due to her for taking care of me and the many other people who showed up at her home in need of care. Mama Helen was always there for me. She made sure that I had the food that I needed, the clean water that was necessary, and she showed great compassion towards me as I went through everything from malaria (1996) to a heart attack that caused me to be hospitalized and have surgery in Amsterdam in 2007. She had suffered so much with her illness that she knew how to care for those who were in pain or distress.
Helen treated me with such respect. I hope that I sincerely returned that respect back to her. Thank you Mama Helen for giving yourself to all of us for all these years. I, and many others, African and Americans, will never forget all that you did for us, and the “Mama” that you were to us. Be at rest, Be at Peace, Mama Helen.
Helen Issangya went to her eternal home on February 2, 2010.
James R. Smith
“With My Last Breath!”
Recently I was privileged to be in the audience when Tanneken Fros delivered her passionate update of work among the bereft orphans of Beira District, Mozambique. Twenty miles outside of Beira is the town of Dondo where Tanneken Fros has been residing since 2001.
A rapid synopsis of her life beginning with ancestral Holland went like this…born in Paraguay, educated in the USA, worked with handicapped youth in NYC & Connecticut, then with drug-addicted adults in Israel. After this brief introduction her listeners are NOW held in rapt attention since her personal history tells us that she has ” been around!”
For 450 years Mozambique was a Portugese colony. Over one million people were taken as slaves during the 1700′s alone. Revolutionary war began in 1962 and ended in 1975. Civil war followed, leaving more than one million dead, and thousands of war orphans. Aggravated by droughts and famine, Mozambique plunged into economic collapse. Fighting stopped in 1992 and two years later UN troops oversaw the country’s first free election in years. Today there still remains much need for rehabilitation and development.
During the last decade, Mozambique has vied with other African nations for an unenviable status – the world’s poorest country. The average age of death is 35 years old, and the average annual income is less than $900 USD. Due to poverty, war, diseases, AIDS, and natural disasters, Mozambique has an inordinate number of orphans. It is estimated that the nation is now caring for more than 1.5 million orphans. Many choose to respond to these statistics by throwing their hands up in the air. Tanneken and we, at HOPE FOR CHANGE, have chosen to throw our arms open wide.
To accomplish this, Tanneken pairs local families with the forlorn children in holistic ministry to their spiritual, emotional, and physical needs. Education is on the top of her list for all of “Tanneken’s Children” as she oversees and directs funds for school fees, housing, medical, transportation, clothing, and training in cottage industries, carpentry & woodworking, and farming projects. Sounds like a tall order…and it is!
Go back with me to that Sunday morning during Tanneken’s presentation and I’ll take you to the part when she answers the often put-to-her question, “How long will you stay in Mozambique?” Her enlivened eyes roam across the faces of all present and after a pause pregnant with hush, she shouts, “With my last breath I will remain and care for my children!”
Here we Stand!
- Praying on the Land for new So. African Bible School
This is the spot! Not just any spot, but the spot where we prayed and claimed this land for God’s use. As you can see we are a pretty mixed bunch. These are the people (excluding me) who have carried the load of seeing this Bible School through from it’s birth pains to the place where they are now sending out young men and women into fruitful ministries in the Kingdom of God. It is yet another example of God taking people with vision, and nothing else, and bringing into existence something that will have eternal impact beyond what any of us can imagine.
What a Joy
Let me introduce you to John Matthew. John Matthew ni sauti yangu = my voice. John has been an interpeter for me and many, many other Americans who have come to Sakila over the years. If you have ever had to use an interpeter you know that they are more valuable than words can express. Not only has John been able to interpet my words, but over the years we have come to know one another so well that he can tell what I’m thinking and say in the exact way that I would say something if I were saying it in English. As you can tell from the picture we are comfortable enough with one another to have some fun while we are speaking together. What a gift he has been to me (and others.)
John is a man of a few words, but his words are honest, sincere and encouraging……absolutely no fluff with John Matthew. However what I admire the most about John is that he is a faithful and loyal man as he serves the people. John is the man in charge when Eliudi is away. He is unshakeable and an example of a someone you can count on when others falter in the time of trials. While many have withered John has stood, and it is a joy to behold a faithful man. “Prov 20:6 Many a man claims to have an unfailing love, but a faithful man who can find?”
John Matthew it has been a joy to work togehter with you.
James R. Smith