Blogs from Arusha, North, Tanzania, Africa - page 58

THE RWANDA GENOCIDE "When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love has always won. There have been tyrants and murderers and for a time they seem invincable, but in the end, they always fall - think of it, always. Mahatma Gandhi ******************************************* I experienced some of the most horrific truths known to man today. I attended the International Tribunal for the Rwanda Genocide in Arusha over the past two days. Belguim Luietenant-Colonal Claise was testifying to the facts as he experienced them in Kigali, Rwanda in January of 1994 - a time when the country was on the brink of the genocide. Yes, 1994. These grotesque acts of evil seemed to happen while the world looked the other way and those that were not looking away intentionally were ... read more

Who is this little one standing at the door? Have you ever had a bad day, but there was one little face that made you smile! Have you ever known of someone who had been delt a hard life, but through it all continued to show God's love and grace in everything they did? Have you ever just felt like Life wasn't fair? Have you ever wanted to help someone, so bad, but there just wasn't much you could do? Life is a daily challenge here in Tanzania. Life is filled with harsh circumstances, and here in Africa we encounter trials and troubles daily in the lives of the people we come into contact with, befriend, and adore. Its hard to see someone you love living a hard life, suffering unjustly, and there beng very little ... read more

As easy as the words came to describe what we were going through when we were preparing to make this trip, I am finding it difficult to find the right ones to fill you in on what life has been like since we have arrived. Not the general life itself, as that is all coming along smoothly; but the real life that is going on here in Africa. A plethora of emotions transcends words. The look on a face can say more than the right string of letters in the right combination, put together with punctuation marks. What can you say about, for example, the little girl in the first picture? She was playing with this piece of red plastic on the way to one of the Bible studies we went to today. She was unconcerned ... read more

Love the little children! The end of a long exciting month is finally upon us! With it being Halloween today the missionary kids decided to dress up in costumes for last night's devotional over at The Smelser's house. Dr. Danny & Nancy have been such a blessing to have around. This is their last week in country here with us, please be praying for them as they return home this coming Sunday- Monday! The Kids were all just precious and had a great time parading through the living room sharing with all the adults just who, or what they were supposed to be. we had a Witch, a ghost, a queen candace, a queen's servant, a cheetah, a chinese cook, mary the mother of Jesus, and stuart who was just himself! We are so blessed with ... read more

The Short rains of Tanzania have slowly started to begin! We have been having a little rain each day this week, up until today! For two days in a row it just poured down... It made for a hard time trying to get the laundry to dry on the line, and did quite a number on the roads! As you can seein the pictures! We drove over to Elly & Neema Martin's house on Saturday to pick up their family to come over for dinner, and it was a messy trip! I took these pictures on the way over there and back! Mud holes 2-3 feet deep, and some holes not worth finding out just how deep they really were! Yet, the African people are still walking around everywhere about their daily activities, as if ... read more