Dear beloved friends.
We have had a few sad days as one of our good friends has been beaten badly by her husband.
The couple is not divorced but the husband left the wife and their 2 children many years ago. Despite that he still comes home now and again but only to take her money.
This time something terrible happened as he came to kill his wife.
He came in the evening and brought a big panga (big knife) and a hammer. The first thing he did was to lock the children into a room, the children are 12 and 9 years old.
Then he dragged his wife into the living room where he started beating her with the hammer. She recieved many punches to the head and in the end she passed out.
The husband left the house when she passed out and lay there in a blood pool. The neighbors had heard the loud screaming and came running to help.
Neighbors and church members got her to the police station as it is necessary with a police report to be able to be admitted to the hospital. The oldest of the children told the police the whole things even how the mother had screamed.
Fortunately they found a member of the church that could drive her to the hospital in Arusha about 120km away. They arrived here at the hospital at 4 am in the middle of the night where she was still unconscious.
Unfortunately she was not admitted into hospital as the poor people did not have enough money to pay. But by the mercy of God the hospital agreed to help stop the bleeding.
They called us early in the morning and we quickly said: “hurry up and get her admitted, then we will make sure to pay the hospital bill”.
The x-ray showed that the bones in her jaw were broken in many places. Unfortunately no Dr. can operate her here in Arusha, so we had to fly her to Dar Es Salaam (700km away). While I write this we have just succeed in flying her down there as she would not be able to sit 12 hours in a bus while having such great pain. In Dar Es Salaam there is a very good Dr. who is a specialist in broken bones.
Her mouth is so badly hurt that she can neither eat nor drink. They had to sew her inside the mouth. Fortunately the teeth have not been damaged. We now pray that they in Dar Es Salaam can save her jaw!
Also her hands are very badly hurt with deep wounds as she tried to hold them up in front of her face to protect it. It was the intent of the husband to kill her he said that loud and clear so even the children could hear it.
This female pastor called Lightness we have known for many years. She went to a pastor college and got a 3 year degree and is now pastor in a small village near the game park Lake Manyara.
We visited her church not so long ago. A few years ago she started a pioneer work from the bottom to start a church and now has 60 members. She has done such a great work to reach these people with the gospel even though the area where the church is located is very muslim.
The children came here to Arusha as they were so afraid that their father would come back home. They are very frightened and cry a lot of the time and also keep asking if their mother will survive.
We hope that he will be caught so Lightness and her children once again can live in peace.
With this greeting we would like to ask if there are anyone who would be willing to help her by covering the costs for the hospital and the flight to Dar Es Salaam? Her family is extremely poor and do not have a possibility to help them economically.
The bible says that those who help the fatherless children and widows will get a big reward in heaven.
Thanks for your prayers for Lightness who really need a miracle. Please also remember the children that are in chock that their father could do such a thing and try to kill their mother.
Account Number:
IBAN Account: DK 7097 1207 4179 3075
Swift/Bic code: JYSPDK2G
Please mark it: MBU TZ ”Hurt woman”
The pictures are from when we last visited her church. She is so happy and like as a pastor.
Love
Tabitha and Torkild
The father disappeared and they have had no contact with him for several years. Ruth is a bright girl in school. Her school decided to sponsor her schooling because they are really poor. For various reasons the school recently shut down and Ruth had to find another school.
The mother cannot afford to send Ruth to another school. Ruth’s grandfather is a Maasai and he wants to have her back in Maasai land. He does not want a girl to get eductaed, but instead follow the Maasai traditions for girls: to be married. Maasais think that only boys should get educated.
Ruth’s mother told me that Ruth’s grandfather had received an offer from an elderly, wealthy Maasai who wanted to pay a very large dowry in the form of many cows in order to marry Ruth. Ruth had been desperate because she wanted to stay in school, get her education and choose her husband when the time was ripe. For this reason the mother and Ruth came to our office asking for help.
We trusted God and sent Ruth to a good, Christian school where she is thriving.
We received a sponsor who will support her until Form 4 is completed. But Ruth wishes to continue for another two years and graduate from High School. If any of you would like to support Ruth for a few more years please write us or send a gift to our missions account. Please earmark it “Ruth”.
