Dearly beloved friends
We have been out to a new Masai area where one practically is running over hill and dale. Never have we been on such a bad road.
There was 10 km dirt road with stones as shown in the picture.
We went to see the pastor and his wife who were very encouraged that we wanted to come. The meeting was outdoors because they do not have a church. The pastor is a Masai and he started a church among his people in an area where there was practically no Christian activity. The pastor never ever went to school. As a boy he was shepherding domestic animals in the field, and he never learned to read or write. When he became a Christian as a grown-up he got a strong desire to attend Bible school. Very quickly – in a miraculously way – he learned to read and write. The ability seemed to be given as a gift from God to him.
They told us about women who come running with a cup and ask to have it filled with maize. But they have neither money nor food. It is not always easy to pastor under such difficult conditions. Fortunately we had brought a bag with 100 kg of maize to the pastor, who also was needy.
We could see for ourselves that there was an urgent need for help. The place looked like almost a desert. Everything was brown, dry and dusty because of a prolonged drought. They got their drinking water from a hole – it looked like oil.
It must be really hard for the families to not have any food to put on the table. The children get big bellies and other signs of malnutrition.
According to the pastor most families got only one meal a day, consisting of a small mug of ugali. We have therefore decided to give emergency in this new area together with our daughter, Mirjam. This means that at the moment we are running emergency aid to three different areas of the Masai country: Mswakini, as you may recall, Losimingori, and Olkokola.
A sack of maize with 100 kg costs 220 Danish kroner. We will be so happy and thankful if some of you would like to help these poor people. Fortunately it seems that they will get a crop this year, as they now have rain, but they can only begin to harvest in late July.
During maize distribution, each household receives a large bucket of maize of 20 kg. Two weeks later we come back and give them a similar portion.
Almost every Masai “boma” (household) have a donkey that is used to transport their goods, as they often travel over large distances. They get their drinking water very far away – it is often a trip of 6-8 hours.
We hope that some of you reading this may want to help, so we can buy maize and help them survive until they get a new harvest.
Hjælper man den hjælpeløse, udlåner man til Herren; han betaler rigeligt igen. Ordsp. 19:17
Account Number:
IBAN Account: DK 7097 1207 4179 3075
Swift/Bic code: JYSPDK2G
Please mark it: MBU TZ ” Emergency”
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”.
