This past week we received a box from the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Menomonie, Wisconsin. 
It could not have come at a better time. The contents of the box were amazing and greatly appreciated! The reminder that there are people back home supporting us and remembering us in their prayers was even more important. The past few weeks have been pretty stressful and extremely busy for us. Things in Africa are not the same as they are in the US (by that, I mean that it takes alot more work and patience to accomplish some of the things that we would normally take for granted in the US). It is easy for us to get bogged down with the problems of what isn't happening here and to forget all that is happening here. 
Everything happens in Gods timing. We just need to keep trusting and allow Him to do what He needs to do. This box of goodies really was a wonderful reminder to us that God is in control and that we have many special people back in the states who are praying for us and supporting us and the MICS project.
We will definitely enjoy all these special treats that we are unable to buy over here!
Thank You Very Much!!!!
We had the opportunity to have a weekend getaway. On the border between Zambia and Zimbabwe, lake Kariba is formed from the damming of the Zambezi river. Through some contacts that we have made, we found out there is an island with lodging and wild animals.
We spent the weekend with 2 other couples that are currently doing short term work (3 months) in Macha. Lee and Ruth are a couple from Canada, and Lee and Les are from the US.
The island did not have that many wild animals, but we didn't mind. We have had many other opportunities to see animals, so we were really looking forward to relaxing with some friends and taking a break from our busy schedules in Macha. We even had the opportunity to take a sailboat for a spin around the lake! What a wonderful weekend!
Just wanted to give you an update you on the progress with the seeds that were sent by the people of First Baptist Church in New Hampton, Iowa.
Here is a picture of Mrs Esther sorting the seeds. 
This past week, she visited 26 families that are having maize (corn) crop failure due to the rains coming so late. These families will now have the opportunity to grow an alternate produce crop, which will play a major roll in helping to feed their families. It has truly been a blessing.
A wonderful package arrived this week!
Our friends from First Baptist Church in New Hampton, Iowa (we lived there 25 years ago) wanted to help out the farmers in Macha. Many of the people in New Hampton are farmers themselves, so they wanted to help in a way that was very personal. They sent a large box of seeds. There are all different types of vegetable seeds. We were not sure which ones would grow best here in Africa, so they sent many different varieties as a test to see which ones would do well.
We have been talking to people here, and the maze ( corn) crop will not be good this upcoming year. Although the most recent harvest is ok, it has become of evident that there will be a shortage of maize with the next (current) growing season. The rains came late, altering the growing season, so most of the people will not have a sufficient harvest. They eat maize 2 times a day, once as porridge and then as nshima (it looks like grits or mashed potatos) for the main meal with a soup of some sort. 
We have enlisted the help of our friend Mrs. Esther who is a local resident of Macha. She said the seeds will really help, as it will give the people an alternative to maze, to plant and then eat. She and Mrs. Grace will go to the surrounding local villages and pass them out to the poor and non working people. She will show them how to plant them and then go back for check ups to see how they are doing and even help them save the seeds to replant. Mrs. Esther will also go to the churches and ask the pastors for names of people that are not working and need help.
It never ceases to amaze us how God works through such a wide range of people. Who would have thought that people that we haven't seen for more than 20 years would be so generous and helpful toward the people of Macha. We are blessed to have such wonderful faithful friends. Thank you very much!...from us and the people of Macha!
One of the goals of MICS is to have 30% of our students come from the local population of orphans. This semester, we would like to introduce you to a 12 year old boy named Christopher.
Christopher's father died about a year ago and his mom abandoned him a long time ago. He currently lives with some relatives. He has never been to school. The mission school and the local government school said that he had missed his chance (he was too old) and they would not take him in at school. Everyone pretty much had written him off.
An American that lives here in Macha collected donations to sponsor a scholarship for him at MICS. We put him in grade one the first few weeks then moved him to grade two. He is now reading one vowels words and is picking things up pretty fast even with limited English and experiences. He has trouble doing some of the work as he does not know what some of the things in the pictures on the work sheets are. We hope to advance him to another level by second term when Deb comes (Deb and Doug Hammes are Flying Mission missionaries from Iowa, we worked with them at Dayspring School in Botswana) and Mid can tutor him more. We are very proud of Christopher and the rapid progress he has been making.
The other day was surely a Kodak moment...Christopher came to school with a pink sweat shirt and a pair of bright orange shorts! New and clean takes priority over color coordination when it comes to clothing here in Macha. Colors are not specific to boys or girls. Often, the brighter, the better. He loved his outfit and thought it was great that he had on nice new clothing to wear to school...and we could not be happier to have him as a student!
Menomonie Alliance Christian School (MACS) has done it again!
We want to thank them so much for their generous support of MICS (Macha Innovative Christian School)! The students held a fund raiser to help with the building of the new school in Macha. The student council also matched the money that was raised. This event brought in more than $200 for MICS, bringing the total amount that they have donated to $550!!
Thank you, to all the students and staff, for your willingness to support this amazing project in Africa. We are continuously blessed by your financial support, your words of encouragement, and your prayers.
We wanted to post a picture of the students from Menomonie, but unfortunately we do not have one. If you have a picture of the students that we could use, please email it to us!
Thank you again!!!!
Well, as many of you may or may not know, the Macha Bed and Breakfast (otherwise known as our home) had to close one of its bedrooms due to a problem caused by pesky bats in the attic. The picture below shows the big gap between the walls and the roof, where they were flying in. Can you believe it...Ronda lived in a home with bats???? This problem was getting progressively worse and worse as time went on.
With the help of Lee and a couple of our brave Macha friends, they went up into the attic and cleared the bats out (believe it or not...there were hundreds of them!). We then sealed up the gaps as much as possible to prevent them from retuning. The bats had caused quite a bit of damage to the ceiling in the bedroom, so we needed to come up with a clever way to fix the problem.
Ruth, Lee's wife, helped us hang some Zambian chetengies (sheets of printed traditional fabric) to help redecorate the room.
You can see that the guys (Gil and Lee) even got involved. All those hours of watching TLC and HGTV decorating shows while in Wisconsin sure helped out! We are happy and thankful to say that the bedroom is in great shape and open for guests!
Just how many bricks does it take to build a school? Well, I don't have the exact answer for you right off the top of my head...but I can tell you that it sure takes alot!
Ronda, along with Greg Smith are surrounded by about 1/2 of the needed bricks. Thank you to all who have so generously contributed toward this project. The rains of rainy season have put the brick making and construction on hold, as the weather is a very important part of the brick making and drying/curing process. We are also trying to raise some additional funds to continue with the building. We hope to resume the brick making and construction in the very near future. Thank you again for all your support and prayers.
