Dear Cherished Interested,

It’s in the cracks.

You know, that crack between the pours of concrete that make up the sidewalk, that crack in the board at the bottom of the fence, and that crack in the plans that we humans make. That is where weeds, life, pop up. That is where the amazing can happen.

When serving in both Africa and Alaska in the past I was always transported there with a plan. Then, as is normal with our human plans, cracks form. Cracks form and open up into something different, not expected, and the one with eyes has a choice. The one with eyes for anything as opposed to only the plan, the expected, can choose to regard that crack as either something to be feared, or an opportunity. Fear is a waste of energy.

We are surrounded, thanks to your prayers, by people with eyes for anything. We are surrounded, thanks to your prayers, by people who can see even us. They can see us in spite of our strangeness to this place. They can see us in spite of the parched dusty landscape down here in the foothills low on the mountain. They can see us even as the long missing rains have those with mini-trucks, motorcycles, and hand carts shuttling water to family. Family they see also in neighbors. Family they also see in friends. Family they also see in the stranger. We know we can be seen as strange even at home, in the U.S. Strangers here we are.. yet.

Hilda is tutoring three near brilliant ones loved well into brightly glowing hopes for the future. She is tutoring them in their home. A home they share with each other as siblings swept together into hearts of affection, trust, and determination of deeply effective parents. This is her story to tell, mine to watch.

The plan yesterday was to be given a coffee-farm-tour as appreciation for participation with the work of an amazing nonprofit. This diligent group of nearly all local folks that has successfully uplifted children and families both. Uplifted families and children to the point where more children have been returned to their families than still reside in the immediate and conscientious care of the non-profit.

This work reminds me, in the best ways, of South Africa back in 2005 where the work to keep the survivors alive in a community with an HIV/AIDS prevalence of 90% was so huge that the labels describing Christian faiths fell away.

Folks from all the local South African Christian faith groups, and too many foreign groups to name, all provided something to the massive problem of keeping people alive and helping them to grow into a new life out of unbelievable death. An unbelievable death-toll proved by a graveyard of fresh graves that covered a larger area than the village those buried there had called home.

You see the work of saving that community’s remnant people, a few tired grandmothers and children raising only children, many sick and likely soon to lie with their parents just outside of the village, sprung up in the cracks between Christian labels.

In much a similar way this non-profit has sprung up in the cracks between the Abrahamic Traditions. All three, Jewish, Islamic and Christian have leaked and continue to leak love out into the cracks between them. That is where this non-profit has sprung up to serve remnants of failing or failed families.

Almost always those remnants are too young to care for themselves. That is where this non-profit of overwhelmingly local folks work diligently to forestall the failure of families due to endemic poverty seeking for every child a home, either with uplifted family or with a family built of others like themselves and their new Mamas and Babas for the time they need to grow.

Like other works that bloom in times of desperate need that God breathes life into from any and all willing directions, this one wisely chooses to diligently work itself out of business, by the help of God. Hence a morphing and partnering with other groups into other things like education and their joyful thankfulness for the presence of Hilda.

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Finally, what happened yesterday..

We were sitting in a pre-coffee-farm-tour lecture in which the organizer was trusting us to be patient students to a young apprentice lecturer and up the hill comes one of those with eyes for anything bringing a beloved local Pastor with her to meet.. me.

The crack opened, the lecture graciously, even joyfully, forestalled itself, and a beloved local Pastor was rocked in his chair by our story. Rocked so deeply that the crack in the day’s plans became a most thorough day blooming to be spent with him.

To Pastor’s truck Hilda and I went. To Pastor’s home to check on work with his bio-gas from cow manure digester and most importantly to check on his sick grandson. To Pastor’s church, all the while, questions answers, questions answers, then..

I was trusted and put to work. It started with me being put into the precious job of counselling Robert and Ruth, two of his large flock intending to be married. After starting this in the sanctuary, we made our way to Pastor’s office and I brought Hilda into the process. Hilda and I were in the midst of answering questions and this brave amazing Pastor who had just met us.. picked up his phone and left us to the work unsupervised.

.. There was also time eye to eye with a son of this congregation struggling and feeling alone, frustrated, broken and powerless in his marriage as his spouse is unwilling to meet together with him and Pastor..

Then food.. oh, and we must stay for another couple..

Paul and Mary are also to be married.. We went to work and yet again Pastor left us most predominantly alone with his precious people, trusting us to love, listen, answer and challenge while trying to prepare a young couple for a life together.. daunting yet beautiful. Yes, Hilda was asked to pray at least as many times as I was.

Beautiful also the Evangelist of this congregation, a joyful woman serving her community in this capacity for the same 36 years as Hilda and I have been married, who came to greet and beam at us, encouraging us greatly.

This is something you prayed us here for..

We were not prepared for the discovery that our 36 years together would be seen as valuable to those of this place. We were not expecting that our willingness to sell home, board a plane and come with only hopes and no plans would be seen as anything but crazy let alone valuable to those in direct charge of a church full of precious people many they have known since their birth.

It is okay to be unprepared.

It is forcing Hilda and I to face situations that grow in the cracks with a faith that reflects the faith empowering your precious prayers making our way before us. Keep it up!

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Prayer requests:

For Rain

Thankfulness for what we have seen and experienced.

Thankfulness for the many receptive and encouraging local folks, some now dear and challenging as family.

Thankfulness for our being used in ways we were unaware of until we were in the midst of them.

Thankfulness for beautiful answer to our prayers and yours.

For a Tanzanian Pastors 6 year old grandson with Tonsillitis.

For preparation and calm for the following invitations borne from yesterday’s breathtaking inclusion and use:

A wedding on the 20th

A wedding on the 24th

Pastor taking time and effort to collect and take us in person to service this coming Sunday at The Bishop’s church..

.. after many questions and much discussion in English and Swahili between Pastor and Evangelist while including us both ..

.. Pastor taking time and effort this coming Monday to collect and take us in person to a college in Moshi, TZ. This college is about an hour away towards Kilimanjaro, is Pastor’s own training college and one with international students who may share some of my crazy for studying scripture with Tanzanians who know how to survive and love God in deep adversity so very very much..

Our health to get stronger, our acclimatizing to come along, our hearts to be open, our wits to be sharp yet far less important than The Spirit’s precious prompting and willing provision of words, affirmations, memories and scripture to share.

Am I frightened? You bet! Is that fear a waste of energy? You bet!

Thank You for holding us up in spite of our imperfections and failings. God uses those too, whether we like them or not.

Thank you, Thank You, Thank You.. Prayers, your prayer, makes all the difference..

Vern W

May Life be as Music to your Heart - May Music be as Heart to your Life 

- May Heart be as Life to your Music -