Harry & Kathy McMichael (Sharing this update from our missionaries at Calvary Missions Int'l in Tanzania)
Sorry for no pictures. We have not had internet for over two weeks. Finally had to go to Boma to send this.
Our days here are going so fast that we can hardly believe another week has gone by. We are loving every minute of it though. Every day we spend with the students, we see growth and change. Most of them have come to school wounded and broken. I love how Holy Spirit gently takes each lesson and softens their wounded hearts. There are already so many testimonies of the changes in their lives. We had an older Maasai man attending class. He was obviously an observer. He wanted to see what this school was all about, you could see he was seriously considering everything that was said. By the third class he was “IN.” You could see it all over him. This school was for him. He was actively engaged and even doing his memory verse. He was embarrassed that he only had shukas’ for clothes and went to buy some western clothes. While gone, his wife had a miscarriage. He took her to the hospital and stayed with her. This is so out of character for a Maasai man. Then he came by school to report in and say that he would be at home caring for her for the next two weeks. We hadn’t even taught the class on responsibilities of a husband yet and here he is operating in it. He was able to share with his fellow classmates and get ministry from them. Another young man, who was a business man, reported he had a terrible spirit of anger and rage. He has repented of this and is completely free. Domenic doesn’t share who they are so it leaves you guessing which one of our wonderful students it could be. A young girl asked if she would share her story. She told of how she had come to school. She was a prostitute in Arusha. She had done every kind of evil thing. The Lord had spoken to her that she needed to change her life. She began walking away from Arusha, not knowing where she was going. After walking several days she ended up in M’Takoodja, the village nearest to us, where she spent the night with a relative who told her about the Bible School. She was here for graduation. The classes she has been in have spoken truth and freedom to her. She has repented of her former life and we can’t guess who she is either. Then there are the little girls. There are eleven of them with one remaining from last year. You have guessed it, six of them couldn’t knit. There were so many tears and so much frustration. What were we to do? Esther asked me to start the jewelry classes. The very simple task of stinging pretty beads into a lovely necklace broke things mentally for the girls. As they began to string beads they were able to knit. Within two weeks they have gone from terrible tears to finished hats. Doreen had been sexually abused and then abandoned by her parents. She was a mess. Now she is the happiest girl we have and knitting perfectly. Last year, the King of all the Kenya Maasai had attended graduation because his nephew was graduating. He is so important that he has an office in the President of Kenya’s office. He is a very gentle, loving man. This year he brought his daughter Abigail with him. Abigail didn’t ever look up and wouldn’t talk, if she did you couldn’t hear her. She also couldn’t knit. It is a difficult thing to deal with when you can’t break through on the simplest of things. After just three beading sessions I got a small smile. This week I got a picture of her in the necklace she had made with a great big smile. You never know what path of ministry the Lord will use to open the door to the most tightly closed heart. Thank you all who have contributed yarn and beads for the girls to work with. Each of them has a story and I am sure that slowly we will hear them all. Our internet is so bad, we never know when it might work. But our God is amazing! Love, Harry and Kathy
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