When I was a little girl of about 6-7, my mother took me to a mission club at my church
in Oslo, Norway. We small girls in the club were raising money for missionaries working
in far-away countries. We had bazaars and yard sales, and we cut up sheets and linens in
long strips to make bandages for the clinics and doctors at Madagascar and Ethiopia. We
were always amazed by the missionaries' stories and pictures, when they came home. In
those days there were no videos or DVD's. Only noisy projectors showing pictures on the
wall. The stories from Africa amazed me most! HOW they had to struggle! - with heat
and animals and malaria! - just like Doctor Livingstone! I can remember their stories about
fever-ridden malaria patients sleeping - and dying - on the dirty ground. And how they had
started a school under a shady tree, no books, pencils, or ANYTHING. The children
learned by memorizing. How would that work today?
My parents were far from wealthy. In fact, I was the only one in my class who did not have
winter boots, simply because my parents could not afford it. In 4th grade, my Christian
teacher, who taught us about the Bible and mission work, assigned us a composition:
WHAT WOULD YOU DO IF YOU WON A MILLION MONEY
ONE MILLION! I thought if my parents would get half of that, I would SURELY get a
pair of winter boots! Now, the other half..........? Hhhmmmm.......I remembered the
missionaries' stories and pictures. I decided to spend the other half on building a school
in Africa, so these children did not have to sit under a tree. I turned in my composition, and
the issue of winter boots and African school was out of my mind! I did not win a million,
nor did i get winter boots......
Through my teenage years and adult life I was always involved in some kind of mission
work, for Asia and for Africa - through the church, in the Girl Scouts, or in the Youth
Club. As a Girl Scout I joined in mission trips to Africa three times. As a member of
the UMC (United Methodist Church) I was active in mission as a member of the Mission
Committee, later also as a chairman.
AND DID WE WORK!
Locally, nationally, and internationally! We sent mission delegations to Mexico and
India, and also to Africa where we started some projects in the village of Ilula, Tanzania in
- Ilula had tremendous water problems, a walk of 1 to 2 hours to get a bucket of water
was normal Children and youth were orphaned by parents dying from malaria, TB,
HIV-AIDS. One medical doctor had to cover a population of 110,000 people. Drought
kept the harvests to a minimum or below. Illiteracy was about 60%. At 7th grade most of
the students would never set foot in a school house again, due to poverty.
To assist with education, my church in Washington started the ILULA ORPHAN
PROGRAM (IOP) as an out-reach project, which would provide students with school
fees from sponsors. This support project was run and managed from Washington, Indiana,
first for five orphans! Then the number grew to 23, then to 70, then to 82, then it passed
- ....................The needs seemed to be endless......
For years I had been thinking about working in projects like these in Africa, but how do you
do that? How do you leave your job and home and family and friends....your comfort
zone......to jump out in the unknown so far away? Wouldn't it be dangerous? What about
tuberculosis and malaria? What about AIDS? Would the native Africans still run around
with painted bodies and drum up some dances to get rain, as we have seen on the
documentaries? Would the witch doctors cure me with juice from dead frogs if I would
get sick? Would I live in a mud hut with a straw roof and be the only white person in the
area? Could I learn the language? I had a million questions............. Rather than finding
the answers, I pushed the issue aside. Again and again!
God was definitely reminding me about this poor continent, and Ilula in particular. I prayed
and prayed about this, for years. But I was reluctant. I did not find the peace about what
to do. Until the year 2000! Then I felt God had spoken to me. And I made a decision!
I decided to go - for 1 year!
-MAYBE 2!
Have you heard about the book: "If You Want To Walk On Water, You Have To Get
Out Of The Boat!"? I believe so many of us want to serve the Lord in the mission
field, but we don't dare to. Getting out of the boat, we believe we will sink! We have all
the promises in God's Word, but we don't really believe them.
I got out of my boat! I made a big jump! I was ready - but only for ONE year, MAYBE
two! I sold my house, my business, my car, and alot of what I thought I could not live
without, bought a ticket to Tanzania, hoping that Christian friends would remember that
I was without income for a while - and I left! I started my first, insecure steps, walking
on the water!
I arrived in Ilula with my two suitcases in October 2001, not knowing much about what
the future would bring. At that time the Sponsor Program supported 120 students. My
intention was to get the Sponsor Program established under a good committee of four
native friends. I would teach them some business administration, some book keeping,
fund raising, and how to keep it all rolling. That was all! Then I would return home, to
continue my mission work from my safe haven in Washington.
The first job to get accomplished was to get an elementary school built. Sixteen
Mennonites from Indiana came to our rescue, and helped raise this building in 12 days!
As I shoveled dirt on the top of the foundation, something hit my mind as a lightening!
My composition assignment in 4th grade! I wanted to build a school in Africa! This was
exactly what I was doing! Thinking about how God had a hand in this, I got goose bumps!
As my days passed in Ilula, I was amazed by the poor natives naive, but strong, genuine
trust in God. In all their struggle they referred to "Mungu" (God) as the one in charge, the
one supportive of their lives, the one to make the decisions. I have never seen faces shine
in Christian Joy as I have in Africa, nor have I witnessed Christians sing with their BODIES
in worshiping! I have never experienced a selfless agape love for one another as in this
little Tanzanian village. In prayers they always asked "Mungu" for guidance and directions.
For what to do when the food pantry was empty, or when there was no money for soap,
salt, and sugar - when a child was sent home from school because the fees were not paid,
or the feet had no shoes on - when sickness struck, and there was no medicine - when a
dear one died and no one could pay the carpenters for making a coffin.........I learned more
about trust than I had imagined. Yes, I had jumped out of my safe boat to try to walk on
the water in an African village. But it appeared to me that as I was getting my feet wet,
hoping that my safety vest would carry me, my African friends had trust enough to march
across the ocean! I slowly realized that they had never even had a boat to jump out of!
My one year in Ilula turned into two, into three, into four and five! I have now started
on my sixth year. Even without steady income, being the only white person in the village,
having had malaria 3 times........ I am still floating! God has shown me that He is able to
use me as His tool, if I only have trust! This work is not about the person from Washington,
but about the Lord's Power behind, making it all possible.
