Flight delays

So after a flight problem and cancellation we have been scheduled on Flight 9243 tomorrow June 30, from Charles de Gaulle leaving at 3:00 pm Paris time to DFW arriving 6:30 pm Dallas time.  Of course, the flight is listed as “delayed” already online and times listed say “estimated”.   The airline comped our hotel stay and gave us food vouchers for the hotel restaurant.  Sponsors Brian Millet and Tammy Carrell have taken several of the students to see the Eiffel Tower tonight and are enjoying the unexpected bonus time in Paris.  Will post again if there are any changes to that.

Our last night in Africa

Sorry I didn’t get a chance to update in the past couple of days.  We are all fine and enjoyed our safari here at the end of our trip.  Everyone got to see lots of animals and enjoy Gods creation here at Lake Manyara.  Tonight we had our last meeting and took communion to dedicate our trip and all that we’ve done to the Lord.  Tomorrow morning we will leave here around 9 and stop on the way out for one more short game drive.  Several of the group will be doing a “treetop” safari where they walk across some kind of tree bridges to see animals below.  The rest of us normal people will just ride around in the Jeep’s while we wait for them.  We will then head back to our hotel in Arusha where we left all our luggage, have a quick lunch and then head to the airport!

I cant believe this trip is almost over!  We have truly enjoyed this group in particular.  They have worked so hard and served joyfully the whole time.  We will miss them but I know you will all be happy to have them home safely!  Thank you so much to everyone who has supported us through giving or prayer.  We could not have done it without you!

Sunday June 24

Today we headed out early to take part in 2 services at a nearby Anglican Church.  Jon spoke at both services and we enjoyed the fellowship with this group.  Our students took turns and helped out in the children’s church and also sang a couple of songs in the services.

After church we came back for lunch and then headed out for some shopping and fun time.  We stopped back by the Kindness Children’s Orphanage on the way to see the finished roof that we provided over the kitchen area.  We were able to purchase them an oven which they were overjoyed about.  The head teacher came out just beaming with happiness and thanked us over and over.  This was something that will really help them as before they just cooked over an open fire pit in the back area.  This, obviously, is always a danger with little ones running around, so they were overjoyed to have a proper stove and kitchen set up.  Also the simple roof has created a whole new common space outside where they can eat and have group activities to avoid crowding into the small rooms inside the home.  They had a TV set up and were watching soccer out there when we arrived.

We then headed to the Shangra coffee shop and craft village.  This is a foundation that supports people with special needs by letting them use their artisan skills and selling their goods in a gift shop.  There were weavers, glass blowers, as well as many other handicrafts.  We then headed back to the Masaii market where there are tons of little small individual shops....kind of like First Monday in Canton, but extremely high pressure bartering going on.  I couldn’t handle it and got back on the bus after one row of shops.  The students all found some good deals though and it was just a fun afternoon of relaxation.   We came back for dinner and our evening devotion and now headed to bed.

Tomorrow will be our last full day here.  We will be going back to the Tuvaila School for Disabled and speaking with the parents and kids.  We also plan to do a puppet show of the Max Lucado book, The Crippled Lamb, and deliver all the walkers, wheelchairs, mattresses, pillows, and mosquito nets we purchased for them.

Thank you for continuing to hold our group up in prayer!

Saturday at Tuvaila

This morning we started out with a devotion from Tammy Carrell.  Tammy is a friend of Jon and I from our Adult Bible Fellowship at Lake Pointe Church in Rockwall.  She graciously agreed to come on the trip just 3 weeks before we left when she heard that we needed a last minute sponsor.  She is amazing and has been a huge help to us on the trip.  She is certified in first aid and so has been doctoring kids toes and various small ailments as well as working hard painting, digging, helping with VBS and encouraging all of our students.  Anyway, she spoke on the topic of “Would you rather hear a sermon or SEE a sermon?”  See poem below but we were all encouraged to live out our faith in practice everyday to really make it ingrained into us.

After breakfast, the group headed out to work all day at Tuvaila Disabled School.  This was our final heavy work day while the disabled kids were not there.  We finished the playground and painting several classrooms. Monday we hope to spend the day playing with the kids while the Millet family talks to the parents.  We were able to find and purchase the mattresses and mosquito nets for all the bunkbeds and  walkers and or wheelchairs for the disabled kids who needed them.

My kids and I have stayed back from the heavy part of the physical work at Tuvaila, as there is a very uneven ground surface and heat and exhaustion causes some health risks, especially to Marshall.   But they have been helping me prepare for VBS each day, prepare bins of giveaways to different groups and making friends with the people here.  They have done a great job helping out each day at VBS and playing with the kids at the school for Disabled.

Tomorrow we will be going to an Anglican Church Service where we will be leading two different children’s groups and speaking at 2 Services.  In the afternoon we will be going to do a little shopping at a market and having a little down time.

Please continue praying!  Thank you all so much for your support and encouragement!

Poem by Edgar A. Guest @1934
“Sermons we See”

I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.

The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;

And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
For to see good out in action is what everybody needs.

I soon can learn how to do it if you’ll let me see it done;
I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.

And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,
But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do.

For I might misunderstand you and the high advice you give,
But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.

Friday - Last day of VBS

Today we started out the day with a devotion from Steve Wolcott who told the first half of the faith story involving his wedding ring.  We heard the last half tonight.  For those of you who have been on the trip, you know what we are talking about.  If you’ve never heard it before...well you will just have to join us next year.

After breakfast, the group headed back over to the Tuvaila School for Disabled to work on the playground and paint some of the buildings.  This involved a lot of moving dirt and rocks!  Our students have been such troopers working really hard and cheerfully.  Tomorrow we hope to finish the main part of all the work and also buy them some mattresses for one of their dormitories.  Some of the Disabled kids are boarding there.  Someone else had built them a dorm and put bed frames in it, but they had not been able to furnish any mattresses or bedding so it has been unusable.  We will also be purchasing them a few wheelchairs and walkers with the money so many of you have generously donated.  Monday we will return to speak with many of the parents and kids and do some modified VBS activities.

This afternoon, we had our last session of vbs at the Lutheran Church.  The kids had a wonderful time and we were able to leave all of the materials and music there with their pastor for their youth teachers to use.  We discovered that our students are actually multi-talented as they were leading music, acting in various skits, leading games and helping tape and staple and glue 100s of crafts!   They are amazing!

Everyone seems to be well now, including Jon.  Thank you for the prayers and please continue to keep us in prayer as we finish out our last few days of ministry.  The time always goes so fast!

Sincerely,

Jenni Millet

Tuvaila Disabled School and VBS

Today we began our work at Tuvaila Disabled School in the morning.  They have an area for a playground that they want us to level and fill in with dirt and sand since it is currently full of rocks and very uneven for any child to play on, let alone a child with a disability.  Unfortunately, today our fearless leader Jon, woke up sick and we had to postpone our talk with the parents.  But our group got a lot of work done, painting, moving rocks, and starting to level the playground.  We will be there again tomorrow, Saturday and Monday.  On Monday, the parents and kids will come so we will spend some time encouraging them and doing a shortened VBS program for the kids.

This afternoon we had our fourth day of VBS at the Lutheran Church.  We were able to clearly present the gospel and had the kids each take a black strip of cloth representing their sins and lay it on the cross.  It was a wonderful day.  Also, for those of you who have come with us the past couple of years, one of the oldest boys from Huruma Orphanage, Japhet, showed up at our VBS and has gotten married to one of the older girls who grew up there.  We were surprised and happy to see him there!  Tomorrow will be our last day of vbs with this group of kids so please pray that they take away a knowledge of Jesus.  It has been a lot of fun!

Please pray for health in our group.  Jon has had a fever last night and today, and seems to be better now, but a couple of others are feeling a little under the weather now too.  Not sure if it’s a small bug going around or just exhaustion.   We sent everyone to bed early for a good nights sleep.

Sincerely,

Jenni Millet

Last Day at Leganga

I’m sorry the photos don’t seem to be loading on here.  Feel free to visit my Facebook page at Jenni Green Millet for photos.   I’m really not sure what is wrong with the blogger technology.

Today we went back to the Leganga School for Disabled and finished painting their school block and had fun playing with all the kids.  Many of the kids were with us last year, including Jackie, Faith, Gift, Hope, and the one nobody forgets: Obama!!  Obama is a handful and it was all we could do to keep him occupied and happy.  At one point, Brian turned around for 2 seconds and found Obama with a wet paint roller in his hand, squeezing all the paint everywhere.  He is adorable and clearly loved by his teachers and community.

We brought 2 large bins full of clothes, toys, and school supplies for them as a parting gift.  Thanks again to Candace Redden and the TCA kindergartners for donating such awesome stuff!  We also gave another little girl a walker who didn’t get one last year.  They are in need of new desk chairs for their students since many are breaking and have sharp plastic edges.  Also, I know it’s a large thing, but they could really use a vehicle for the school as many of the kids come from far away and often cannot get there.  Many of the families are struggling with basic needs like food so transportation to and from school is difficult.  Please pray with us that God would continue to meet their many needs.

Today was our last full day with them but we are hoping to be able to supply them some new chairs before we leave.  They had all the parents and students gather at the end of our work and presented each of us with a “Shuka” (a large fabric that can be worn in many different ways).  We prayed together and had a nice time of fellowship.

We swung by our hotel for a 30 minute break for lunch and then headed straight to the church for day 3 of VBS.  The kids are really loving it and it has gotten more crowded each day.  Tomorrow we will be doing the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection so please pray for the kids to respond if they do not already believe.

We then came back for a late dinner and more preparations for tomorrow.  I think we are,all worn out but it is so worth it!  Tomorrow we go to another school for Disabled where the Millet family will be speaking to their families about their value and purpose in Christ.  Then off to our VBS from 4-6ish.  Please pray for stamina to finish the work before us!  Sorry this is short...Exhaustion!