The Whole Story--minus the angels' part :)

Wednesday night we were sitting around in the living room after putting the kids to bed, when Dave got a phone call. Thus began the events that would unfold for about the next hour. Josh and Amy Miller, our teammates, had been sitting in their living room (this is around 9) when three guys came up their driveway. They were casual and were calling out the traditional “hodi,” which announces one’s arrival. When they got to the Miller’s door, they claimed they were police and asked to be let in. One was wearing the uniform of a soldier. Josh refused and picked up the phone to call Dave and tell him, “There are some guys here who really want in…They have a gun!” and the line went dead. They had become increasingly agitated when Josh picked up his phone, and then pulled out their gun and tried to bang the door down. We have always wanted secure doors on our houses in case of theft. We have bars on the windows and a metal door outside the heavy wooden one. Even without shooting at the door, they were in the house within minutes. They had already shot twice into the house itself, both Amy and Josh getting down on the floor to avoid getting hit. After they got in, Amy ran to the office to hide and the men grabbed Josh and began beating him with a big stick they had. They kept yelling for dollars (meaning US dollars). At that time Hannah, the Miller’s oldest (who had been sleeping, along with the rest of them) started calling out because she had been woken up. Amy heard her and ran across the hallway to her with her phone in her hand. One of the men followed her but she managed to get in the kids’ room and lock the door (the other two children were in another room sleeping). The guy went outside and got a massive rock to knock the door in (a bit excessive, as the indoor doors could just be kicked in). He threw it against the door once and at that moment Dave came in our car, leaned on the horn to distract them, and all three of them ran outside immediately. They shot the car door that Dave was standing behind, Dave ran behind the other vehicle that was there and they shot twice again when they saw his cell phone light up to try and call someone. During the time Dave was there, Amy managed to get all the children in the shower and Josh locked the door again and got under the table.

After a couple shots, Dave decided that it was probably better to go back through the tall grasses and try for more help. At this time we didn’t know how many men there were, only that three were in the house.

If you have been to Mavuno, you will understand how isolated it really is out here. It is so peaceful, and we enjoy an amazing view and not the hubbub of the city. We border the lake in some places, and there are hills all rocks all around. However, because of this, it is difficult to hear from Tanner’s/Miller’s house to our house, or over to the village center. Typically if there is a robbery or someone needs help, there will be a whistle and call for help in the local center. One of our staff ran to the village to ask for help about this time.

Back at Josh’s house, Josh had been beaten quite badly, had gotten them money, and then they told him to lay down on the floor, while they held a hammer in their hands. Wisely, Josh refused to do this and told them he could get them dollars from the office. They told him to take them to the office right away.

Not knowing this, Dave and I were frantically discussing what to do next at our back porch door—Dave outside and me inside—and we heard a very loud shot that hit above Dave’s head. Dave went one way around the house and I ran inside, locking the wooden door behind me. Before I got to the hallway door, I could see the men and Josh on our porch—Josh looking very bloody. I ran into the kids’ room, told them to get under their beds (they were waiting right next to them), grabbed the baby from our room and piled in a corner. We prayed and prayed and prayed. We could hear the men in the house, and then Dave’s voice calling to them. The dogs followed Dave when he came into the house and the guy with the gun told him to stop or he would kill him. Dave continued on, he said it felt like a dream, telling the guy that he could get the money he wanted. Dave didn’t know Josh was with the men. Dave got in the office, moved one of the guys out of the chair next to the safe, sat Josh down and started getting stuff out. He pulled out envelopes of money, bags of coins (we continue to laugh at this, because they weren’t worth very much, but were VERY heavy), and while he was doing this he put all of our passports down to the side (we had short-termers who were leaving today, which would have been impossible to pull off—not to mention the rest of us trying to obtain 14 other passports). As soon as they took the money, they dumped Dave’s backpack out that was in the office and put all the heavy coins and money in (and inadvertently dumped out a huge money envelope of ours that was worth much more than all the coins put together). Then they took off down the road, we assumed to a waiting boat.

Dave and Josh went back to get Amy and the kids…the villagers came…MANY police came…our friends from Mwanza, an hour away, came, to pray and talk to the kids and do whatever they could (Aaron, one of our friends asked Carter why he didn’t blast the guys with his light saber. Carter said, “I know! It was in the other room!” )…and we finally went to a fitful sleep after 3.

Since then there has been one major lead on these guys. We are praying God gives the police wisdom (as we gave them diesel)  and that they are able to follow up in a wise way.

The longer the time between us and this incident, the more we see God’s hand in every single detail, and the more aware we are of His leading and guiding us, even when we felt panicked and alone.

We are absolutely in awe at the love and prayers of the Body of Christ. We have been totally bombarded with people who said they have prayed and are praying. We know for sure that GOD answered and is still answering those prayers. You all are amazing. THANK YOU.

"I will lift up my eyes to the hills - from whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved. He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper! The LORD is your shade at your right hand! The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD shall preserve you from all evil - He shall preserve your soul! The LORD shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this day forth and even forevermore! "Psalm 121


The kids--they look like they're doing pretty well, don't you think?! :)

Second post about robbery

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have prayed for us. We have been so amazed and humbled by all of you who wrote. THANK YOU.

Thank you for praying for peace for all of the children. Yesterday we talked during lunch about what they saw and heard and felt. They were all open and they all said, “I was SCARED!” but they also laughed about certain things and were very upbeat. At the end I asked them what they saw GOD do, or what they could be thankful for. Abby Miller (6), who had been hiding in the shower with her mom and her siblings while the men were in their house said, “I was thankful to get out of the shower, cuz I REALLY had to go to the bathroom!”  And then we went on a walk in the afternoon over to the Miller’s house (Tanner’s house) to see the door fixed and everything cleaned up except for the bullet holes in the wall. That was good for all of us.

Josh, Dave and Amy spent yesterday at the hospital, finding out that his arm isn’t broken. That is a huge praise.

The regional police chief, the top dog, arrived yesterday morning. He was a VERY kind and compassionate man, and also very committed to finding these men. Though they don’t have the technology or equipment we do in the States, they have TALK, which is a major bonus. Everyone knows everyone and everything, and they talk about it. Along with this, however, people also say all kinds of things about people they don’t like in order to get them implicated. SO it gets rather confusing, but the police are doing that job. They are also patrolling our area for the next 10 days.

As you can imagine, we are rethinking our security issues, and will continue to do so. We have had many discussions as we have gone into beginning our campus. You can pray for us as we decide how to do things—how to build a community without having armed guards everywhere (which doesn’t always work either, as they can be paid off and help out—not unheard of). We have always felt safe here, and not unreasonably so. There has been no theft at any of our homes, even petty theft, but the isolation here presented the perfect opportunity for these guys. We are almost certain the men came from the lake, which our property borders, as they were on foot. They didn’t know Mavuno at all, and didn’t even know where our office is, which everyone around here knows.

We have been praying for our relationships with the village for a long time, and last week were again disappointed as they called us to a meeting and never showed. We have had many problems with the main guy (and the other village leaders say they have MAJOR problems with him, too). But on the night this happened, we had probably 60 village men who came to help us—late, but they came, and they brought their pangas and big sticks and other “weapons” and we have no doubt they meant to go get those guys. We were so thankful the village was willing to help, especially knowing there were guns involved. The next morning MANY village women came to say sorry that this had happened. It is important to them that we know they are sad for us. It is also an amazing opportunity to tell them that GOD rescued us and that HE is the only one we can hope in. We pray that our joy is evident and that we use every opportunity to show our love for and trust in GOD.

It is early in the morning as I write this, and I can hear the fishermen singing their chanting songs as they pull the fish in from the lake. We are grateful to be here, and praying that God will use us to be fishers of men! This is a dark area, full of witch craft, and we pray that JESUS CHRIST will be known in Kitongo!!

Thank you for all of your prayers. As we think through all the “what-ifs,” we also rest in the fact that GOD led us to do exactly what we did at the time, and we can trust in His leading. We are humbled and amazed at our GREAT GOD and continue to be very thankful that we have each other around as well!! 

First post about robbery

Psalm 57:2-3

I cry out to GOD Most High, to GOD, who fulfills His purpose for me. He sends from heaven and saves me, rebuking those who hotly pursue me; GOD sends his love and his faithfulness!
Many of you have heard that we were robbed at gunpoint last night. We wanted you to know that all of us are safe and at peace this morning.

Three men shot into the Miller’s house, beat Josh up and took whatever money they had. Not content with that, they asked Josh to take them to the office (our house). They came here, shot right above Dave’s head (he was outside at the time) and bashed in our door. Dave and Josh emptied the safe and they left almost immediately.

To say we were scared is an understatement. To say GOD rescued and protected us is an even bigger understatement.

We praise GOD that in His sovereignty,

1. Josh was not injured any more than he was. He has a broken arm and was beaten, but the men seemed to intend much more.
2. Dave arrived at Miller’s house right as the men were trying to get into the room with Amy and the kids, giving them time to get all the children together in the bathroom.
3. Dave was shot at four times, pretty accurately, and they missed every time.
4. All the children were extremely quiet, even after being woken up and shoved under beds. Even Kate didn’t make a peep.
5. The police are taking the situation very seriously and have promised to do what they can to catch these men.

Please pray for us, as we are a bit shaken up. More than anything, we all feel extremely thankful to be alive and all of us safe. PRAISE GOD for His provision and protection. He is our provider, our great GOD and He gives us every breath. We are more aware of that than ever!

Please pray for the children, as they were all very scared last night. All of them were praying, though, and quoting Scripture (Psalm 23 has taken on new meaning!). We praise GOD for their faith and pray that instead of being afraid, they would see how very GREAT their GOD is!

Please pray for justice to be done properly, and that we would be a witness to our lost village and even those men if we ever have the chance.

WE LOVE YOU! We thank you so much for praying!! WE know God is here, was here, and has a great plan for Mavuno and each of us!

"If you humble yourself as a little child..."

We have been reading together about different ways to study the Bible and have a quiet time. Last night we read, "Change your posture when you pray--sometimes kneel, stand, etc." This morning I was having my quiet time in the living room. Jake and Carter were there, too, reading their Bibles. When Jake was done, I looked up and he was down on his knees right there by the couch, praying. What a great example to me.

The more we watch our kids, the more we are convinced that it isn't anything we could say or do that would make them love GOD. Only GOD can do that!

Let the little children come...

To Bible Club! We are enjoying so much our Wednesday time with the little kids from our village. Last week a lady who was working for Mavuno asked if she could come. She was so excited when I told her she was welcome! I love hearing their voices singing praises, their attentiveness during the story, and their excitement at the snacks and coloring. We pray that some of these precious children may come to know our Jesus for themselves. Please pray for energy on Wednesday :) and that their hearts will be open to really hear about God, who loves each of them intimately. This is a long clip from yesterday, but hopefully it gives you a good feeling for our singing time!

Mavuno Happenings

Lauren and Mariam, one of our first children on-site

We may live in the bush, but things have been hoppin' around here! At times it has felt like 1 step forward, 18 steps back, but we are thankful for what the LORD has allowed us to accomplish, and want to be enthusiastic while trying to inculturate our local African phrase, "slowly, slowly is still motion." Hmmmm...

SUNFLOWERS!


We planted two acres of sunflowers to experiment with. They are a good crop for Mavuno because the monkeys, porcupines and bush boar leave them alone (these animals destroy MANY of the people's crops). After harvesting more than 500 kg of seeds, we were able to press over 140 liters of oil! This was super exciting and may be promising for a cash crop for us in the future.

Drying out the seeds

BUILDING!

Unrolling pipe for the water line

After completing the Mbugua's house, placing our first three children in it, we had a HUGE rain. The next morning, water was coming up through the FLOOR of the new house, due to all the drainage from the hill. Water filled all the trenches that had been dug out for the big drainage field, for water pipes to the house, and filled up two outside toilets as well. Thankfully, the water drained off and no permanent damage was done to the house. We don't often ask God to stop the rains!

John and Milka and their three new kids

LICENSING!
I would love to report that we have our license, but after several reports that it was almost ready, we heard that social welfare in Dar had lost our paperwork, and then they changed their mind about what else they needed from us. At the moment we are waiting for the local social welfare to send out a medical officer so that he can sign the paperwork that goes back to Dar. Please pray that our license would be processed quickly. We have seven open spaces in our home, children waiting to come, and all the other orphanages we know of completely full.

PEOPLE!

Wayne and some of our staff
We have been enjoying the people coming in and out of Mavuno. The LORD provided JUST the people we have needed for this time. We have a couple and their baby here for three months, Wayne Stolzfus who was here last year and has come back for two months, Taylor Balian who was here at Mavuno for a year and came back to visit this week, and my mom and dad, who just left on Monday (they were here three weeks). We are so blessed to have such amazing people around! I am continually thankful for the incredible people that our children are exposed to living here, and then when we go back to the States. Having mom and dad here was SUCH a treat, and they were able to minister to others while they were here as well.

Mom and dad and the gang :)


Thank you for your prayers! We really need them and know God is using them in ways we see and don't see!

P.S. Thank you for praying for Kate!

The LORD healed her hand so completely that we are amazed!

Another Kate Update

Grandpa removed Kate's stitches tonight and her little finger is looking great! She sat super still while Hannah loaded her up with candy and showed her pictures on her camera. We are SO thankful that she is healing well and thankful for your prayers!

We also celebrated two birthdays this weekend--Dave on Saturday and my dad's on Sunday. What a treat to have mom and dad here!

God is good, ALL the time!

Dad (73) and Dave (37). :)