120 STUDENTS!!!

Over the past 18 months I've chronicled the joys and challenges of living in Tanzania and in the work that we do. Living has become easier as we've adapted to the pace and lifestyle here. Work continues to be rewarding and very challenging. But by far and away the greatest joys have been working with people that convince us that we are answering God's call to be here. We have hired teachers and a headmistress that are strong, convicted, and committed to our mission. They are funny, enthusiastic, and we are so proud to work with them. They have been mentors and invaluable resources to us as we continue to learn about cultural beliefs and expectations and teach us with humor and patience at every turn.

We have built a network of friends who are often resources for us when we encounter problems. Most of them have been here for a long time and have seen it all. They have also been encouraging and I'm always amazed at their willingness to build new relationships each time people come and go in Arusha. We would not have lasted without them.

But PHF's mission, "educating Africa's orphan and vulnerable children", took an enormous step this week as we welcomed the last student for this year's starting class. It took 60 work days, hundreds of kilometers of driving, and uncountable interviews with students, teachers, relatives, and neighbors of some around some 160 students to finally conclude with the selection of Goodhope, our 120th student. The whole purpose of being in Tanzania, of course, is to provide a top-quality education to the neediest children, those that have no other chance. Everything else really pales in comparison when you consider those 120 children, many of whom are orphans, some who have lived basically as slaves, others raised by siblings who are barely out of adolescence but who have pushed aside any aspirations of their own to try to help their siblings get an education. All of them no different, really, than any of us. Who doesn't want the best for their child? Who doesn't dream of the things their child might accomplish? We often pride ourselves on what we've accomplished compared to others, thinking ourselves clever, often without counting the priveleges we take for granted; here nothing is taken for granted.

In the parable of the servants waiting for their master (Luke 12:36-48) Jesus says, "For everyone to whom much is given, of him shall much be required." The privelege of being a part of student verification will be one of the most humbling experiences I think I will ever have. For every child we rejoiced in accepting, I thought of the thousands that won't have that chance. We swept into a village or a home and changed the entire course of a child's life in less than an hour. Why that child at that particular time? Is it possible that we were seen as angels? As blessings from God? I'm more than willing to acknowledge the people that have played that role in my own life, less willing to accept that I may play that role for others. The realization that we have the power to effect that kind of change is in some ways a burden. We have been "blessed to be a blessing" and that entails enormous responsibility.

We don't have orphans and poor children any more. There's Stella and Marta and Johnson and Goodluck. There's Happyness and Neema and Martin and Stefano and now, finally, Goodhope. I could tell you about the events of his life, which are very bleak. But I'd rather you look at him and see his future, not his past. Each child is a name, a real person, not a statistic. Each one is full of potential. Each one is the reason we became teachers years ago. Each one is the reason we have come to Tanzania.

Each one is the reason PHF exists.