Ibrahim Speaks Up

Liz Roddy (bottom right of photo), shared with us one of the highlights of her time here with the Christian Assembly team that helped us launch our on-going English classes with the young men in our football/soccer club.

Above, she and some of the others on the team are seen with the trainers they trained to carry the classes on. Below, you'll find her highlight story. Enjoy!

"We started the English club on a Monday and some of the students were very timid and afraid to speak up in front of the class. A lot of them had not had much opportunity to practice their speaking, so I think they were a little intimidated. One of the boys, Ibrahim, was particularly shy. He had a hard time understanding, and whenever we would ask him a question, we could barely hear his response...everything came out as a whisper.

Then on Thursday, our second to last day of class, we were teaching about "CAN and CAN'T." The boys had to do an activity where they walked around the clubhouse and asked each other what they can and can't do. They were to write their classmates answers down, so they could share with the class. Then, as we went around asking each person to share, we slowly made our way around to Ibrahim.

We were expecting another quiet response, when all of a sudden, Ibrahim, shouted in a loud, clear voice,

"I talked to David, and he can play football, but he can't swim."

We were shocked! And so was everyone else. All the other boys began applauding for him; they knew this was a big moment for Ibrahim. We gave him a prize for a job well done.

When Ibrahim spoke up, my heart was overjoyed. I could feel God in that moment, I knew English club was making a difference and that it would mean a long term change for these kids. I was so excited because of how much Ibrahim and the other boys had improved over just 4 days. Think of what we could have done in a month!"

Great Teachers/Eager Learners

Our first 10 week session of English Club is under way in the tiny little club house of our Nyota Football Club!

The wonderful team from Christian Assembly (who were with us at the end of August) poured their hearts into a full week of classes that included the training of trainers to take the English lessons on.

Wow! You've never seen such eager learners :-) Those Nyota guys hardly let us pause after the team left before they were insisting that they were ready to get the 10 weeks of follow-on classes under way.

We really could not have gotten this lasting effort off the ground without the preparation, training and materials that our friends from Christian Assembly brought with them. Thank you, CA!!



Team member, Christine Kim, reflected on the photo above, which she took when she arrived to teach one morning.

"When I arrived on the second day of English Club, I saw our students sitting on the grass reviewing and studying their books. It was such a blessing to see their eagerness to learn and acquire English. I remember sharing with the team that in all my years of teaching, I have never seen kids treasure education and the opportunity to learn so much. It gave me excitement each day to teach."

The team filled our 40 students with encouragement and the excitement to learn. Their impact carries on as these young men, aged from about 8-18, continue to come in with a hunger to improve their language skills.

Visiting Team

We have a wonderful team from Christian Assembly in LA visiting with us right now. They are here to work hard during their 2 week stay and we're excited about the ESL type training they'll be doing so that English Club can carry on even when we don't have volunteers around.

If you're interested in what types of adventures they're up to while here, check out their
BLOG

We're thankful for their great hearts and willing hands :-)

Endless Thanks

Recent news said that 22,000 state employees in California are to be laid off. Another 200,000 are to have their salaries reduced. Pretty sobering news and we know it reflects the challenging times so many of our friends all over the globe are facing.

In these days of financial uncertainty, we want you to know how much we appreciate the gifts of support that keep Wild Hope in operation. We don't take it for granted that people partner with us in these efforts here and we count each and every gift as a blessing.

Our 2 families, the Russells and the Bordens, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

75 Maasai women and their families thank you for the opportunity they have to participate in a fair trade project that provides so much for them.

The ladies of our new venture, the dry fruit project, thank you. Eva's husband left her with 2 kids and nothing besides. She was holding down a full time job to pay for rent and groceries and everything else--but it only paid $25 a month. It's no wonder she sings hymns while she slices fruit as she earns her first decent paycheck.

The young men on our soccer team thank you. As they help host the teams visiting from other countries for the tournament during August, they are thankful that Wild Hope was able to sponsor this event. As they look forward to the skill enhancing English Club coming their way later this month, they are thankful that Wild Hope wants to see them grow in all areas of life.

Mr. Edward, who just finished paying off his first micro-loan (never missing a payment!) thanks you for the chance to open a little shop that supplements his meager income at the wonderful children's center where he teaches. He is excited to have a new, larger loan out now to expand his business.

There are other stories too. Lives have been impacted by the redeeming and persistent love of God and, as a team, we get to watch all of this in awe.

So thank you, thank you, thank you.

We appreciate you.

(We really do!)

Wild Hope and Wild Romance (!)

This post is just to celebrate LOVE :-)

We mentioned last time that the Russells and Bordens would be making a quick trip to Zanzibar to share in the wedding of Jeremy Stephenson and Kendra Woods.

It was such a nice celebration and we wanted to say how honored our team felt to play a special role in their lives. Peter has really enjoyed his mentoring relationship with Jeremy and he did a wonderful job officiating the ceremony. Byron and Lisa enjoyed the many dates they had with J&K in the months leading up to the wedding. It was fun to share in their journey of growth as they prepared to join their lives. Tammy assisted with many wedding details that day, and made sure the ladies entered to the processional at just the right time. It was all so beautiful!

Congratulations, Jeremy and Kendra! We love you!


(Heather Borden and Sianna Russell with the lovely bride.)

Summer Days

Well, it's summer in other parts of the world but it's our cold time here in Tanzania. Still, we can't help but refer to June, July and August as "summer."

So what's up these days for the Wild Hope family?

Val James arrived in early May and has earned the name Val the Valiant Visitor. She is volunteering with us for the "summer" and has proven to be a hard-working, multi-talented relief person for our over-worked Tammy Russell. Val's particular passion is kids and she has stepped in to cover the end of the home school year for the Russell twins and provide a lot of neat extra activities from kick-boxing to sewing class for the twins plus Heather Borden. Taking this major work-load off of Tammy for the final six weeks of the school year freed Tammy to concentrate on many other growing projects.

The development of Wild Hope's property has begun. It may not sound like a lot but we have started the process of fencing the acreage and we're excited to see little trees making a start now that they are protected from goats and cows.

We have a lot of visitors coming and going. Making guest beds and welcoming people into our homes is a weekly thing right now. We are currently 10 at the table in the Borden house and it's fun, (if a little loud and messy.)

We're working to expand the Artisan Project and this means experimenting with new products and doing test runs with new women. It's a pleasure to see traditional Maasai art done so beautifully as we look at ideas for new product lines.

The friendship and support between local pastors in the Matale area of Maasai north of Arusha has been neat to see developing. Peter and some of his close Maasai friends have been instrumental in encouraging this gathering for growth and mutual encouragement.

On the family front our kids are happy that the school year is over and we are all pumped for Skyler Russell who has done a good job on his SAT and is now beginning that whole college application stage of life. The Borden and Russell boys (and Jonny Pollard) are leaving today on a long trek to cover some major ground along the Kenya/Tanzania border. We expect them home on the 4th of July. Those of us who remain behind are preparing for a quick trip to Zanzibar (how fun is that??) to share in the wedding ceremony of Kendra Woods and Jeremy Stephenson. The Woods were our teammates during our years in Kenya and the Stephensons have been good friends to Wild Hope in these first few years here. We delighted to share in this special time.

As I look at these weeks we're in, I'm struck that while we might be piling on the jackets and cranking up the fires, our summer is probably still pretty similar to yours. We have friends and visitors and work and play and days out of school and weddings and trips and barbeques and camp-outs, (though you may not be expecting elephants around your camp!)

Fullness and joy seem to be the order of the day :-)

(Photo by Jesse Borden)

Artisans Make Designs on Christmas

The artisans of our Wild Hope Artisan Project have been working hard on new products to release for Christmas 2008. Gathering for a design seminar is always a great event. Some of the women travel for 2 days just to get to Arusha! During our recent days together, the artisan leaders worked with Tammy Russell and Byron Borden to perfect new ideas. It was 3 days of beads, beads and more beads, not to mention inspiration, fun and friendship.

There are now 65+ Maasai women earning a fair trade through our project. It is always wonderful to hear the stories of the difference their income is making for their children, extended families and the communities they live in.

The photographs below capture some of the collaborative effort of the Artisan team.