 George was a member of the Class of 2008. Here he is pictured at our headquarters during his 13-week orientation program. Simple things mark my progress in mission. My work with the handicapped children of the Huruma School in Tanzania is really an experience of waiting and patience. When I started guiding the program in July, I had a plan and schedule of events. Now the schedule has been significantly adjusted to meet the needs of his students. The tasks that I thought might take a day or two have often taken a week or more. It is clear, however, that the boys are making progress. We built a set of shelves for the storeroom, and the boys cut to length each board we used. They have used a miter box to cut small pieces of wood about 4 inches long to use as handles on the shutters and the tool cabinets in the classroom. They are now working on the use of the wood plane to smooth boards. This is particularly important since there is no finished wood available here like one might find at a Home Depot.  YOU created this path! This ‘before and after’ photo shows the work of the handicapped students of Huruma School. Through your generosity, MKLM missioner George Otte led a group of students to learn new skills in building and making improvements to pathways to the school. Thank you for joining in this effort! This work has had instant pay off in two ways. First, it has reduced the bumps and gullies that made the path to the school, at times, impassible. (See the ‘before and after’ picture for reference.) Although we wish the path could be better at meeting the “handicapped accessible” standards, it is so much better than it was before. Please consider contributing to MKLM, the organization that keeps George in mission. All contributions are tax deductible. Donate to help support MKLM missioners around the world. The second pay off cannot be photographed. It is difficult for me to put it into words. Imagine, though, the sense of pride and accomplishment that is felt by these boys when they traverse the paths they have laid. These paths, though tangible, are more significant in their symbolic sense. These are the paths to a future. The boys have created paths, literally, to their own education. In doing this, they have also laid the paths to sustainability, and acquired the hands-on skills they will use to improve their communities and their lives. As young as they are, I see their understanding of this in their eyes. Each day, these little successes are present to me and to the boys. Advent is a time of waiting. But each day, we can build a path that brings us closer to the pay off. You support our work here and we are very appreciative. Only through your generosity are we, and our fellow missioners, able to stay in the field and continue the sort of work that I have described here. Please consider contributing to MKLM, the organization that keeps us in mission. May you find peace in your waiting, George Otte - Please consider contributing to MKLM, the organization that keeps George in mission. All contributions are tax deductible. Donate to help support MKLM missioners around the world.
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