Sprouting a Plan for Agriculture

                  Joel Wildasin is on his sixth month of overseeing the agricultural facet of Mavuno. He summarized his job and what it entailed in a brief interview.

sprouting seeds

Question#1: What is your job at Mavuno?

               
  I am trying to find ways of using agriculture to help Mavuno on-campus families become self-sufficient.

Q#2: Do you have a current project you are doing right now?

                 
Yes. The main project right now is making a small nursery to grow trees. I am also working on developing the family gardens and building an oil press for the Mbuguas to press their own oil. I am trying to construct a fuel-efficient wood stove for them to use as well.

the beginning of the tree nursery

Q#3: What are your goals for the Ag program while you’re here?

                
One of my major goals is to train people to take over the program and keep it going. I am hoping to develop the Mavuno land by means of trees and crops.

Bananas

Q#4: What do you especially love working on?

             
 I really enjoy doing projects like the wood stove and the drip irrigation I am installing in the family gardens. It uses technology appropriately to create something useful. I love trees as well and I am excited about their potential for Mavuno.

family gardens

Q#5: Please give a brief explanation of ECHO and how it helped prepare you to come out here.

             
 ECHO is basically a Christian organization that trains people who are working with small-scale farmers in agriculture. I worked at ECHO for three years; as an intern for one year and then on staff for two. I learned a lot about managing people which is very useful, especially with the language barrier. I also learned about farming in the tropics which is very different than farming where I had been in the States. I am learning so much here at Mavuno and I hope that I can somewhat get the Ag program going so that it can carry on and benefit the families here.

more family gardens

Family Day

Joyful screaming filled the air as children jumped up and down on the jumping castle.

Far from a fair in America, we were nevertheless treated to a very fun day at Tunza Lodge in Mwanza! Most of the Mbugua children had never been on anything like this, so it was a great thrill to spend the day jumping into each other. A delicious lunch was served, and we all enjoyed the sand and water as well.

A highlight for everyone was the visit to the baby home, Forever Angels, where five of the Mbugua kids came from.

All the mamas at the home were so excited to see the children, and the children, in turn, were able to see many of their friends.

We were all thrilled to have Zawadi come with us to Tunza and spend time with her. She is the same age as most of our kids here, and is eagerly awaiting her adoption.

Everyone returned home happy, worn out, and ready for another Family Day!

Bible Club

If you visit Mavuno on a Wednesday afternoon, you might see tiny girls with tinier babies on their backs, headed for the Team House for Bible club. 4:45 brings children from the village, having carried their water buckets and collected their firewood, ready for our time together.

All of our Mavuno children as well, look forward to singing songs that the children know in Kiswahili before everyone sits down on the stone wall or the grass to listen to a Bible story. Milka Mbugua teaches the lessons

and a skit about the story follows. Everyone excitedly runs to the soccer field afterwards, for a rousing game of soccer or tag. The sand pile is also a favorite. We hope that we can be a blessing to the children of the village we live in (outside of Mavuno) through this weekly club.

Another Miracle

Musa and his buddy, now brother, Michael

Yesterday we received another miracle--little Musa. He has joined the Mbugua family as the tenth child now that Manyashi is gone. Musa Miracle (that is his name!) came to us from Forever Angels, where he has lived for several years. As he is old for the baby home and was totally abandoned, he was a perfect candidate for joining us here.

Because five of our other children are from Forever Angels, Musa has become a brother to many of his former buddies--and they were ALL excited to have him come!

We are so thankful for the amazing job Amy does at Forever Angels caring for many needy babies, and so happy to be part of the solution to some of her children as they grow up.

Welcome, Musa! We are so thankful to have you here!

Biance, Esther, Musa, Michael, Helena, Jonathan, Mariam and Sammy

Trials

The past couple of weeks have brought some sad happenings for us here at Mavuno. The first was the death of one of our off-campus mamas, Mama Selemani. They have had two of our Mavuno boys, David and Martin, and they also have three of their own children (and two relatives' children staying with them). They have been exemplary parents to all of these little people. We learned in January that Mama Selemani had liver cancer and only a few weeks to live. She was able to be at home and with her family until she died. Although we are, of course, deeply sad over the loss of this wife and mama, we are very thankful that she didn't have to suffer any longer. And we know that she is with the Lord! Baba Selemani now has a great weight to carry, so please pray for him and the children as they grieve for her. We are so thankful for the privilege of knowing this sweet and generous woman.

Martin, our Mavuno child and his mama

The same week of her death, we got a call from the biological mother of Manyashi saying that she wanted to take him back from Mavuno. She had originally relinquished him to us five years ago. We had interacted a number of times with her, and each time Manyashi also told her how much he wanted to stay with John and Milka and his new siblings and go to school here. He was so excited to finally have a family and stay in one place. It was with great sadness that we gave him over to his mama so that he could go back to the boarding school he had been attending. Not because we don't like his mama, but because we are not sure what the reasons are for her taking him back. Because social welfare will always give a child back to their biological parent, they were just doing what is customary. However, Manyashi did not know his mother well and had other desires. Please pray for him now that he is back at a boarding school and will not be a part of Mavuno anymore. Please pray for John, Milka and their children, as they are devestated over losing him. We know that God has great plans for him, and truly loves him more than we do! We love you, Manyashi. You have been a blessing to all of us, and we will never forget you!

Marco Kadinda

Marco Kadinda is a Mavuno volunteer who has been working with Mavuno for the past three years. He is engaged to a beautiful young lady named Rahabu, and they will be married in May.

We recently interviewed Marco, in the hopes of having you get to know him (and we even found out a couple of things ourselves!)

What is your Job here at Mavuno?

I am a full time volunteer administrative assistant. (This is another way to say, I keep Mavuno running!)

Tell us about Rahabu.

I love Rahabu, and she loves God. We want to raise a family together who loves God.

What do you think will be the hardest thing about marriage?

I think it will be difficult to adjust to having two people live together who have different upbringings and have been raised in different ways.

What do you want for Mavuno in the future?

My prayer is that Mavuno will be productive and that I will be a blessing and use my training to the glory of the Almighty God!!

We are so grateful for all of our staff, and Marco is a blessing to everyone who comes in the office!

Reading, Writing and a Trip on a Four-Wheeler!

Five of the younger Mbugua kids are currently attending the early education center taught by Alicia Hazlett on campus.

Bianca, Michael, Aika, Helena, and Pili began their first term of the year on Monday and have greatly enjoyed their first few days doing many fun activities.

Jonathan attends classes for a short period of time in the mornings.

Manyashi, Mariamu, and Esther, the three eldest Mbugua children are enjoying their classes at JBFC, a neighboring private school. For the sake of Manyashi’s safety, the three kids get the rare opportunity to ride the four-wheeler to school every day, chauffeured by Grandpa Larry Nickish.

John (daddy) will take the kids by four-wheeler when Grandpa is gone.

On Tuesday Alicia took the kids up to a small cave on the hill to find hidden scrolls representing the discovery of the famous Dead Sea Scrolls.

It is proving to be a year of discovery in the education department!