Hello Folks!
Wow...its been a
busy 3 weeks...
So, starting with
the oldest information...the boss of the Goshen Block Company came back with
another man, another " fundi" ( Swahili for any kind of person that
can build, construct, or fix objects) and they gave me a better price. $15,255
is much better than $17,500.
They said it would be cheaper to just create lines between
the blocks as a design instead of plastering. I thought that was a very good
idea and personally know that it will look really nice.
Because $15,000
is a LOT of money, I will be focusing on starting the library in the Kisongo
building (I forgot to tell you but they said " yes"!) and will build
the wall as soon as possible. I haven't received anymore donations for
bricks...but YOU can change that! One block just costs .95.
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About two months
ago, Mark McWhorter suggested I submit an article to the Brotherhood News web
page. I thought it was a great idea, but was unsure just how to go about it
because it has to be written it third person and they don't accept direct fund
raising appeals. I approached Jessica McVeigh (her and her husband are here for
a year as missionary interns) and I was delighted to hear that she would be
glad to write it. There are a few things that must be done before it can be
published but I thought I would post it here. It pretty much sums up
everything. Jessica did a GREAT job!
Parker Memorial Library
When I was a
little girl, my mom took my sister and me to the library once a week. We would
search and search for that special book to take home. Finally, after what
seemed like hours, we checked out the books and cherished them until we were
able to return to the library. Those memories are precious to us. Visiting the
library enabled us to travel the world, unveil mysteries, and discover truth.
It was the beginning of a grand adventure; and all the while, we were learning,
but didn’t even know it.
Arusha, Tanzania
has one very- crowded library in the center of town. However, using the local
transportation, it takes an hour for a Tanzanian living in Kisongo to travel
there. Fortunately, Abigail Gee, daughter of missionaries Jimmy and Trina Gee,
is pursuing her dream of establishing the Parker Memorial Library (in honor of
her grandfather) in the village of Kisongo.
To be built on the same property as the Andrew Connally School of
Preaching, this library will serve more than five schools, one orphanage, the
ACSOP and anyone who desires to come.
“I saw the lack of knowledge and it frustrated me...,” Abigail explains.
Living in Arusha
more than half her life, every day Abigail sees the Tanzanians yearning for
knowledge and is building the library to fill this craving. But more important
than offering Tanzanians secular knowledge, the library will serve as an avenue
to teach the Truth. Offering free
classes on religious topics, Bible correspondence courses, sermons on DVD’s,
many in the community will be introduced to the Lord’s church. The librarians
will also serve as translators, converting the English books (such as books
from Apologetics Press) into Swahili. While providing for their thirst of
knowledge, their spiritual thirst can be quenched with the Living Water.
The target date
for the grand opening is in 2015. With
$30,000, Abigail can build the library,
a cottage for the head librarian, gazebos for studying, and the required
seven-foot tall security wall. This start-up fund will also provide shipping
for the books and the initial costs for the garden and small farm. After that,
only $3000 a month should maintain the project until the library is
self-sustaining. Using part of the
$6,660 that has been raised, Abigail will soon ship over 1,000 books from the
states and begin the library in a temporary location (the Kisongo church of
Christ building). As soon as other funds
arrive, she will begin building the wall.
Though Tanzanians
live in one of the poorest countries in Africa, the Parker Memorial Library
(PML) will provide them with the opportunity to find “riches and true wealth.”
They will be able to travel the world, unveil mysteries, and discover the
Truth. It will be the beginning of a grand adventure; and all the while, they
will be learning. To follow the progress of PML, visit
www.abigailsadventuresinafrica.blogspot.com.
-Jessica McVeigh
If you have
viewed the YouTube presentation, you can see that the information is quite
different. I started with renting and then decided to build to insure the
future. So, to make sure everything is saying the same thing, I'm fixing the
presentation. I'll post the newest version when it's done!
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An
update on the garden and the rabbits:
My sweet
potatoes...well...they fell in the water
that they were sprouting in ( those toothpicks just weren't strong enough lol),
thus...I will be finding some other approach in order to plant said vegetable.
I finished the
cages, putting them on wooden stands. Jessica kindly offered to help me get the
rabbits today and I am so happy to finally have them. I had planned on getting
them last week, but I'm really glad it didn't work out. I was busy at Tanzania
Christian Camp (TCC) and it rained ALL week. Wet rabbits equals dead rabbits.
If it continues to rain, I'll be at home to take care of them now. I named them Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Keturah and Black Eyed Pete. I tried and tried to get pictures of all of them on here but only Black Eyed Pete's would. I will definitely post some soon!
Black- Eyed Pete
These rabbits are for breeding purposes. We'll be eating
their children :(. It's sort of sad
but that's the way it is.
And speaking of TCC...
This was
the fourth year that the camp has been held since it's establishment and I had a very good time! The theme was "Hand in
Hand with Jesus". We had
84 campers and 15 baptisms!
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Our new brothers and sisters in Christ!
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Each year all the
campers are encouraged to memorize bible verses and if they complete the list
they receive a bible award. Out of the 84 campers, 64 received the award!
There is also one other award we give out : Mr. and Mrs.
TCC. It is given to two individuals that display the most Christ-like attitude.
This year Celina Mohamed and Lazaro (forgive me, I don't remember his last
name) received it.
Lazaro could be seen throughout the week holding one-on-one
bible studies with other campers and Celina was always eager to help out in,
especially in the kitchen.
May we all strive to be like Christ!
Well, until next time!
In Him, Abigail Gee
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