LAST LESSONS #105 – LIBERIA

 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

The first interest in Liberia as a place for a Rafiki Village came when Liberian Winston Tubman, the UN Ambassador to Somalia, but living in Kenya, went to visit the Rafiki Village in Kenya. He was a relative of Kristina Kenyatta Pratt who was eager to show him what she helped Rafiki build in Kenya. Winston was impressed with the Rafiki Village and insisted that Rafiki establish a village in Liberia. Kristina told him that he would need to contact me, and he immediately did so. When I told him that I had never been to Liberia, he said that he would take me there the next time I visited West Africa. We agreed that he would meet our Rafiki group in Ghana and take us to Liberia. Little did we know that there was an election for President going on in Liberia and that Winston Tubman was running! He didn’t win but he and his wife Nessi invited us to stay in their home and showed us around the capital of Monrovia. Liberia had been at war for 14 years, and bullet holes were still visible in many buildings including the Tubman’s house. Since the war had destroyed the dam that provided electricity to the country of about 5 million people, the whole country was relying on generators for power. Streetlights were not working, teachers had fled so children had not been in school, children had been given guns to fight in the war and the government was attempting to buy them back with little success. The country was still in a bit of chaos. It was no wonder that Winston Tubman wanted Rafiki to come to Liberia!

However, Winston did not win the election and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the president, the first woman president in Africa. Under her leadership, things began to improve.

Winston and Nessi were a huge help to Rafiki and saw that Rafiki was registered as an NGO in Liberia in October 2004. They also introduced us to Juanita Neal who was on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Church. Juanita was a well-educated person who helped us understand “Liberian English” (pigeon-English) and did more for Rafiki than I can say. Especially, she introduced us to Bishop Edward Neufville who gave us church-owned land on which to build the Rafiki Village.

We broke ground on February 27, 2007, on the property that we leased for 20 years with an option to renew another 20 years. Rental at $1 per year!

Missionaries Ed and Donna Bland were sent to Liberia and oversaw the construction of the Rafiki Village that was dedicated in 2007 with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf making the dedication speech. I well remember that day! On that day, it rained as it can rain only in Liberia! President Sirleaf was three hours late, not only because of heavy rain, but moving her entourage on the mile-long dirt (mud!) road leading to Rafiki’s property. But she came—umbrellas and all—and made a most encouraging speech.

She was so pleased with what Rafiki was contributing to Liberia that she promised to pave that dirt road leading to the property. And she kept her promise.

Several times after that she graciously invited us to her office to discuss how we could help with the education of children who had been out of school for so many years. Since she was a Christian, she was delighted to hear that we had Christian curriculum we could give to her. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was a great president for Liberia. To learn more, I suggest that you read her autobiography This Child Shall Be Great. An amazing story.

Our first church partner in Liberia was the Episcopal Church, but soon after, we formed a partnership with the Lutheran Church and its Bishop Rev. Jensen Seyenkulo. My husband and I were privileged to have Jensen visit us in our home in Florida. He writes his story in the book that Rafiki has published Humble Heroes. (Available at Rafiki’s website www.rafikifoundation.org) His story will encourage those who think they have nothing to offer the Christian world.

Another church that helped Rafiki was the Methodist Church. They mostly helped with teacher training. They actually built a school a few miles from Rafiki to demonstrate to Rafiki’s teachers how to use our classical Christian curriculum.

Rafiki has always depended on Christian denominations to guide us, help us, encourage us, and support us. Rafiki is not a church, but under the church, works to provide Bible study and Christian schools in Africa. God in his grace, has given Rafiki 23 doctrinally sound denominations with which to work.

I have learned through experience that being under the authority of godly churches gives security spiritually, socially, and legally, that we could never have otherwise. I thank God for the Christian churches that partner with Rafiki and pray for them to be able to stand firm in today’s confused and sin-stained world. Will you pray with me for these 23 denominations as well as the 10 Rafiki Villages in Africa?

LAST LESSONS #104 – ETHIOPIA

 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

We never even thought of Ethiopia as a place to establish a Rafiki Village. Then one time when we were visiting Tanzania, Bishop Kweka (the person who inspired us to start Rafiki) told me that Rafiki must put one of our Villages in Ethiopia. He said that there were four million Lutherans there in the Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) church and millions of orphans. The average annual per capita income at that time was $90 with a population of 90 million (today there are an estimated 107 million and people there are starving). Bob and I had visited Ethiopia when we were missionaries in Tanzania in the 1960’s when Haile Selassie was Emperor and found Ethiopia a fascinating place. The Ethiopian people are beautiful—tall, slim, and fine-boned. Our Bibles tell us of the Ethiopian eunuch who was converted on the road by Philip. The Queen of Sheba came from Ethiopia, the Blue Nile River and the Great Rift Valley bisect Ethiopia. Places of interest include the city where coffee was first discovered. The name of the city is Kafa. That’s why we call it “coffee.” A fascinating place and so much ancient history. 

But back to the establishment of Rafiki in Ethiopia! In 2004 a small group of us visited Ethiopia. Bishop Kweka put us in touch with an American Nazarene missionary, Dan Miller, who in turn introduced us to Anbessu Tolla, a Muslim turned Christian. I love his story. When he heard (and believed) that Jesus Christ died for his sins and then rose from the dead Anbessu himself came to life. He went everywhere saying “He’s alive! He’s alive!!” He was so excited to tell everybody that Jesus was alive! However, because of the strong Muslim influence in Ethiopia Anbessu (who directed a small NGO dealing with AIDS) did not declare himself a Christian for fear of losing his status with government officials.  Instead, he introduced us to Dr. Mesheshe Shewarega in the office of the President of the Oromia Region. That’s where we met Demissie Legesse, Deputy Commissioner of the Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission. Demissie was a Christian and member of the EECMY, and an immediate bond formed between us. To this day, we communicate regularly.

Mesheshe and Anbessu found land for Rafiki in Mojo (about an hour’s drive south of Addis Ababa) and with the help of Demissie, a project agreement was finalized with the Oromia regional government, the mayor of Mojo, and Rafiki. The mayor was delightful and eager to make sure that all the orphans that we took in would come from Mojo! He sent us good employees and encouraged us in many ways.

We asked Rafiki missionaries in Ghana, Ken and Lori Dulany, to move to Ethiopia so that Ken could be the Village Administrator and Lori the Child Care Director. Ken’s first job was to formulate construction plans on the lovely sloping hillside property and enclose it with a security fence.

From 2004 on we took many trips to Ethiopia and had the privilege of meeting the President, Girma Wolde-Giorgis who was in office from 2001 to 2013. Girma was so kind. He was even willing to have his picture taken hugging two of my grandchildren who were on one trip with us. And he showed us the real live lions in his garden! But he insisted that we really could not know Ethiopia until we visited the north where so much history of the ancient world took place. I’m sorry to say that we never got the chance to visit the northern part of Ethiopia.

Finally, the Rafiki project was completed, it was dedicated on February 23, 2008, by Ethiopia’s President Girma Wolde-Giorgis. What a privilege to have the President of Ethiopia travel to Mojo to make the dedication speech!

Soon after, missionaries Mike and Sherri Ritter arrived to work as Plant Manager and Education Director. The Mayor of Mojo recommended staff, and the first children arrived in September 2009 and started to school the very next month!

Sometimes establishing a Rafiki Village requires much time and a lot of effort. Ethiopia took from the first visit in 2004 to the first children in 2009. But in my mind, Ethiopia was, and still is, the most difficult place for Rafiki to operate in Africa. Why?

One reason is the language barrier. There are several languages in Ethiopia the primary one being Amharic. English is the national language, so all higher education is taught in English. However, children are not taught English until the 8^th grade! Although all Rafiki curriculum is taught in English, we teach some courses in Amharic to accommodate the law. That means that our teachers must be fluent in Amharic and in English. That makes getting teachers more difficult. 

Another difficulty is that the socialistic-style government enforced a land reform stating that all land is owned by the government with individual farmers able to own only an acre or two of land, making it impossible for them to raise enough food to survive. This government land ownership is still in effect and impoverishes those in rural areas.

Of all the difficulties, I think poverty is the worst. Even in Addis Ababa which is a huge commercial city, poverty was evident. Shopping, for “rich Americans” was great. Silver jewelry was beautiful and inexpensive. Demissie took us to the market where we found amazing bargains—hand-made wool rugs for a few dollars, and embroidered cotton dresses and men’s tucked shirts for very little. 

But beggars were everywhere. In no country have I seen so many crippled beggars on the street or people sleeping on the sidewalks. To this day the image of these people is still in my mind, and it breaks my heart. 

Yes, Ethiopia was, and is, the most difficult place for Rafiki, but it is also the place where Rafiki is most needed. 

I’ve learned that God does not always send us to the easiest places, but to the neediest. I have also learned that God will go with us wherever he sends us and that he will accomplish his purpose for that place in his own time.

LAST LESSONS #103 – ZAMBIA

 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

One day in 2003 I received an email from a man in Zambia asking me to please come and build an orphanage to help with the many orphans resulting from the AIDS epidemic. I wrote back and said, “Who are you?” He told me that his name was Justin Mukuka and he wanted to help orphans. When I asked him about himself, he told me that he was a Navigator and that he had been trained as a Navigator in the USA. That was a game-changer for me! I might not know Zambia, and I certainly did not know Justin Mukuka, but I did know the Navigators and their ministry. They promoted Bible study!

So, I told Justin that we would consider an orphanage in Zambia, but we would need land, a meeting with the First Lady of Zambia, and registration of Rafiki as an NGO in Zambia. Justin assured me that he could put those things together if we would come.

I was excited to visit Zambia, to see Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River, and to get to know the people in this beautiful land-locked country.

When we landed in the capital of Lusaka, Justin met us and showed us around, but quickly got us on the road to Kitwe in the Copper Belt where he said that acreage would be available for an orphanage. I will never forget that drive! It should have taken four hours, but instead took almost ten. Why? Because Justin was driving, and his speed limit was about 15 mph. He said that he had been stopped by the police once and he was afraid he might be put in jail if he was ever caught speeding again.

Kitwe was very interesting particularly because of their copper mining. We saw a great variety of products made from copper—some of the hammered pictures were amazing! I have one that is hanging in the Home Office today. But although Kitwe was interesting, the property we were shown for an orphanage was not sufficient. Only about ten acres. We were disappointed, but God always has a better plan.

When we returned to Lusaka, we met with First Lady Maureen Mwanawasa. What a lovely lady she was. She introduced us to her niece Sylvia Masebo who would be in charge of helping us find suitable property on which to build an orphanage. The First Lady made it clear that we should not put anything in Lusaka. She said that Lusaka already had everything and that it was the rural areas of Zambia that needed our help. In the meantime, I made inquiries as to Protestant denominations in Zambia and learned that the Reformed Church of Zambia (RCZ) was the largest with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) second largest. We would later learn of the Reformed Baptist Church.

Sylvia wanted to take us to meet a person who had some land in Chongwe about 30 miles away from Lusaka, but on the way, she said she had to attend a relative’s funeral. This was a most interesting experience! The funeral was in a Catholic Church, it was not in English, it lasted almost 3 hours, and it was hot! But a nice person who was dressed like a nun was kind and helped us understand what was going on.

When the funeral was over, we went to Chongwe to meet the person who owned some property. To our astonishment when we went into the building the person who greeted us was the nun! She was not a nun at all, but the Chieftainess of the whole region which meant she owned all the land! She told us that she would give us 60 acres of property that she had given to the RCZ Church, but since they had not developed it in four years, she would give it to us to develop. And Sylvia was her relative. Who would have thought God would put things together in such an amazing way!

In 2004 missionaries David and Nancy Writebol arrived in Zambia, registered Rafiki as an NGO, and negotiated a contract with the Chieftainess and the RCZ for the property. Construction began and in July 2006 the Village was dedicated with Sylvia Musebo making the main address. Sylvia went on to become a Member of Parliament who did much for Rafiki.

More missionaries were sent to Zambia and the first children arrived in August 2007, but God did much more than build an orphanage in Zambia. He put together a relationship with the RCZ that is strong to this day. Besides becoming a Partner Denomination, the RCZ has a seminary that we have been able to supply with Reformation Study Bibles from Ligonier, and Crossway’s Systematic Theology Study Bibles for their seminary students and their current pastors. In turn, the RCZ University has given college degrees to graduates of Rafiki’s RICE program. Accredited college degrees! See what God does?

We also have good relations with the CCAP and the Baptists. Since Baptists are congregational rather than denominational, Conrad Mbewe as the leader of the eight congregations in Zambia was willing to form a Reformed Baptist Denomination so that Rafiki could deal with a denomination rather than separate congregations. Again, God does amazing things.

But what of Justin Mukuka? Sometime around 2004, Justin came to the USA to raise his support in Navigators. He arrived in New York and called to say that he wanted to visit my husband Bob and me in San Antonio. We were delighted and offered to pay his air fare from NY to San Antonio. He said his fare was already paid. Some days later he arrived on our doorstep. He had come on the Greyhound bus all the way from NY! He stayed for a few days, and we had a wonderful visit. When we offered to pay his airfare to his next stop in Arizona, he refused. He said that he always rode the bus because it gave him time to present the gospel to fellow passengers. He was a Navigator.

There are some lessons I never forget.

LAST LESSONS #102 – MALAWI

 “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession.” Psalm 2:8

In the beginning, Malawi was never considered as a location for a Rafiki Village. Malawi is among the poorest countries on the continent of Africa. In 2001 the population of Malawi was less than 20 million, the average per capita household income only slightly more than $300 annually, and they had 1.1 million orphans from AIDS. Then I received a mysterious phone call from Seattle, WA, that changed everything! I was at my desk at the Rafiki Home Office in San Antonio when the call came and I could tell that the caller was an African, but I did not recognize his name. He identified himself as Egbert Chibambo, Mayor of Mzuzu, Malawi’s third largest city. He said, “Will you come build an orphanage in Mzuzu?” I had no idea where Mzuzu was, I had never been to Malawi, but by the end of the conversation I agreed to visit Mzuzu. Egbert Chibambo was not going to take “no” for an answer!

Egbert told me that Mzuzu had a population of 90,000 with 9,000 orphans. He also told me that Mzuzu was the most beautiful place in the world. He said he would show me everything if I would come to Malawi. I told him that I would come, but in order to consider building an orphanage in Malawi I would need three things: 30 acres of land, someone to help Rafiki be registered in Malawi as a non-governmental organization (NGO) and a meeting with the President or the First Lady of Malawi. Egbert said that would be no problem.

Egbert was true to his promise. When our plane touched down, Egbert was there to greet us. He had an agenda and had made all preparations. He drove us around from school to school where hundreds of orphans were gathered at each stop. Chibambo would introduce me as the “lady who is going to start an orphanage!” As the afternoon went on, the stops became more lengthy and more heart-wrenching. On the last stop the Mayor and I arrived an hour and a half behind schedule only to find nearly 500 children waiting in a drizzling rain, having had no lunch, seated on the ground eagerly awaiting our arrival. Once again, Egbert introduced me, saying I was the “president of the Rafiki Foundation and that I was going to start an orphanage right here!” The children burst into applause with cheers of joy.

Here’s a picture!

Several more visits to Malawi would occur within the coming year, including one in which I got to meet and share Rafiki’s vision with Malawi’s First Lady Patricia Muluzi, and another when Egbert and I looked at the land that the chiefs in the area would make available to Rafiki. It really was beautiful with a 360-degree view of the mountains and forests surrounding Mzuzu. And it was huge! 175 acres! Egbert said to me, “Let’s walk. We are going to put our feet on the land that God is giving us just as Abraham was to walk the length and breadth of the land God would give him.” Egbert took my hand and we walked, and I have never had so much fun in my life!

Leaving on the plane going home I got a bird’s-eye-view of the land and said to the Lord, “I don’t understand. We only needed 30 acres and you gave us 175! We could put a whole village on that much land.” And then it struck me. That’s exactly what God wanted us to do. He wanted Malawi to be a model for all our villages to include cottages for orphans, housing for missionaries, a dining hall, schools, a playground, a place where widows could work, and even a medical clinic. From that time on we built “Villages” not “Orphanages.”

In Malawi Egbert saw to it that Rafiki was registered as an NGO and a partnership with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) was established. Egbert was not only the mayor of Mzuzu but an elder in St. Andrews Presbyterian Church in Mzuzu.

In 2002 missionaries Mike and Vickie Koch arrived and began a vocational school for teenage girls who were unable to go to school in the old church that St. Andrews graciously provided. They also began construction on the beautiful property that was given us. The Village (designed and laid out by our own architect Chris Moyer) was not finished and dedicated until April 15, 2005. But on that dedication day, Egbert Chibambo was the honored speaker along with Joyce Banda who later became the first woman president of Malawi.

The Rafiki Village in Malawi has thrived and become a real model, but it never would have happened without Egbert. He helped Rafiki until the day he died from a stroke on February 17, 2022. I really miss Egbert Chibambo, a true man of God.

God gave Egbert a heart for his country and especially a heart for the orphans of his country. I’ve learned that God establishes his Villages where he wants them, but he puts into the hearts of his people exactly how and when he wants them done.