Goats, Ducks, Rabbits, & Tomatoes - Hope for Families

Dear Heroes,

Look at these beautiful goat kids with their mother! And the rabbits are reproducing like rabbits! The ducks have grown into some very handsome creatures! And the vegetable garden that the high school students are growing is producing some mouth watering tomatoes! Vincent is doing a fantastic job training the Grippis Farm villagers in small animal husbandry! Your donations are moving families forward with more capacity to provide for themselves! Praise God how exciting to be a part of his amazing work.

Christmas gifts are available for you to purchase from our website!


Buy a bag of delicious coffee on the site, and GHI will receive a $5 donation.

DONATE TO GHI IN HONOR OF SOMEONE ELSE AS A GIFT: We have postcards with a photo of some of the great CHILDREN of Grippis Farm on the front. On the back it says "A donation has been made to Grassroots Heroes International in your honor" There is space to write a personal message if you want to. Just donate through the site, and write in the comment box where to send the postcard - name, address, zip.

The Tailors of Grippis Farm!

Dear Heroes,

Look at these tailors who are so very proud of their work! You are making it happen! Changing lives, giving hope, sharing God's love with these dear ones that he loves so much. On behalf of the tailors --THANK YOU!

Remember to buy some delicious bags of coffee on our website for Christmas Gifts! Grassroots receives a $5 donation for each bag you buy!

Also, all donations toward the building campaign for the school will be matched up to $5,000! Double your donation! Give the gift of a new school room for the students to start their new school year in January.



Tanya Brenneman

SEWING COOPERATIVE IS UP AND RUNNING!

Dear Heroes,

The sewing machines which we donated in 2008 have been refurbished after 18 months of not being utilized due to the challenges in 2009 with the law suit and a lack of funds and space this year. But a GHI donor stepped up to take care of getting the machines refurbished, and the August mission team built a building where the coop can function! Praise God! They are going to learn how to make all kinds of clothing,including school uniforms for the students at Mango Grove, and at the completion of the instruction phase, the top students will be given their sewing machines so that they can begin to earn a living as tailors! Wow! We currently need donros to help pay the teacher - $100 per month would go a long way!

Here is an update from Vincent on the Sewing Cooperative:

Dear Tanya here is the information you requested for the sewing class. Right now we have 20 students, 3 males and 17 females. The teacher is Mr. Sachika's Pastor's wife, Mrs. Nyrienda. The class meets Monday, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 10am 12pm and then 2pm to 4pm there are 10 in each class! We are currently looking at possibly charging a monthly fee for the school, right now the students are telling about what they are able to afford. We are hoping that with the little that we are able to collect that it will help to pay the teacher some. The teacher is hoping that by February they will begin to start the sewing of the school uniforms.
The students are excited about starting. Hopes and dreams of the students are to acquire skills that will help them to feed their families. They would desire to get a job at an industrial fashion designing company. After the completion of the school, they would like to be given a little capital to start their own sewing business"

Vincent

Photo Slide Show

(Posted by Frank)

Hello Friends,
Tanya finally was able to get some good bandwidth, so sent a bunch of pictures. She asked that I create a slideshow for the bog so you could see what has been happening over the past number of weeks. (it may take a moment to load)

Meet the Luwizhis-Missionaries to Grippis Farm

Dear Heroes,

We are so pleased to announce that we have received our 501C3 status as a registered non-profit organization.  All of your donations are tax deductible - and this status is retroactive to February of 2008 when we first applied. While our application was pending we were able to issue tax receipts for your donations.  Now you can be sure that all you have donated is tax deductible and all that you will donate in the future will be as well. This may encourage you to donate to support our projects in Zambia.  Below is one of the needs that we currently have. May God guide you as you reflect on it.

Vincent Luwizhi is the director of GHI's projects in Zambia. Vincent is a full time missionary for GHI who relies on donations to support his family while doing his ministry in Grippis Farm.  He is a godly man with a gentle spirit who is committed to seeing Grippis transformed by the power of God as he shares the biblical world view with the villagers. He is also excited about bringing economic improvement to their personal lives by introducing income generation projects. He is heading up the oversight of the Mango Grove Community School, the small animal husbandry training center, the new building construction, the income generating projects of tailoring, gardening and others. I was happy to get to spend time with him and his family while in Zambia. Vincent is a Zimbabwean with a theological degree from Liberty University, and is an ordained pastor. He is also a highly trained community development specialist who has lifted African communities out of poverty and dependency in 5 other African nations. We are so amazed and blessed that he responded to God's call to do the same for Grippis Farm. 

He did an amazing job of coordinating everything when the mission team was there - he had everything incredibly organized - he had made all of the preparations so the team could do their work on the building. He had organized the architect to do the plans, the foreman to oversee the work, did all the legwork to get the supplies in place, the workers ready, and kept positive relationships with the community while they were clearing the land and preparing it for the construction. He did all of the up front work with the well drilling company and followed up afterwards to make sure that it was well done and in working condition.  He is a hard working, dedicated, efficient man with a very positive, optimistic and faith-filled attitude. He is servant leader, even tempered, and always keeps himself in the background, quietly making things happen (He is pictured above with Mr. Sachika looking over the architect's drawings for the school and with the workers from the village at the construction site.)  

His wife Samantha is an American who is by training a special education teacher. However she is a full time mom right now to their two girls, Madison, 4 years old, and Olivia, 1 year old.  Madison is a precocious, warm, outgoing little girl who overflows with energy and a zest for life.  She has a tender heart for the children of Grippis. The family has a slideshow of the Grippis children on their family camera. She sits and watches it and tears run down her face. "I just think it is so beautiful," she says.  She loves to help with the rabbits, the ducks, the goats and chickens in the training center. She is friends with all and involved in whatever is going on.  Olivia is an adorable toddler who is still trying to keep her balance so she can walk.  She smiles almost all the time, is cutting teeth, is easy going and just as delighted with crawling after the ducks and chickens as Madison.  

This God-sent family has embraced the children and teachers of the Mango Grove Community School, and have been accepted with open arms by the Grippis Community. They have already earned great respect from all whose lives they touch. They are currently living on faith - they have received only a fraction of what they need to pay their monthly expenses.  If God nudges you to support them, please donate through the website, or by check to P.O. Box 10, Mint Spring, Virginia, 24463, and mark Vincent on the Memo line. 

Or, if you feel nudged to go and volunteer to help Vincent administer the projects in Grippis for a short term mission assignment of 6-8 weeks, he is asking for help.  

God bless you for your obedience and generosity,

Tanya

Sharing The Gospel With Zambia's Chiefs

                                                       Many Tears, Few Words
When we are working on public relations materials together for our family business, my son David often says to me, "Mom - too many words."  Today, I am at a loss for words- something profound has happened. I can only give you a timeline and weep, as I have for the past 7 hours.

11:00 am- Chief Chipepo from Siavonga arrives for a meeting that he initiated with me and my friend Dorothy Phiri, who arranged for our visit to his chiefdom to give out glasses. He thanks us for the wonderful service to his people.
11:30 He says "At 16 hours I invite you, Tanya, to come to our Chief's conference at Mulungushi Conference Center to give whatever word the Lord gives you to give to the Chiefs.
11:45 He leaves. I begin weeping. Stunned. Humbled. No words can capture…
12:30 I arrive at Heroes Farm and put my towel on the wood floor of my bedroom. I lie prostrate on it, weeping. Unable to comprehend what God is doing. As I weep, God speaks.  Bit by bit what his message is to the chiefs enters my mind.
3:00 I leave Heroes Farm with a message in my heart and spirit, driving to Mulungushi Center
3:40 I drive in the gates - Impala are roaming on the grass across the street from the mall where I always go to the internet cafe. A fountain shoots water under lines of palm trees and manicured lawns. A huge metal sculpture stands at the entrance of the Conference Center.  I park my old Pajero in the lot, and feeling somewhat conspicuous as the only white person on the premises with men in suits and women dressed in formal African attire, I walk into the beautiful building.
3:45 Dorothy Phiri arrives to accompany me. She phones the chief and asks which building we should be in. We walk to the right building.
4:00 Chief Chipepo greets us warmly and invites us into the VIP lounge. He pulls a small table in front of our chairs in order to serve us. He instructs the wait staff to bring us tea and a plate of finger food.
4:05 We hear the National Constitutional Committee voting on the new constitution being put into place. Inside the doors next to us are the parliament and the chiefs who are writing the new constitution.
4:10 The Chiefs are on break, and start arriving in our room - each one greets us personally with a handshake. We get on our knees for each one and shake their hands and greet them as "Your Royal Highness". They are warm and welcoming. They get snacks and tea and are seated in the large black leather chairs that are positioned in a U shape in the room. Chief Chipepo opens the meeting by saying that Tanya has brought a medical team to check eyes and give out eyeglasses to his chiefdom, and that she is willing to do that for any other chief who is needing that service. (I am surprised to hear that I am - I am just listening to God's plans unfold in the moment)
4:15 The Chairperson opens the meeting and introduces me.
4:16 I kneel before them on both knees and address them "Your Royal Highnesses, I am a simple woman. I am of no importance. I am humbled and honored to be in the presence of great men and women here.” I proceed to explain that I believe that God has shown me that they are great in the physical realm because they have royal blood flowing in their veins and royal cells that make up their bodies. But even better than that, that God has called them to be great in the spiritual realm as well. There is a holy purpose for their lives.  I told the story of Moses, whom God called to set people free from physical slavery. I said that God is calling them to set people free from spiritual slavery. Moses had no weapons, but God accomplished what he did through Moses. He is calling them to be Moses to their people by taking a stand before the evil spirit saying "Let my people go". They also have no weapons, but Jesus said that He was anointed to set the captives free. If you do not know how to access his spirit, he tells us in 2 Chronicles that if we humble ourselves before him, seek him, and give up our wicked ways, he will answer us from heaven and heal our land.  I said that if they do not know how to seek the spirit of Jesus, it is by being still, and inviting him to be their Lord, their ruler. Just as they are rulers of their people, and their people carry their chief's name on their identity cards, Jesus wants us to carry his name, and to submit to him as ruler.  If we follow his instructions, he will come and set the people free from slavery - slavery to greed, to lust, to the love of money, to anger, etc.  I ended by asking them - are you willing to accept God's invitation to be Moses to your people? To see Jesus set them free from spiritual slavery?
4:25 Chief Chipepo invited them to share their contact information with me if they were interested in medical/eye teams coming to serve their people.
4:30 The Chiefteness seated next to me spoke up "I am so encouraged and lifted up by the message we have heard today. Yesterday - in those chambers - we were called savages who ruled over savages. Today, we have heard that we are a chosen people to lead our people to holiness. I am so thankful, so touched, so uplifted by this message. I want to thank our visitor for speaking God's words to us”.
4:35 Chiefs went back to the Constitutional session with members of parliament. My Zambian friend, Dorothy Phiri whispers to me - you don't even know how extremely difficult it is to see these chiefs. It is so unbelievably rare to get an audience with just one of them.
4:40 I drove across the street to the internet cafe, weeping once again to tell you this tale. 

I think I did have some words - is that ok this time David?

Tanya

 

 

Dear Heroes,

 Carolyn Snell shares her mission to Zambia below:

BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE

By Carolyn Snell

About a year ago I received a nudge from God to participate in a mission trip to Zambia Africa with the organization We’re All Gods Children.  This particular mission trip was to entail vision screening and then provide eyeglasses to the poor.

But AFRICA I asked God and myself?!  Never in my wildest imagination would I have ever conceived the idea of going to AFRICA!  I mean that country seemed so far away; so remote, and so very primitive!

However, after meeting with Carol Fanelli and viewing her DVD on a trip to Kenya, my heart was touched.  The pictures of those poor people proudly wearing their new glasses that sometimes were too small, too big, or even for the opposite sex, stirred something inside of me that I cannot explain.  Being an optician, I see people with new glasses everyday – but this was different.  Here in the States, we get to choose our eyeglasses.  The term is even different, it is eyewear.  The choice is based on fashion, name brand, color, and perhaps purpose of use.  Most Americans have several pairs of glasses! But these people are different. Even in still photos, one could sense the hearts of the people in Kenya, their gratitude, and their humbleness. Although they were poor, they were a proud people.

But AFRICA? I came up with lots of excuses not to go.  But God had a plan for me.  He wanted me to go and go I would. I realized it wasn’t about me; instead it was about being obedient to God whom I love.

So off I go to bless the people of Zambia and Grippis Farm with my skill to fit eyeglasses.  Little did I know it would be quite the opposite!  I was blessed beyond description by the people of Zambia. Not only was God going to do a work through me, but he was going to do a work in me!

The first thing I noticed when we arrived in Zambia was the smell. The smell wasn’t of lush green fields with lots of fragrant flowers, but instead the smell was of burning brush and of a very impoverished place. Certainly not like some tropical place I would have chosen.  But God did not give me a choice did he?

Since it was dark when we arrived, I was not prepared for the actual sight of this place!  Not only was the smell unpleasant, the image was worse.  It was of poverty, sickness, disease; hopelessness.  The roads were mainly dirt with lots of potholes and trash strewn along both sides.  There were people everywhere walking to their destinations, without ever having hope of owning a car.

The next day, we walk to Grippis Farm.  This is the place that God has placed upon the heart of Tanya and the hearts of the people of Greenmonte Fellowship in the small town of Stuarts Draft, VA.  This walk from Heros Farm to Grippis Farm brought to my mind a walk that perhaps Mother Theresa would have walked.  In fact, as I witnessed Tanya walking through this little village she so loves, in my spirit Tanya is Mother Theresa!

We were all devastated by the sights we saw walking through this village.  The poorest of the poor were living here.  Children running around in the dirt, no shoes, filthy rags they wore for clothes, and the dirtiest little faces I think I have ever seen.  The women were working hard to do their daily tasks, with a child upon their backs.  I didn’t see many men until we came upon the “tavern”.  There they were - drinking to drown out the desperation and hopelessness of the living conditions their families were in.  I cried tears of sorrow for these people.  “Oh thank you God, for allowing me to participate in this mission trip that will in some small way bless these people” I prayed.

Once we arrived at the school, the teachers and the children had a surprise for us.  They had worked so hard on songs to sing and a skit to perform for us.  Despite the visual aspects of poverty, these children of Grippis Farm portrayed an inner beauty that could not be denied nor contained.  The inner beauty of these people burst forth with so much vivacious energy, that we were completely overcome with joy!

I cannot properly put into words the emotions I had during the eye clinics.  I work in the field of Optometry.  I know how important eyeglasses are.  I know how important medical care for the eyes is.  I know how debilitating a fully developed cataract is to a person.  And I also know how easily some of these conditions are to make better.  It was absolutely heartbreaking to witness a man, woman, and/or child have a cataract (or two) that was so dense it looked like white marbles where an eye should be!  We saw many that had lost vision due to an injury or some genetic disease.  Without the means to pay, these people could not seek medical care for their eyes!  It all seemed so senseless to me. But God was using the sights and the smells to soften my heart that had in some ways had become hard.  After being in Grippis Farm, Chikumbuso, and being in Chief Chipepo’s village for a day, my heart was especially heavy.  On the four hour ride to the Chief’s village on the second day, I cried and I cried.  My heart was screaming out to God “The Injustice of it all!  Where, my God is the justice in this?”  At some point in this period of mourning, I knew it was the Holy Spirit speaking to my heart and my soul. I began to look at things from a different angle. I began to see the good in the bad.

My experience in Zambia wasn’t all “gloom and doom”.  There was a great deal of laughter among the team.  Although we were strangers to one another we shared a common thread that bound us together forming a lifetime of memories and friendships.  Laughter and joy was also prevalent whenever we interacted with the Zambian people.  Their laughter and was contagious to say the least.

Some special people I met that brought me such joy and inspiration were David at Heroes Farm, Issac at Heros Farm, 13 year old Kennedy at the orphanage Chikumbuso, and a fine young man at Chief Chipepo’s village. 

David made me laugh and laugh.  He was always threatening to leave me somewhere!  We bantered back and forth the whole time we were there, but we loved each other. Isaac always had a smile on his face and he has such a sweet spirit about him.  He truly serves the Lord with his whole heart. 

Little Kennedy translated for Miriam and me the entire day with such enthusiasm and joy.  He has the biggest and brightest smile on his precious face. He loves school, speaks three languages, and wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.  I pray that God will make a way for this beautiful child.

And then there was the special young man.  He translated two days for Miriam and me at Chief Chipepo’s village.  He is eighteen years old, an only child, and just graduated from high school.  He still lives with his parents in a hut with no electricity or running water.  He wants to go to college in the field of electrical engineering but has no money.  He needs a sponsor to fund his college tuition.  My heart went out to him  Even though I never lived in poverty such as him, I grew up poor.  I know what it is like to want to go to college, but have no means to do so.  I pray for him as well.

One of the greatest things about this mission trip was our team members.  God sure knows how to place people together to work together for good!  We had the best!  I was so blessed to have Linda as my buddy.  She and I grew so close in those two weeks, we were even thinking alike!  And then there was my girl Lindsay.  She was ALWAYS looking out for me.  Being scatterbrained like I am, I misplaced something every single day I was there.  She would continuously look behind me to make sure I didn’t leave something behind. Thank you Lindsay!

And of course there is Tanya.  I was and continue to be in constant awe of this very special lady.  She serves God and the people of Grippis Farm with such tenacity, endurance, and total love!  She totally amazes me.  God has used this tiny petite woman to move mountains for His honor and glory!

God has been showing me areas in my life that needed changing.  I kept denying this one particular area.  Justifying it in any way I could possibly find.  I had just about convinced myself that it never really existed.  But God wasn’t through with me yet!  On the plane ride to Zambia, I met a gentleman who is a native of Zambia, but travels to the States on business.  He works for a major bank; therefore travels back and forth.  I asked him if he liked the United States. His response was yes in some ways however he noticed that Americans are individualistic; the Zambian people are relational.  Americans are selfish, self-centered, and very much about themselves.  The Zambian people share what they have with one another no matter how small. Time is not important to the Zambians; time is everything to the Americans.  During my two weeks in Zambia, I was reminded of this over and over again.  “I know, I know, I say to God.  I hear you!” I learned early on in life to depend on myself.  I became very independent and self sufficient.  I had to.  By relying on “self”, I became self-centered and selfish.  This is the very thing God has been and continues to speak to me about.  “WOW” and “OUCH” at the same time!  Sometimes we have to keep going around and around that mountain before we learn those lessons huh?

The most special of all nights we had together was the night the teachers from Grippis Farms, the school officials, and government officials came to share dinner with us Zambian style!  After dinner, the sharing began.  Not only did the teachers share, but the officials as well; one testimony after another. The fun part of the evening was everyone singing and dancing with one another totally without culture barriers.  But the absolute best part was the worship and the prayer.  Those teachers sang to our Lord Jesus Christ with such passion and love it penetrated their very souls!  When the time came to pray I know without a doubt the Holy Spirit filled that room and every single person in there!  I have NEVER experienced anything so beautiful, so heart throbbing, or so intense in my life.  We all cried out to God in out own voices, in our own way, and in our own language.  What a harmonious symphony that must have sounded like to God and his angels in heaven above.

I’ll end with this last thought.  I went to Zambia thinking I was going to bless those people and perhaps in some small way I did, BUT I was the one blessed beyond description.  We think of the Zambian people as being poor.  And they are in many, many ways and yet we are too.  They are poor in material things yes.  The sicknesses and death is overwhelming.  But they are so rich in ways that are much more important.  They have a love, a faith and a trust in the Living God that penetrates every single tiny fiber of their being!  They are in constant worship and prayer to our heavenly father.  They have a complete and total dependence on God (not themselves); they simply have to.

So, I ask myself - WHO is poor?  The answer is in the mirror!

I came away from Zambia with a new perspective.  I now have a deep love and respect for those people – those BEAUTIFUL PEOPLE.

Carolyn Snell

 

 

 

 

Chris Beverage

Dear Heroes,

Chris Beverage shares his experience on his mission to Zambia below:

 Dear Friends and Family,

I am safely back in the US and already miss Africa. What an amazing experience it was. To witness God's presence in a place of such poverty is something I can't describe. The people there are so gracious and humble and joyous, it made me feel as though it's us that are lacking. Most of the families in this community have several people living in a 2-4 room mud hut. They are the poorest of the poor but have the most wonderful spirit.

While we were there we began construction on the first building of a school for the community. With the financial help of Grassroots Hereos International in Stuarts Draft, the school is being built for children in the community that cannot afford to go to school otherwise. Each morning we went to the construction site and there were 10-15 members of the community already there volunteering to help. When we left, the building was to the point of putting on the roof. Not too bad for 2 weeks with no tools except for 4 shovels and some masonry tools.

There was a second team that provided vision screenings for the community as well as other poor areas of Zambia. Over the two weeks they gave out over 1,100 pairs of eyeglasses. Again, these people would never be able to afford glasses otherwise.

I want to thank each of you for your prayers and support. It was an experience that will forever change how I view many things. For every one of us that went, God gave us so much more than what we gave the people of Zambia.

 

Chris Beverage

 

Julie Burkholder's Mission to Zambia

Dear Heroes,

Julie Burkholder came to Zambia to explore a call to missions she has had in her heart since she was about 8 years old.  She turned 17 on the night she arrived!  Photos of her below show her praying with a woman from Girppis and making friends with the kids. She shares her experiences in her note below the photos. Her Mom adds a note also.

Dear Miss Tanya,

I told you that you would hear my thoughts on the trip once I processed them.  So here is the best I can work out for now. Arriving at Heroes Farm Monday night was wonderful.  Over time, that house became like a home away from home because of the people that were in it. I really enjoyed David's character, attitude, and perspective nature.   I loved the simplicity of the house itself.  There wasn't much there beyond what was needed (in an American viewpoint), but that allowed us to be focused on the mission instead of wishing to get back to whatever luxury we had left at the house.  As far as the living style at Heroes, I found it to be just about like we live at home just a little plainer.
  

  Grippis was wonderful.  I loved seeing the people that you keep talking about and the places that show the improvement in their lives.  I'm excited by the vision and excitement that is sweeping the village as more and more people are getting the idea that they don't have to stay in the same situation forever.  The children are precious and the teachers are so inspiring, I had no chance to be depressed.  All I could do was praise God for where he had brought this community and where He was leading them.  I know there are still lots of huge obstacles to overcome, but if God has brought them this far in this short amount of time, how much farther will he take them in the years ahead, just like you said at the well dedication day.
    

About Chief Chipepo's village, it was so Godish the way everything worked out. The smallest amount of people were in that village, but we got to do two chief's and you got to talk to almost all of them!  
    I think that was all the major observations about Zambia.  It is a lot easier to understand the Bible now.  The way Jesus did His ministry makes so much more sense as does the way the Israelites lived in the OT.  It also makes sense why God sent Jesus to be in the "third-world culture," because that is what most of the world lives in, if He had sent Him to a "First-world culture," most people wouldn't understand the Bible.   I hope to go again sometime so I can learn to know the people more instead of just the situation.              Julie.

 

Julie’s Mom, Marilyn who accompanied Julie to Zambia adds these observations as well, “Our time in Zambia was even more precious as I watched Julie's call to missions was affirmed, knowing that I will one day be releasing her to follow that call to places and persons to which we were ministering.  She willing returned home, but her heart was left there in a totally different way then mine.  We came to love the people and desire to see their hearts following the Lord.”

Marilyn

Saving Lives in Zambia

Dear Heroes,

I am always so blessed to be able to help those who are in very serious need in Grippis with the funds that you are providing.  This trip I encountered some very serious medical situations which were quickly becoming life threatening.  The first day I was at Grippis, Lillian, showed me her finger. It looked to me like there was some of it actually missing. She said she had not injured it, that it just started swelling and then it turned into what you see in the photo.  She had gone to the local clinic and had already received 10 injections, but the finger was not improving.  I was able to take her to a surgeon in downtown Lusaka where they x-rayed it and then opened it  up and cleaned out the infection.  It took three trips downtown to get it all taken care of. The nurse told me if we hadn’t intervened it would have soon developed gangrene.  Lillian sent me a message through Vincent that now her finger is better.  Lillian is able to go back to work now.  She got a job as a maid in the nearest community to Grippis. (She earns $45/month) She has built a small mud brick house for herself and her 6 children – she recently separated from her abusive husband to make a better life for herself and her children.  She is more confident and joyful than I have ever seen her. She is going to the new church plant in Grippis, and is the song leader there. Her relationship with God has given her new hope and faith that God will take care of her.  (She is pictured praying during the church service we attended at Grippis where Pastor Elias of Harvest Church is leading the new church plant which meets at Mango Grove School.)

Another person you helped was this little boy who came to the eye clinic in Chief Chipepo’s Chiefdom in Siavonga. (Pictured in pink) He was beaten with a stick that had broken his eyeball open.  The local doctor put gauze on the eyeball, but couldn’t do anything else to help him. He needed to have the eye removed and an artificial eye put in.  His family had no way to pay for the surgery. He had been living with his eye ruptured for almost a year. He is 9 years old.  We were able to pay for his eye surgery. With your donated funds. I don’t have contact information for the mother, but she was so grateful for the help that we offered, and I hope to be able to follow up with someone after he has his surgery.  He is pictured getting his good eye checked at the vision clinic.

One of my dearest friends in Grippis is Josephine Phiri. She has a heart of gold, and her family is an amazing bastion of God’s love and light in Grippis. She, her husband Fred and her adult son Abel took the tailoring class, and are all anxious to resume classes when we are able to fund those again.  She just had her eighth child, Emmanuel.  Following the birth she had surgery. About a week after surgery she developed pain in the area of the surgery, and then got a fever. When I saw her she had a raging fever, was chilling and in severe pain.  I took her to a good clinic in Lusaka where she received medications to fight infection and help with the pain and fever. I paid for that with your donations. By the time I left Zambia she was feeling better, and had had a check up with the doctor who adjusted some of her meds.  Thanks to you she is in good health again.

 As I walk through the Grippis community I see so many others who have received medical help from your funds – Mrs. Banda, who invited the teachers to start a school under the mango tree in her yard had a granddaughter, Teresa, with a hole in her heart. She was only 3 years old.  A donation paid for her to see a cardiologist, and when she grabbed my hand to walk around the village with me on this visit, I asked her how she is feeling “I’m fine now. I’m not sick any more,” she told me. “I’m six years old!” she beamed.  In 2008, Mr. Sachika’s grand daughter, Maggie was bitten by a snake, and by the time I saw her leg it was horrid – the skin was broken down, it was terribly swollen, and she couldn’t walk on it. The other children would carry her around the school yard. She was depressed, and would sit by herself a lot.  With donated funds we were able to get her help at an orthopedic hospital outside of Lusaka. She had surgery on her leg, and is now walking and running around with the other kids. You would never know by looking at her that she almost lost her leg!   Another teenaged girl was helped to get meds to stop her seizures, a little boy had an insect flushed out of his ear which was severely infected, another boy was treated for bilharzia which is life threatening.  So, I am saying thank you on behalf of all those you have helped over the years. You have saved many lives!

Rich Blessings,

Tanya Brenneman

Dear Grassroots Heroes,

Bible School, Jimmy The Machine, The Well Dedicated

Wednesday started with a Bible School at the Mango Grove Community School for the children and youth. The mission team presented the story of Jesus as the good shepherd who goes after the one sheep that is lost and brings him home. They had a craft for all the kids to do with cotton and glue to make the printed picture of a sheep fuzzy. It was the first time the children had ever used glue! They thoroughly enjoyed it and held those little sheep pictures close when they left for home! Linda led the teaching, and said she has always been shy about speaking in front of anyone, but this time the Holy Spirit flowed through her in a new and powerful way – words just poured out that she had not planned, and could not repeat. She was so blessed to experience God enabling her and speaking through her to reach the children.

The construction project is ongoing. The challenge is to get the water from the well to the construction site. They hooked a heavy long hose up to the pump, and pumped the handle so the water filled the hose. But, the water had to be put into a barrel in order to get it to where it was needed, so the team had to lift the heavy hose up and work the water up into the elevated section, while blocking it from flowing backwards. It was heavy, hard work. But they did it! Everyone got into the work – even some of the older ladies on the mission team helped carry cement blocks from the pile to the site. The walls are rising up! We are all amazed at the intensity with which the young men from the community are working – and doing it nonstop. The team nicknamed one “The Machine” because he shovels and digs and pushes barrels with all his might at top speed. There are about 7 of these teenage boys who are volunteering to help with this building project. What an inspiration and joy to see them laughing as they work and interacting with the American team!

In the afternoon we gathered around the well and began to sing praise songs “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.” As we sang, the Grippis women gathered with us and started singing some of their own songs. More and more poured down the path to join the celebration over the well. They danced, they acted out the songs, they passionately praised God for the water, for his love, for his power. Mr. Sachika thanked the team on behalf of the community, and Carol Fanelli of We’re All God’s Children officially gave the well to the community. She and Mr. Sachika pumped the handle together as an official symbol of the turn over. We thought together about how much God has done in that community. I asked the crowd, “Five years ago, could you have ever imagined that that you would have two wells, and this big plot of land for your new school, and a new building sitting on it?” “No” they shouted in unison, and then broke into a long period of shouting, clapping, punctuated with shrieks of joy.

God’s plans are so much greater than we can imagine! Who knows what the community will look like five years from now! Our hopes and prayers are that first of all the people of Grippis are serving Christ with all their hearts and that through them, He is accomplishing his purpose! Rich

Blessings, Tanya

Dear Grassroots Heroes,

Building More Than A School

The construction mission team is working hard in the hot sun, dust and wind at Grippis Farm. They are doing manual labor in a very rustic way. At first it was just them toiling. As the villagers witnessed their hard work, one by one they began to join the volunteer effort. They grabbed picks and shovels the team bought for the project and began to dig out the hard, dry soil for the footers of the foundation. They chopped out roots and stumps with a pick axe. Together the growing team knocked out the work in good time.

The next phase was to transfer the concrete blocks from where the truck had dropped them to the building location. The team started carrying the blocks one at a time to the site. The teachers, on their first day of school vacation, arrived to help them. Soon, the children of the village saw the effort and wanted to help. Little tiny children were carrying the heavy blocks. Someone had the idea to form a “bucket brigade” to move the blocks. So, the Americans, the villagers and the children formed a long line passing the blocks along. For hours they moved blocks. The little children didn’t tire. The block layers began to lay the blocks – filling he holes in the center with concrete as they went. By days end they had four layers of blocks laid.

Today they are trying to mix the concrete to pour the slab for the floor.

The well is not yet opened, so the villagers have to fill huge barrels with water at the old well and roll them UP hill to the new site. It takes one hour to fill and roll one barrel of water to the site. No wonder they had requested a well at the new construction site! The new well won’t be useable until tomorrow. But, the workers aren’t daunted by the task at hand. By noon, they have 4 barrels of water, and they can start to mix when they have 5. A total of eight will be required for the work today. Tomorrow they will continue to build up the walls, which should be completed by Friday!

There is more than building a school going on here. Vincent said it this way “It is like the people of the village just woke up. They have started working on their own plots of land now – clearing the trees, and stumps, getting them ready for their own building projects. Somehow they have been inspired by seeing the school started. They have realized that there is hope, and it can be done, and they can make it happen! It means a lot to them that these people have come to help them – without getting anything in return. They feel by the team’s hard work – that they are valuable enough to help.” Who can measure the impact of being loved and served? One day we will all look back and be able to trace the path of the villagers as they were touched by the love of

God through his children!

Rich Blessings, Tanya

Above are a few photos that go with the article entitled "Confusion, Laughter, Disappointment & Realization" This was sent out to the GHI mailing list. The boy in the

striped clothing is the one who lost his eye as a result of a beating. Thanks to the

generosity of a donor he is receiving an operation and a replacement artificial eye.

Tanya

Dear Heroes,

For many months it has seemed like nothing is going on at Grippis Farm. There was nothing new, nothing happening, nothing visibly changing. Then, today when I drove into the new school land, it was full of activity that it caught me off guard. The well drilling rig towered high above it all, and the sound of the drilling filled the air. Children surrounded the rig, watching, playing, waiting for the end results of this all- day affair. In front of the well drilling rig a large truck was full of people lifting concrete blocks off to others on the ground who were stacking them in piles. To the right was a huge dump truck dumping cement, and a team of men and women moving fast to mix it into the layers of river sand and gravel that had already been laid in the ditches dug yesterday for the foundation. Up the dirt trail all day long came women pushing very heavy wheelbarrows full of small stones. They dumped their stones onto the growing pile, and the Chairman of the village, Mr. Soko placed a small stone on the pile of stones on the ground in front of him representing how many wheelbarrow loads that woman had brought. They will be paid by the load.

At the school the boys soccer team was showing off their new soccer uniforms, and the girls were playing netball in their bright outfits as well. They were stoked. Proud as peacocks, they pranced around!

Where did all this activity come from? Silently, out of sight ,God had been cutting the pieces of the mosaic that he put together today. In Grippis the women had been using heavy sledge hammers to break up big rocks into small stones, Mr. Sachika had been going about his duties with the Ministry of Lands, the architect and the foremen had been working on the drawings for the school, churches and individuals in Pennsylvania and Virginia sold hot dogs, washed cars, hosted benefit meals, Bible School teachers prompted donations from their pupils, and 17 of us were listening to God’s call to do our small part to be here on this day, and many, many others heard God’s prompting to give generously. We are a body – all working together to bring about God’s plan. We each have only a small part, but when it comes together as God has designed it, it is a beautiful sight.The well will be flushed out tomorrow, and we will dedicate it and give it to the community on Tuesday. I will have some photos of the clean water coming out of it for you to enjoy. I can taste the pride of the community as these improvements are made on their land. We have all given them hope of a future that is better than the past.

Thank you for doing your part!

Tanya

Dear Heroes,

“Praise God I can see, I can see”, the elderly woman grabbed team member Carolyn Snell, laughing and laughing, hugging her close and dancing with her around the mud brick school room where the vision screening was taking place. Her joy captured the heart of our day today. Bringing sight to all ages of people at Grippis Farm was heat warming to say the least. The team of teenage girls, moms and others carried out the screening and eyeglass donation with ease, making lot of people very happy. Even the teachers from Mango Grove School got to take advantage of glasses, which they had never been able to afford. They were so thankful. Some of our favorite people through the years in the story of Mango Grove School, like Mrs. Banda, Fred and Josephine Phiri, Mrs. Chungu, and 290 others left with “new eyes”!

While the vision screening was happening, the construction crew from our team was busy digging the foundation for the building. Chris, Andy, Dale, Heather and Dennis worked in the hot African sun, using a pick, and a shovel to assist the locals in the back-breaking work. Tomorrow the foundation will be poured and then the blocks, which were delivered to the site today will be laid up until they are ready to place the rafters and roofing. Tomorrow the well drilling rig will roll onto the property, and yes, believe it or not, we just got a pledge for the $2,000 needed to complete the well. How amazing is our God? And how precious are his people who listen to his prompting to carry out his work!

The vision clinic moves to an urban slum tomorrow. I will move between the construction/well drilling site and the vision clinic to report to you how things are going! Thank you for your support and prayers
Tanya

The Dance of Joy

The mission team’s first day started at Grippis Farm with a walking tour from Heroes Farm to the Mango Grove Community School. The reality of the horrible living conditions touched their hearts and many of them were crying as they approached the school. The students were anxiously awaiting their arrival. They lined up in the sunshine by grade and sang their hearts out for all the visitors. They sang praise songs, and worship songs, and performed a skit and poems for us. The team sang two songs for the kids and did a skit and we ended with the children in a big circle so we could greet and take photos with them. They loved the attention, and it was hard to get the team to say goodbye!

Later that evening, after our welcome dinner with the team, the teachers, the school board and the government officials, I certainly didn’t expect the living room of Heroes Farm to erupt into spontaneous praise dancing! Older white ladies joined in with the young Africans, old Africans bobbed and weaved with young white kids – hands clapped the African rhythm, the harmony rang out strong, the fever pitch built. The joy broke loose, and we were caught up in it together. Praising God, laughing, moving to our own singing. Poor village women wearing chitengas with babies on their backs, danced with seminary professors straight out of their classrooms, women dressed in evening wear swayed with others in jeans and t-shirts, the government officials of Grippis lost all their inhibitions in the middle of the circle of joy. These were rare moments of unity, when we dropped all that was different and fused into a oneness of spirit.

The build up was gradual, with one person after another sharing about how good our God is. Trials, hard times, character shaping, life molding experiences all under God’s hand led us all to this place, at this time to bring about the will of God. The focus was on God’s work in the Grippis community. Dr. Nelipher Moyo gave the history of God’s work from the beginning of the school and led up to the present. Mr. Sachika took the floor and preached a sermon right out of the depths of his heart, sharing his testimony of tribulations and loss that has led to something better than he ever had when he was an important employee of B.P. with every comfort. “If a person isn’t ready to walk the path of thorns, they aren’t ready to be a Christian,” he challenged us. We spent time in passionate prayer for the school and the community – for the transformation of hearts, minds and spirits. The sound was a roar of languages calling out to God for help.

The teachers, the school board, the young community members shared their gratitude for the team coming, for raising the funds to put in a new well and start their new school building. The Zambian law says that if you buy land and do nothing with it within a few months, the government can take it back, so by building this storage building and putting in the well, the team has given the community the security of knowing that their land will remain with them. The team presented 60 brand new soccer uniforms to the teachers, who were so moved and happy. Now the students can actually join a league and play other schools- before they were restricted from participating because they had no uniforms.

I closed by reminding the teachers that when we first came to Zambia and saw the heroic efforts of local teachers at Grippis, we wanted to name our organization after them so we named it Grassroots Heroes International . I presented them each with a Grassroots Heroes T-shirt, the government officials joined the spirit and accepted one as well, even Dr. and Mrs. Moyo wanted t-shirts to wear. They left with their shirts on, their smiles beaming and their hearts buoyed by the marvelous experience of worshipping God for what he has already done, and what is yet to come!

Your purchase of a Grassroots Heroes t-shirt will help support these heroic teachers efforts to educate the vulnerable children in the most extreme poverty. Or, a donation can help us give them a higher salary than they currently receive. Or, you could help finish the new schoolroom and drill the well for the community.Log onto http://www.grassrootsheroes.org/ to continue to join what God is doing in Zambia.
Blessings,
Tanya