But God is bigger than any obstacle that arose, and one by one, He moved the mountains. We saw His miraculous intervention and His divine favor operate on our behalf and in the end, we purchased the original piece of land that we were so sure that God had chosen for us.
After the legal documents of the sale were signed at the attorney’s office, we took the children and staff out to property to pray and praise God for this amazing miracle. The children were so excited to see the land where their new home will eventually stand. They ran all around it and asked, “Where will my house be, Mama?” “Where will Mama Lydia’s house be?” “Where will the soccer field be?” “How long will it take to build it and when can we move in?” I told them I could not answer the last question, as we all needed to pray for God to provide the finances to begin to build. We made photocopies of the site plans and hung them on the wall in each of the children’s bedrooms so they could pray along with us for God to bring the vision of the new Treasures of Africa Children’s Village to pass.
Then a Tanzanian road contractor made a generous offer to level the land for the buildings as his gift to the orphans. We were so blessed by this
first gift out of Africa – and rejoiced the day the earth moving equipment arrived to begin its work. Shortly afterwards, a missions team from Tracy Community Church in California arrived in Tanzania to help plant trees around the entire 5.4 acres along our property lines. We are so grateful to everyone who made a donation to help purchase the trees. Since the acreage we bought was used as farmland to grow maize, it was completely stripped of the trees that had once heavily forested the area many years ago. We intend to plant a full 1000 trees around the property before we are finished.
The next step in the development of this land will be to drill a well. Water will be necessary for the entire construction process since cement and concrete require water. We will need to have a pump and storage tanks installed, so that is a big and costly project, estimated to be between $15,000 and $25,000. But it is an investment that will pay dividends for many years to come for Treasures of Africa. Eventually we will have piped water, but as long as we have our own source of water, we will be able to function even if infrastructure problems cause a breakdown in the water delivery system, which we have seen before.
Following the well drilling, we plan to begin construction of a brick wall around the entire property. Security is a serious concern, especially as we begin bringing construction materials and equipment to the site. Since it is in an area where there are few people living nearby, we will have to guard the construction site well, so we will not have a loss of the building materials through theft. And we are determined to build a brick wall, though far more expensive than wire fencing, because we have had thieves cut through the wire fence at TOA in Moshi seven different times during the middle of the night! We know that building a wall of that size is a huge undertaking but we believe it is worth the investment in the security not only of the buildings, but the children and staff who will eventually live there.
You can be a part of this next phase of development of the Treasures of Africa Children’s Village by sending a donation toward constructing the wall. A $50 donation will buy 100 bricks and a $500 donation will buy 1000 bricks. Any size donation will be greatly appreciated as we will build this wall one brick at a time!
As we move forward by faith to begin this building project, we are fully confident that our FAITH will become SIGHT – and Treasures of Africa Children’s Village will arise from the ground as a testimony to the goodness and faithfulness of God.
Come and let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer be a reproach.” And I told them of the hand of my God which had been good upon me...
So they said, “Let us rise up and build.” Then they set their hands to this good work.
Nehemiah 2:17-18
