Over the years I have told people that I am not a poor missionary in Old Maswa,
Tanzania who goes around begging but a missionary who works with the poor and
offers people the opportunity to help those in great need.  Meet these four
Tanzanian people whom we have met at the right place and the right time:
             Felista was badly burned at age two.  Her grandmother took her out
of the hospital where her parents had taken her.  Apparently her arm was tightly
bound to her side; the pain is hard to imagine.  When I met her in 2000, her
fingers protruded from her shoulder. I thought she had been born that way.  I
was shocked when I realized her arm was inside.  At Bugando Hospital in Mwanza,
a visiting surgeon freed her arm where it had been captive for 14 years.  A year
and a half later she is able to raise her arm some and is getting strength in
her fingers.  

            Ng’wasi just popped into my life.  At age 10, she developed an
infection, or maybe a tumor.  She was treated with native medicine, but it did
not stop her from losing half of her face.  In the hospital Ng’wasi had a big
flap of skin that was still connected to her shoulder sewn over the gaping hole
in her face.  A doctor is coming who will continue her treatment.  After a long
period of operations, etc. she will have a new life ahead of her. Meanwhile, I
have helped her open a little store and buy a second hand bicycle so she can
transport supplies to her store. 

            Paulo is disabled with shriveled legs.  We couldn’t restore his
legs but where able to buy him a tricycle that he received with no advance
notice. His joy was exuberant. 

         Clara’s
mother died at childbirth, sadly, for lack of simple care.  Little Clara’s life
was in danger.  I baptized her, naming her after my grandmother.  I then took
her to our maternity ward where she received care for many months before going
home.