In the summer of 2017, I decided to go on my first mission trip to Tanzania. I crawled into the tent closest to one of two dim lights hanging from ropes surrounding our campsite. I pulled out my sleeping bag, exhausted already from the 30+ hours it took to get to Maisome Island. I wept. …
Four things come to mind as I think about the work that God did and continues to do in my heart after coming home from Tanzania: Pride. Process. Stewardship. Work. Pride. If I could express myself artistically, I would draw a man out on a tree limb with a pair of scissors cutting off a small …
Riches. Success. Power. Sexual conquest. Tibenderana believed he could achieve these by committing murder. He chose to slay a child with albinism. His superstitious beliefs required the boy’s body parts in witchcraft rituals to achieve his goals. What he did achieve? Five years of imprisonment. After his release from prison, “Tibe” apologized to his community, …
Christina believed God called her to a teaching job in an unfamiliar village often called “the home of witchcraft.” This required a move away from the big city and from all her friends and family. Christina chose to set aside her comfort for the sake of kindergarten students who would otherwise receive no education. Forty …
“My dad is a witch doctor. My mom is a witch doctor. My sister is a witch doctor. A year ago I would’ve introduced myself as Shadrack, the future witchdoctor!” Shadrack Samson never hesitated over the question of what he wanted to be when he grew up. Of course he would take over the family …
The day began like any other. Moses Paulo ran through the forest with his friends, joking and laughing as they gathered fruit for their families. How could they know years would pass before they saw their homes again? Vans screeching through the trees ravaged the quiet. Men erupted from the vans and charged toward the …
The contagious smile above belongs to Christina Razaro, a kindergarten student at Twelve21 Global’s school on Kome Island in Tanzania. Here is a little bit of what she has to say about school: “I love going to school every day because I see my teachers; I love them. I also love going to school because …
Mothers. They love unconditionally. They sacrifice daily. They pray fervently. They seek the best for their children and their families. Some days it feels overwhelming. Yet, day after day, they strive to put others’ needs above their own. A mother is a mother, no matter where in the world you find her. Salima Shaban, a mother to a student at our Kome …
Khadija had never seen crowds like this before in her little village in Tanzania. People from all over the region of Kilimanjaro had gathered for a week long medical clinic put together by Twelve21 Global volunteers. As a leader in the village, Khadija made sure to be present in the area where the people were …
On Wednesday, April 1, Yusuph received dire information from our Tanzanian Country Director, Pastor Jeremiah Motomoto. With the threat of COVID-19 looming over the country there was a high probability of the nation shutting down in the immediate future. A shut down in Tanzania would mean more than just self-isolation and boredom at home. It …
