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 …
Indescribable pain. Unknown sources. Unending hopelessness. From childhood, Janet Juma lived a life of agony and darkness. Puzzled by the diseases riddling her child’s body, Janet’s mom became so desperate that she withdrew her daughter from school to seek the supposed healing of a local witch doctor. She had great expectations that the witch doctor’s …
Marongo Makeremo clasped her careworn hands tighter as a Twelve21 team member explained how Christ died to give her new life. Gazing at her children and grandchildren gathered near, she thought about the life she lived for the last 75 years. Like her parents before her, she worshipped idols and ancestral spirits in this very …
When I was little, my family didn’t have much. There were many times God used friends, neighbors, church family, and strangers to provide things we needed. They were often things we had not asked for, but it was always just the right thing at just the right time. I watched as my mom prayed, and …
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 …
