Greetings from Tanzania! "Winter" has come here to Tanzania and it is cold! It gets down into the 50s at night and usually barely gets into the 70s during the day. I know that doesn't sound very cold to most of you, but the Tanzanians sure feel it and with no inside heating, the indoor temperature can easily drop into the mid-60s. That gets a little chilly even for us!
Our time here at Waama is quickly coming to an end! We finished finals two weeks ago and now the students are busy fixing the road, harvesting the corn, and preparing the school for graduation - slashing the grass, trimming the hedges, weeding the flowers, and top-to-bottom cleaning of all the buildings. Graduation is not until the 20th, so they have a another week to get all that work done. During this time Jesse and I need to revise all our notes from the past 4 years and transfer them to the school's computer, say all our goodbyes, and pack or give away everything we have here in Tanzania. After graduation we'll be heading to Arusha for a few days. During those couple days I hope to say goodbye to all my friends there and sell my motorcycle (I have a buyer lined up). Then on the 24th I'll say my final goodbye to Tanzania and fly back to Minneapolis. It is sad to think about leaving this beautiful country, but I know that the time is right and I have a lot to look forward to! Adela and I will get married on July 31 and then I'll start seminary in the Fall. We plan on living in Minneapolis for the next 3 years.
I have a number of exciting things to share about. First of all is the solar Jesus Film equipment. Jesse and I have traveled quite extensively in the area surrounding Waama showing the Jesus Film. We saw that it was an incredible ministry but we wanted to pass this ministry off to the Tanzanians. This was not viable because very few of them have vehicles to transport all the traditional equipment and operational costs alone would grind it to a halt even if there was a car. So Jesse did a bunch of research and found a Christian company that makes battery powered, solar charged Jesus Film projection kits that fit into a backpack. With a lot of help from a lot of friends, we purchased three of these kits. We are happy to say that we have sold two of these kits (at a fraction of its value) to very qualified church leaders who have a passion for evangelism. We are looking to sell the third one this Wednesday. That is a huge answer to prayer. Not only do we not have to worry about unused equipment, but now the Jesus Film ministry has "gone local". We praise God for this. Jesse and I also gave our "traditional" Jesus Film equipment (generator, huge speaker, projector, etc) to some fellow missionaries who will continue to use that equipment to show the Jesus Film to the Datooga people. 
Here is Jesse entrusting Pastor Marco with the first battery powered, solar charged Jesus Film projection kit. He has reported lots of showings and much interest in his new ministry. The second kit has also been sold and we hope to sell the third on Wednesday.
Second, Froidis, our good friend and fellow missionary, is back from Norway. She was the one who had a serious stroke a couple months back. Things looked very serious as half her body was paralyzed and she even lost her ability to read. But she has made a very quick recovery and is back in Mbulu. When she left, I figured I'd never see her again in Tanzania. But God had mercy on her and she is back and her ministry continues, even if at a slower pace than before. 
Froidis is standing between Jesse and I. She recently recovered from a stroke. She is an amazing woman who is completely fluent in English, Swahili, Norwegian, and Kiiraqw! On my left is Nora, Froidis' "boss" and a good friend of ours who was visiting from Norway. Froidis translated the Bible into Kiiraqw and is now working on a Kiiraqw literacy program.
Third, everyone who was involved in the car crash is doing very well. Israeli, Jesse, and Per (Scripture Mission missionary) are all doing fine with their injuries amounting to nothing more than a number of scratches and Per received a pretty good gash on his head which is now healed. Pastor Mao broke his collar bone but is healing very well. He is moving around and gave testimony in church yesterday of God's grace to him through it all. His collar bone is still healing, but it appears that it just needs a little more time before his recovery is complete. Pastor Dallei (the dean at Waama) was the person who got hurt the worst. As you remember he fractured his skull in three places and broke his shoulder and a number of ribs. The scariest thing was that it was like his mind shorted out and he would just babble endlessly. Jesse and I visited him last month and we were very thankful to see that his endless babbling had stopped. While we were there, a local doctor set his arm and a couple of his ribs (without any painkiller!) and immobilized him so that his bones could start healing. Up until that point he was in terrible amounts of pain and he could hear his bones grinding when he moved. This past Saturday, a number of the teachers and staff went to visit him. We were all overjoyed with the progress he has made. It was like the old Pastor Dallei was back. He was laughing and joking and talking just like normal. He shared of how God was using that time greatly in his life. His testimony was the same as the Apostle Paul, "When I am weak, then I am strong." He said his bones are healing fine, too. His major remaining health concern is his eye. He broke the eye socket in two places. Immediately following the injury, he was seeing double. Then he lost vision all together. Presently his vision has returned in that eye, but it is extremely sensitive to light so he had it closed the whole time we were there. The doctors said this was normal and they expect a full recovery, but that it will take plenty of time, perhaps even as long as 6 more months. We thank God for all the healing that has taken place and we continue to pray for a complete recovery. Many thanks to all of you who have prayed and sent encouraging words to Pastor Dallei. 
This picture was taken on Saturday. Pastor Dallei is wearing the blue checkered sheet third from the right, front row. To the right of him in the yellow dress is his wife. Directly behind Pastor Dallei is Israeli. To Israeli's right (our left) is Pastor Mao. The rest are teachers and staff from Waama or wives of teachers and staff.
Thanks so much for all of your prayers, encouragement and support over the last 4 years. I hope to send one more update from Arusha before I leave, but this will be my last update from Waama. God is faithful!
May God richly bless you,
Ben
PS For more pictures and news check out our blog! http://benandjesse.blogspot.com
