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Monday, January 11, 2010
Steve & Susan Vinton
Village Schools International
Box 1929 Tomball Texas 77377
January 12, 2010
Yesterday was a long, long day, but last night was wonderful. A true treasure.
The day began in Dar es Salaam at 5 in the morning, we were already at the bus station by 6, and then we were traveling across this great land, up mountains, through rain storms, across the plains and plateaus, seeing herds of elephants, watching our sons bargaining for maize from the sellers who held forth their tempting roasted treats on long sticks reaching up to the windows of the bus. We shared roasted meat that Josh & Jonathan bought at the roadside stands, we drank fruit juices that we had missed the months we were in America, we met new friends on the long bus ride. We were going home! And then suddenly the bus rounded the bend and came up the hill and we were in the town of Mafinga. And there were Godfrey and Emmanueli to greet us and receive us and welcome us, their faces beaming, and we were home. We were already home even though we still had a long journey to actually get to Madisi.
The two-hour ride in the car was wonderful. It had been raining for days, and the roads were soupy mud and I was glad that Emmanueli was driving and not me. I loved seeing Emmanueli's smile again. The conversation was animated and bounced all around the country, punctuated with text messages coming into my phone with greetings from all of our schools after Godfrey let everyone know that we were in the car heading for Madisi. It was wonderful having those hours slipping and sloshing around in the mud to catch up on all of the news. Our poor truck Mwanaume was still stuck in the mud. Edgar would bring his bride to Madisi on the 23rd. Justin had spoken to large groups of students at four different schools in Iringa and we were to meet with all of them on the 16th. The District Medical Officer had come to inspect Susan's Community Treatment Center and was just waiting for us to return to organize the ribbon cutting and the grand opening. And at school after school, Godfrey had stories to tell of the special things our students had done to work with our dump trucks and push forward on a grand scale the building programs in our schools. It warmed our hearts to hear the news of our recent graduates out doing their internships, teaching our students, organizing people to build more classrooms, learning the ropes of running this work, and both the guys chimed in with great stories of how they were doing.
And then we were at Madisi! They must have spent all 86 days we were away scrubbing our house and it was so filled with flowers that it smelled almost like a flower shop! They had stocked the house with everything from rice to green peppers and carrots, the generator was on and we had lights and electricity, and it was just wonderful giving and getting hugs and simply being home. And then they walked with us up to the school where they had prepared a wonderful feast, a huge party, a time for us to all be together. It was all organized like a wedding, complete with the DJ and music, the wedding cake that Joshua and Jonathan were to cut and to feed me and Susan, and there were mounds and mounds of food, goat and chicken, rice and pilau, fruits and vegetables, sodas and so many gifts wrapped in brightly colored wrapping paper -- everything from wonderfully delicious imported apples from South Africa and two beautiful cucumbers from Mbeya, to a huge pig for Jonathan that will soon become ham and sausage and grilled pork chops. But what was best was the mood of the evening. It was indeed a time to rejoice that we were home and we were all together again. It was a time to truly thank God for having very graciously granted Jonathan a successful heart surgery and a wonderful recovery. It was also a time, as Godfrey noted, for reflection. So much had indeed changed -- the school at Madisi had been painted, the huge herd of goats was gone from the Madisi hill and the flowers could finally bloom in peace (the goats we learned were in exile at a farm a couple of miles away), more classrooms had been built, the students had even redone the road through the forest so it would be passable during this rainy season -- but for as much as so many things had changed, one thing had clearly not changed. And that was very evident for all to see in that room last night. There was still that same great joy of being together and that same real spirit of love. Last night was a spectacular display, a real living image of what Paul had written in 1 Corinthians 13, for yes, truly, "the greatest of these things is love". It truly doesn't matter how many schools we build, how many students we enroll, how many kids we share the Gospel with, how many widows or orphans we help, if there is no love in us and in what we do, it really is all nothing, we are nothing, and the whole thing is nothing. Now some people might argue with that and find the statement a bit of an exaggeration. But in God's eyes, Paul tells us, even if we give up our bodies to be burnt, but we have not love, we gain nothing! We can give everything we possess to the poor, we can have a faith that can move mountains, we can fathom all mysteries and have all knowledge, but without love, it is all nothing.
I am up early this morning, several hours before sun up. Part of it is just that my body has yet to adjust to the time zone changes. Part of it is that I just wanted to watch the sun come up here at Madisi because it really is one of the most beautiful sights in the world. Part of it is that I just wanted to bask in the joy of thinking about last night. No matter how many more schools we open, if we have not love, it is nothing. No matter how many more kids we pluck from the ash heap of history and give the chance to study, if we have not love, it is nothing. No matter how many times we share the Gospel, if we have not love, it is nothing. No matter how many widows and orphans we help, if we have no love, it is nothing. Some people say that the greatest thing about VSI is how rapid it has been expanding, the great number of schools, the thousands of students. Some people say the greatest thing about VSI is that we share the Gospel so effectively with our students. There are those who are thrilled with the huge amount of community participation that goes into every classroom that gets built here. Others are drawn to how well our students end up doing on the national examinations. Some like the fact that we have a completely volunteer staff and that it means that not even one percent of people's donations stays in America to run an office. There are a lot of people who are so attracted to the fact that it seems evident that it is God who is at work in producing all that is happening because things have gotten so big so fast clearly no human being could take credit for it all.
But last night what came into focus for me is that while all of those other things are good, truly the greatest thing about VSI is the love. The love is what is truly the greatest thing about VSI. Susan is loved by the people of these villages. We could see people's love for Joshua and Jonathan last night and how happy they were to see Jonathan healthy and us all back here in Tanzania. Godfrey & Emmanueli's love for us was beaming from their faces. And all of this is happening because God in His great love for the people of these villages chose to orchestrate things so that we would all be together in this little corner of the world working and serving together towards the goal of giving every kid the chance to go to school and trying to make sure that every person gets to hear the Gospel. Love is priceless, it is immeasurable and unquantifiable, but it is also very real. God's love is real. Our love for each other is real.
And today is the day that I get to learn the surprise that Godfrey has promised me. He said it would make me cry with joy to see it. I can't honestly think of what could be better than what I saw and felt last night. But I head into the day with anticipation -- I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just wants the time to go faster -- I'm ready to be led around to be shown what is this great thing that they did while I was in America that he is convinced will bring me such a great amount of joy and happiness. Today is truly going to be a great day. This is going to be a great year!
