ESTHER and MAOMBI

ESTHER

MAOMBI

These are the faces of two of the most incredible girls we have ever met.  Look closely at their faces, the smiles, the eyes that show obvious love and contentment.

ESTHER

Esther is a 22 year old school girl with the ambition and desire to excel in this life.  She comes from a family of 4 sisters and 2 brothers.  Her home is in Dar es Salaam.  She came to Mwanza to better her education and attend school and she has not seen her mother or her family in over one year.  Goodluck met Esther in school when he visited to minister to the girls.  Esther is the Prime Minister of the school, which would be our Vice President.   As they became very close, Goodluck and Julia "adopted" Esther and invited her to stay with them when they have breaks at the school.  When we arrived at Goodluck's the first night, after our long, tiring ride on the bus from Dar es Salaam, we were greeted by Esther and Maombi with their warm smiles and "Karibu, Karibu Sana" (welcome, you are welcome very much). 

Esther is full of life, full of joy, full of love for the Lord.  We listen to her sing as she washes the dishes and washes clothes.  This 22 year old gets up early every morning to prepare breakfast and coffee.  She never complains, never whines when she has to fetch the water from the well and carry the heavy 5 gallon buckets  to the kitchen and bathrooms.  

In her broken English she will put her arms around our necks and tell us that she loves us, calling us Mama Janice and Daddy Eddie.   Since we have been here, we gave her the pet name of "Esy".   This is not common in Tanzania, so she and Maombi feel very special with their new names.  Esther is getting homesick for her mother and will be going home Monday to see her before the school year begins again, October 8.  She is looking forward to cooking the new dishes of chicken & rice, vegetable soup & hash browns for her family that she has learned to cook. 

Esther has blessed our hearts with her sweet, sweet spirit.  She is quite in nature, but she loves to laugh and enjoys every opportunity she has to sing for the Lord.  Her voice is absolutely breath taking!  She thinks that we have taught her much since we have been here.  Little does she understand how much she has taught us. 

MAOMBI (Prayer)

Maombi is 18 years old and was orphaned when she was very young.  She has no family, and now considers Goodluck & Julia her "Daddy & Mommy".  Maombi also attends the school with Esther.  This is where they met and became very close friends.  Maobmi is the President of her school.

Maombi has a very outgoing personality, loves to laugh, makes jokes and is full of life.  No doubt she and Eddie hit it off from the very start.  When we were introduced to her, we started calling her "Mo".  She is now officially "Mo", and has told us that she loves her new name and will be called this now by her friends. 

She too gets up early to start the daily chores.   In Tanzania you do not see yards that are manicured with green grass.   Homes are surrounded with red dirt, trees and occasionally a beautiful plant filled with flowers.  We were sitting inside one day and heard this sweeping sound and a beautiful voice singing praises.  Looking out the window, we saw Maombi as she swept the dirt!  You are kidding me, am I actually looking at her sweep the ground?  Not only was she sweeping, she was sweeping with a pattern!   When she finished it looked like the ground was covered with ceramic tile. 

Maombi loves to cook.  She spends most of her day preparing meals.  Truly, she is a master at cooking rice.  No matter what the menu, since we have been here Eddie has requested that Mo prepare rice.  Maombi has watched closely as we prepared the meals for them, because she loves to cook and wants to learn new ways to prepare meals for her Daddy Goodluck & Mommy Julia.

Maombi also loves the Lord.  As we walked by her room one morning, you could hear her crying out before the Lord.  She was praying in Swahili and I know that her praises are pleasing to the Lord.  It was not a concern to her that someone might hear, she was not quiet in her prayer.  As you could hear her weeping and calling out to the Lord, you could only imagine that her hands were raised as she gave Him praise.

Esther and Maombi will begin their school year October 8.   In Tanzania if a student excels in their studies, the Tanzanian government will pay for their education.  There is no doubt that Esther and Maombi will qualify at each stage of their school exams.   Their graduation will be in February, 2011.  Then they must pass their final exams to qualify for the university of their choice.  Both girls plan to further their education and attend a university.  Boyfriends are not a consideration while they are in school.  They are focused on their future and have no desire to allow anything to hinder them.  Imagine that concept in America!