Category Archive

It is hard work

  Inspiration is one thing ~ standing before a canvas with a paint brush in hand, a  palette of vivid colors at her side, is even better, but framing and wiring paintings is not what Jessie considers the fun part.   Here she is preparing for another art show to benefit Bishop Stanway Primary School and Msalato Theological College (MTC).  Many of her stunnning and glorious paintings will hang at St. Michael’s Episcopal Church, Raleigh, N.C., (1520 Canterbury Road)  from June 3 through the 17th.    Generously, a percentage of the sales will go to St. Michael’s outreach program as well as to our Tanzanian schools and friends.   Jessie’s paintings hang in galleries and homes across the world.  She has lived and traveled to the far reachs of the earth, and a New York Times art critic wrote:  “Jessie Mackay is recognized in the art world as an artist who can go to the most desirable tourist destinations in Europe ~ to the impoverished heart of Africa ~ and the ability and desire to capture the colors of both places, as well as the people, with a great deal of sympathy,  is a welcome, valuable resource.” Seven of her paintings hang in my house and I can tell you that every time I pass one I think how fortunate I am ~ how rich I am to see such beauty each and every day.  Often, I just stop dead in my tracks and look at them.  If  you live too far away to come to her show, please go to her website:  www.jessiemackay.com.  In today’s world of technology you can view her paintings and purchase one (or two or three!) on-line.  She will frame it and ship it to you.  Even if you have long filled your wall-space, a painting makes a wonderful wedding gift ~ birthday and Christmas gifts to grandchildren.  It’s really a chance of a life time. We live in a troubled world and it is easy to despair about the way in which we seem to be going, but I have a theory:  Great art, poetry, music, drama and literature just might save civilization.  God has done His part in creating the world in which we live.  It is up to us to preserve it. That great American soprano, Beverly Sills said that “we all need a little beauty in our lives.”  Here is a chance to enrich your life and help those who are in dire need of just a little of what we all have.   Blessings to you all.  tally

Remember that song from Oliver?  “Oh food, marvelous food, wonderful food, magical food, fabulous food, beautiful food, GLORIOUS FOOD.”  Now little Oliver was thinking of “a great big steak fried, roasted or stewed.”  I am writing of food for the students at Msalato Theological College.  We received word today that St. Luke’s Foundation in Salisbury, NC has honored our grant request with $25,000.  Halleluiah, Praise the Lord, and grateful thanks to St. Luke’s Foundation.  Sandy just wrote that this is HUGE.  It means the students at the college will have at least 2 meals a day with meat on Saturday.  Now the school can begin buying maize and beans while the prices are somewhat lower than they will be later.  Fresh fruit and vegetables will also be available.   (Tomatoes, onions and spinach).  We nearly danced a jig when we got the word today.  It is later in coming this year and we were holding our breath.  The foundation has awarded over $72,000 to keep the college students fed.  The school had cut food three years ago from their budget and the students were going to have to provide their own food ~ ABSOLUTELY IMPOSSIBLE and one cannot learn on an empty stomach.

Sandy and 25 others left at 5 a.m. last weekend on a bus headed for Kondoa for the consecration of a bishop.  They did not stay for dinner after a 6 hour service, but the bus stopped at a hole-in-the wall diner (her words) that had chips outside and beans and ugali inside.  She said 5 stayed on the bus (4 students and one local pastor).  She and Magi Griffin didn’t get off either.  She said none said a word but she knew they did not have a shilling for food, so she gave them a bag of cookies and some cashews ~ all that she had.  It was the first thing they had eaten all day.  The thought of the students at Msalato going hungry was more than she could bear.   We can almost hear her sigh of relief all the way across the ocean and that huge continent. 

I rarely believe those e-mails that we receive asking us to forward something and within so many days we will get good news.    The other day I sent one on because it was a pretty good story and I thought, what the heck.  Well, great news came today.  Oh yes, Food Glorious Food.

Soon, I hope to have a photo of the new bus for Bishop Stanway Primary School. A generous donor who has contributed so much already to Bishop Stanway over the past five years, has just purchased a bus. Yes, a whole bus! This will be the first and only bus the school has and we are so very grateful to Karl for his gift. As I write this, the bus is being painted yellow, and, with the name of the school. It will make two runs in the morning and afternoon, ferrying the children from Dodoma town to the school. Currently, they take dangerous Dala Dalas. It will also be a good advertisment for the school.

Tally wrote an Easter greeting to Moses and this is his reply after spending time in Ikowa Village for Easter:  “Dear Tally and Jessie,  Thank you so much for the Easter greetings.  Your greetings are still so meaningful to us and the people at Ikowa.  I am truly humbled by the prayers of the Christians of St. Mary Magdalene’s for me.  I really miss these friends and I am encouraged by the greetings that we are still boldly united through prayers and thoughts.  Please give them my particular thanks for their love and prayers.  I believe God will give me another time to meet with these friends of St. Mary Magdalene’s.

Please receive many many greetings from the women (and their men) of Ikowa.  These women in Ikowa never stop calling Tally and Jessie in their prayers whenever they meet in the Church and for their project.  I went there on Friday and found lots of women in the church for Good Friday service.  They were so glad to see me and they kept on asking me about you, Jessie and TOM.  Their faces changed suddenly when I mentioned to them that Tom has passed away.  They were all shocked by Tom’s death and could not resist to pour tears for Tom.  They made me cry as well as I was sharing to them the stories of Tom’s death.  These people of Ikowa love you and Jessie so dearly, and Tom had become part of this friendship.  They feel in their hearts that they have lost Tom as whom they know as a friend in the name of Christ Jesus.  We, we thank God for the gift of knowing Tom and we accept what God has done for Tom.

 The women continue very well with their Pigs project.  I spent the whole Saturday from 9 am to 6 pm visiting the pigs and piglets.  There are 27 new groups of women plus the 9 previous ones.  Each group has three pigs.  All together there are now 108 pigs and piglets in Ikowa for 36 groups of women.  Because each group has 5 women, there are 180 women now in the village who are in this project.  All pigs and piglets are healthy, strong and attractively growing big.  The project is growing well, the women are together and for those who started last year they have started enjoying the fruits of the project.  They are selling sosme of their newborns and they use the money for the needs of their families.  Here is a quotation of their message to you in my own translation from Swahili to English: ‘May God bless your good heart, Jessie and Tally.  You have loved us and have empowered us.  We have nothing to pay you back, but our only word to you is thank you and welcome again.’ “

I know the women rejoiced in showing Moses (who for those of you might not know, is the Rev. Cannon Moses Matonya, Dean of the Msalato Theological College) their projects.  Moses is from this village and has extended family there.  We stay at his Mother’s house when we visit.  Nine hours of meeting the women and pigs, I hope he got some, rest and time with his Mother!  Well done Ladies of Ikowa, you do have something to give back, it is your joy and success in this project.  You make us so very proud of you all.  Jessie & Tally

After loosing our friend Tom, then Holy Week, Easter was a wonderful day of celebration. Our friend, Moses Matonya spent Easter in his village of Ikowa and promised to send an update on the two pig projects there.

A friend of mine mentioned that someone she knew was negative about the work we are doing, questioning whether it will really do any good. This person is also negative about giving any help to the dissadvanaged. Yes, there are abuses, waste, but that exists in all that man does. Government, churches, education, research. I have met people who blame the victims for their problems, again in some cases that might be true, but as a philosophy it is devoid of empathy. This is what I do know. I have been blessed with being born in circumstances where I never had to face dying of starvation, disease, the worry of not having enough to eat. I have not had to watch those I love die from lack of medical attention, I have not felt the helplessness that no matter what I do, my circumstances will not change.

I have had an amazing life, very fullfilling with meaningful work, joy in relatioships with family and friends. The pure joy has been in transactions of giving where it contributes to the flourishing of each person involved. With KARIMU, we have been very careful in choosing the individuals we work with, the projects – chosen by the people who know what they can do successfully given their circumstances,.

For five years now, I have been working and learning from the people in Tanzania. I have learned that attachment to other people and God are more important to me than attachment to things. When I look at Tanzania, I see scarcity unimaginable in the US, but I also see abundance in their faith in God, in their relationships with each other. I write this to pass along to those of you who have been supporting the projects through your help.   Christ said: “for I was hungry and you gave me food”.   Christ felt the pain of the hungry person, he didn’t blame or question. He saw the situation as it was and acted. You are doing the same and I only wish I could transmit the spritual benefits we receive through our personal contacts there to you. The hands extented in the joy of welcome are extended to you as well, we are the liaison. They difference you are making is profound, thank you. Jessie  (Below is the church I used to attend when I lived in England, went to Easter service there three years ago).