Indy NMI Blog

 After a week of rains, we have had almost 2 wks of no rain.  The tanks are getting low, the mangos are growing, fires are easily started and have lots of fuel to keep them going. Last night, just after finishing dinner with Ben and Katherine Radcliffe, we heard crackling outside.  I looked out the window and saw a large fire in the garden.  Ben and I grabbed buckets of water and ran to try and put the flames out.  The fire was quickly spreading and as we turned to go and get more water, the McCoys, security, Don and Andy were there coming to help, soon a number of kids were there too helping to put out the fire.  The villagers were on the other side of the fence, also trying to help and put the fire out, and watch us as we worked.  Thankfully, we were able to stop the spread of the fire, but not before it destroyed the brush along the fence.  As we were finishing up our fire, another fire broke out on station and many went to help put that out.  Thankfully the fires were squelched without damage to houses.  Today, while surveying the damage, we noticed the vegetables near the fire had also suffered some burns. The lack of rain has now shut down our hydro electric power.  We don’t have enough water to keep the canal full and the power coming.  We are now relying on our large donated generator for power,…
Source: Drought and Fires from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific

5th grade studentsSchool in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) isn’t free. Schools can cost anywhere from $5US to $50US/per month. The more expensive the school, the better the education. Imagine being the sixth or eight child in a family of ten children and hoping your parents will be able to afford for you to attend school.The South Katanga District in Southern DRC has seen this need and has a vision to build schools, giving quality education to families who otherwise wouldn’t be able to afford it.  One of these schools has officially opened in the neighborhood of Katuba, in Lubumbashi.1st grade classWhen construction on the school in Katuba began in July of 2014, children would gather around as the first bricks were laid and walls started to come up. When we would ask the children where they attend school, they would respond, “Here.” “No, where are you attending now? This school isn’t open yet.” Again, their response was, “Here!” That’s when we realized so many children were waiting for a good education at an affordable price. On October 5th, Complexe Scolaire du Nazaréen opened its doors to the community of Katuba hosting Kindergarten through 5thgrade for $6.50 per month. Currently, there are over 100 students in attendance and more coming to enroll each day. Students are learning French (since most come from homes where only Swahili is spoken), Math, Science and Bible. Quality education with a Biblical foundation!
Source: Gettin’ Schooled from Fothergill – Africa

For the past 2+ months, the Highlands of PNG has gotten very little rain.  Gardens have been deserted, drinking water sources have all but dried up and many folks have suffered the ill effects of diarrheal illnesses from contaminated water sources. Thankfully, the heavens have opened up and rains have poured down on the Highlands of PNG once again.  Our water tanks are full, but the river is still pretty low, and there are many areas in PNG where the rains have not yet return to, so please keep praying for more rain. The only good thing about a drought is the hope of mangos.  Mangos need a period of time to grow without wind and rain to knock off the buds and the little mangos as they start to grow.  Droughts provide that period of time for the mangos to grow.  It has been years since our mango tree produced mangos, but it looks like this might be another good year for mangos.  Our trees have 100s of little mangos on them, hoping the rains don’t knock off the rest.
Source: Rain and mangos from Erin Meier – Asia Pacific