Hello Friends,

If you are receiving this, you have heard our Africa stories from John and/or I. We absolutely love Tanzania. It started several years ago as an animal photo safari, and now the people, especially the children are a big part of our life. We go as often as possible, once a year most years, and during Covid we did get in a couple extra trips. The people have become like family to us. God placed them on our hearts so powerfully, and one thing led to another, and another, and now we have a constant desire to go, see, serve and help them.

We have accomplished so much over the years with the help of generous donors: • We built them two classrooms with each child having an individual desk and a small administration office. • We upgraded their kitchen. • We painted the area where they eat. • We had them a water well drilled; however, at that time they had no electricity, so it had to have a solar pump. It had to be drilled so deep that the solar pump did not work well, so the water supply is limited. They told us that could be due to a partial collapsing. The water supply is just not sufficient. Now two years later, they have electricity, which no one ever dreamed was going to happen.

We would like to get them another water well drilled and install a submersible electric pump. John and I have already had a tower built to hold two large 5000L water holding tanks. Increasing the available water with an additional water well and adding a second holding tank is our goal. John and I help financially with every project, plus we feed the 700 school children and faculty every time we go. We buy them water bottles, backpacks, pencils, paper, crayons, erasers, sharpeners, lollipops, bracelets, and cross necklaces every time. We always put Bible verses on the water bottles, backpacks and the little silicon bracelets.

We spend around $5000 in gifts each time we go. Spending only about five dollars on each child, their gratefulness is as if we have given them a very expensive gift. Our heart jumps with joy just to spend time with them, give them gifts, love on them and feed them. We are extremely blessed! Praise God, for letting us meet Rhoda, a wonderful Christian woman in Kenya that goes to the street where the vendors are and buys these items for us, and has them printed with Bible versus that John and I have chosen. Then we pay for a driver to bring it across the border So John and I are going back in September, praying to have a second water well completed before we get there. Every time we start a new project at Naitolia Primary School, we try to find a couple new donors to help us with it. So I would ask you kindly to please pray about this along with John and I.

If you can help in any way or any amount for this water well, it would be such a blessing. from Kenya to Tanzania to our safari jeep company. Like I said we have all become like family. They help us by bringing the food and gifts, in a separate jeep sometimes two, and drive four hours in the bush to the Maasai village where Naitolia Primary School is located. They also stay all day and help us feed these children and pass out the gifts.

Every year John and I keep adding something else to our gift list. I would really like to get them T-shirts this year. Rhoda is also searching to see if she can get bibles in Swahili. We have previously brought Bibles from the US, but we could only bring 200 because of the weight, so we gave them to the older children. We would really like all of the children to have one. Thank you kindly, and may you be abundantly blessed, John and Sandra Lastra

John and Sandra Lastra