Her name is Sister Elistaha Mlay. She has been headmistress at the Agape Lutheran Junior Seminary since 2004, but she just returned from 2 years off to get her advanced degree. She has done so much for the school such as establishing internet, increasing capacity, and making truly meaningful connections with her students. She also established a system for pumping water so the students did not have to go down the hill to get their own water. After her two year hiatus, things are falling apart a little (the internet has failed and the reserve water tank is leaking). However, Sister Mlay had only been back for one day when we visited and she already has plans for fixing these problems.Sister Mlay knows that her "heart is with the kids." In her words: "I loved it from my hear [...] to sit with them and listen to their problems. It was a blessing."
To truly understand the wonder that is Sister Mlay, I must tell you a story about a girl named Gloria Joseph. This story begins at a rural town's funeral.This funeral was for the father of Gloria Joseph, who had just passed away from AIDS. Her mother had also died some time before. This death left Gloria and her three siblings orphaned. Two special people happened to be at this funeral, the bishop of the Northern Diocese and (you guessed it) Sister Mlay. They decided if they could only do one thing to help this family it was to take Gloria (who had just finished primary school) and bring her to Agape.
Gloria had a slaw start because her education had not been the best up to this point because of the poor background she came from. Sister Mlay sat with her each and every day and continued to teach her. Sister Mlay was Gloria's tutor and mentor. After 4 years at Agape, Gloria received second division on the national exam (very good!). However, Gloria did not have enough money to finish her next two years at Agape at the advanced level. Sister Mlay saw something special in Gloria and believed that she could do it. So, Sister Mlay asked Chad (the leader of my current trip) to help out. He paid for Gloria's final two years at Agape. Gloria finished first in her class.
Sister Mlay encouraged Gloria to apply to college, but Gloria did not have enough money. Sister Mlay gave Gloria the only 500,000 Tshillings she had and said, "see what happens." Gloria went off to college with only that money.
A little while later, Sister Mlay was in Nebraska. She met a woman who had visited Agape in Tanzania a few years earlier. While she was there, Gloria had washed the woman's hands and apparently left quite an impression. The woman asked Sister Mlay how Gloria was. Sister Mlay told her honestly that she was having a lot of trouble paying her fees to go to college. The woman told Sister Mlay that she would pay for her schooling.
Gloria graduated from college a year or so ago and decided it was time to get married because she had finished all of her schooling. However, the woman who paid for her college said, "what about a Master's?" Gloria is currently working on her Master's Degree.
This is only one story. Sister Mlay loves what she does. She said: As long as I'm needed, I know I'm serving God. I'm not doing my will, but His."
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