Post-Christmas

Christmas is finished and we are approaching the final day of 2009; we had a wonderful although short time with Jenn and Sarah. They have returned safely to the states to begin the New Year.
2009 was an incredible year for us here in Tanzania; its hard to believe that it has come to an end. Most of this year's ministry revolved around the Mwanza Bible College; Tim as principal and me as teacher and administrative assistant.
However, with the beginnning of 2010 we already know that our focus of ministry is going to change. The new Principal has arrived at the Mwanza Bible College to assume his new role; we will continue to work closely with the College even though we will not be there in the same capacity. Joyce will continue to teach and Tim will continue to work on projects for the College; we have many good friends there among the staff and faculty and will always be a part of Mwanza Bible College.
Sometime after the first of the year we will begin a different phase of our ministry which will involve a great deal of travel to the five western districts of Tanzania. All the details have yet to be worked out with our National leadership but we know that we will continue to do our part to spread the Kingdom of God throughout Tanzania in whatever way we are needed.
Happy New Year
Tim and Joyce

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Dear Friends and Family,

The Jarvis family; Tim, Joyce, Jenn and Sarah are spending Christmas together in Mwanza, Tanzania. We are thankful for this special blessing of "togetherness" this year.

We hope that each of you will be blessed with Joy and Peace; not only on Christmas but throughout the year ahead.

Many things are uncertain in these times; but the blessings and promises of God are certain and unchangeable.

Have a Blessed Christmas,

Tim, Joyce, Jenn and Sarah

Ukiriguru

Earlier this month we traveled about an hour out of town to a small village called Ukiriguru; the pastor there is Apollinary Gervas; we worked closely with Apollinary in the area of Children's Ministries during our first term here.

Pastor Apollinary and his family have faithfully served in this small village among mostly Muslim inhabitants for about 10 years and God has blessed them with slow yet steady growth.

Tim spoke in the morning service and we were joined by two groups of villagers (about 10 total) who were new converts and who were meeting in a believers home during the week. They are two church plants that have been started recently by the the church in Ukiriguru.

It was a great day and we enjoyed the afternoon of fellowship we spent with Pastor Apollinary and his family in their home. Their home is very small so there was almost no room to maneuver around once you were seated; however, we spent the afternoon encouraging this dedicated Pastor who is also the sectional Presbyter for his area. He has great concerns for the pastors in his section and the struggles that each of them deal with as they endeavor to plant their small churches in predominantly Muslim villages.

Equally as important as the actual church service we preach in these small village churches is the fellowship with the pastor and his family afterwards. Sometimes the few hours of encouragement and fellowship they receive during our visit in their homes gives them the determination they need to press on under difficult circumstances.

Recently, thanks to our friends at Africa's Hope, we received a shipment of 7 computers. The students had been waiting anxiously for the arrival of these computers so that could receive some basic training on how to use a computer.

Most of them will never own a computer or may never again have access to one. However, they know that things are changing and they want to try to keep up with these changes. When we were here in 2001, Tim was the only one with a cell phone and it was huge compared to the size they are today.

Today, most of our pastors have at least one cell phone and many have two. The reason for having more than one is that it is much cheaper to call someone who uses the same company as you do; so they have a phone from at least two different providers. We have to instruct our students to turn off their cell phones during class time. Not all pastors have cell phones but probably 3/4 of them do.

Of course, they often don't have any time on their phones, run out while speaking to you, or call quickly to tell you to call them back. It doesn't cost anything to receive calls on a cell phone here so some of them are quite ingenuous at saving the time on their cells.

So, back to the computers, we had our computer lab up and running for the last term of Bible College and both the first and third year students received some basic computer training. We want to thank Africa's Hope for their generous contribution of computers to our school; the announcement that they had arrived was met with much excitement by our students.

Tight Spaces

Tim and I have been traveling the past two weeks; we have visited three of our five Districts. Our purpose, other than to spend time with leadership and pastors, has been to promote the Bible College and it's various programs. We are also introducing a Scholarship program set up by the TAG national office to assist our 2,000+ pastors who have never been to Bible College.

We have enjoyed the opportunity to meet with and encourage our pastors in the remote areas of our region.

When we traveled to Tabora it was a 6 hour drive; half paved road and half dirt. Other than being ran off the road twice by large buses, the trip went well. Tim traveled a few days later to Shinyanga which is just a two hour trip away and had a visit with pastors and leadership there.

Last weekend, we traveled to Kagera District; we chose to take the Victoria Ferry which travels during the night back and forth between Mwanza and Bukoba, Kagera. We board the ferry at about 8:30pm and we arrive the next morning in Bukoba about 6:00am. Going over wasn't too bad, Tim and I shared a small bathroom sized room with a set of narrow bunk beds and a sink in one corner. Bathrooms were the public ones used by all on our deck.

Returning the following night, we were unable to purchase first class tickets so had to travel second class. There is a significant difference between these two classes. If you travel second class there is another bathroom-sized room but there are 6 beds; two stacks of three plus the sink. You are on the second deck rather than the top deck of the three deck ship. You don't have access to the nice dining room nor are you allowed to leave the second deck. Melodie, a single missionary, and myself were in with 4 young ladies who did appear happy to see us when we entered, they did not speak English and they did not seem to have any plans to sleep any time soon.

Tim shared a room with five men and two of them were very friendly and spoke English well.

It was a totally different trip back across the second night as second class passengers than it was the previous night as first class passengers. I was thankful that we did not have to travel third class which means you don't get a room or a bed but just a spot on the ship.
It was an experience that we will remember. However, we survived and when we arrived home we took a nice hot shower and took a short rest on a nice big bed.

Winter Wonderland

Tanzaniana do not understand the meaning of "Winter Wonderland" or "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or any of those familiar Christmas tunes that talk about cold and snow. During the rainy season here in Mwanza people bundle up and shiver as the mercury dips to 70 -72 degrees on some days.
I was trying to address some Christmas cards earlier this week and was finding it difficult to do as I sat at the table with the fan blowing to keep me cool. Tim went to the storage container and was able to locate our Christmas CD's. After playing some Christmas music for a while it was easier to address those Christmas cards.
Here in Tanzania, you don't hear Christmas music, there are no Christmas decorations to be seen around town or in homes, no Christmas commercials or Christmas programs; in fact, you could easily miss this holiday completely if you did not know about it. And, since we are eight hours ahead of the states, we are not able to watch Christmas Day sports or parades until the following day.
The only thing that sets Christmas Day apart from the others is that most churches have a service on Christmas Day; again, no decorations, gift giving or Christmas hymns, just the simple story of Jesus born to save mankind and greetings of "Krismasi Njema" (Merry Christmas). It is strictly and simply the celebration of the coming of the Son of God, Jesus.
I must confess, however, that in our home there will be a Christmas tree, some special decorations (all brought from the states in our container) and a Christmas dinner that is as close to traditional as we can make it. You do have to be creative since some ingredients are not available. For instance, butternut squash makes a great substitute for pumpkin. You can also buy a turkey for about $75 or a small ham for about $50. And, believe me, they are not "name brand" quality but definitely of the generic variety.
This year's special Christmas treat will be having our daughters, Jenn and Sarah, with us for Christmas. Now that gets me in the Christmas spirit!
Krismasi Njema!

Priorities

Around the world there are wars, people starving, hundreds being killed for ethnic or religious reasons on a daily basis. We see on a daily basis people who are crippled, sick, begging for food and carrying in their bodies diseases such as Malaria, Typhoid, Cholera and Aids. Africa is a continent that suffers like no other from the effects of nature and mankind.
Usually, each morning we check one of the international news channels, CNN, SKY NEWS AND BBC; we like to keep up with what is going on in the world around us and especially what is happening in the states.
This week the top news story on every station and in every newspaper has been, "Tiger Woods hits a fire hydrant"; we have watched it replayed on every major news channel not once but multiple times every day this week.
Enough already! God forgive us when the top story for a week is someone hitting a fire hydrant!
Ok, I will get off the pedestal and apologize for using my website as a way to vent my frustration with the world's priorities. Living amidst the suffering we see on this continent will change a person's sense of what is important and what is news worthy.
Blessings to all of you.