Small beginnings

On a recent trip to the District of Tabora, Tim traveled with several other missionaries visiting a number of churches in that region.

In comparison to churches in the states, congregations and church buildings would generally be considered small. However, one of the churches they visited is considered small even by Tanzanian standards.

This tiny little church building can probably hold 15 people and it is full each Sunday; it is about two years old and in an area that is very resistant to the Gospel. The typical Tanzanian church building can hold about 3 times as many people as it could if it were in the states.

Tanzanians don't have a problem with having "their personal space" invaded by others; they pack themselves in like sardines. A common saying here is "there is always room for one more" and they prove it in their buildings and public transport.

Shinyanga District

We just returned from a three day trip to the District of Shinyanga; our goal is to visit each of our five districts and begin to build relationships, assess needs and partner with them to reach their goals for the Decade of Harvest. This was the third of our three districts with two remaining; it was a fairly easy 4 hour drive since the roads are paved.

The District of Shinyanga is home to the Wasukuma tribe; this tribe is the largest in Tanzania and is still mostly unreached and steeped in Paganism and witchcraft.

We visited ten churches while there in an effort to encourage the leadership in the district as well as individual pastors. Churches here are mostly in temporary structures with few members. The largest denomination in this region is the Catholic church; their churches are very large and extravagant. Their leaders own nice homes and cars. The TAG churches struggle to find their place in this region and are ridiculed and rejected because their churches are mostly inadequate structures and the pastors are poor and struggling.

The majority of the pastors have not been to Bible College; we will return to the District to teach courses in Evangelism, Missions, Spiritual Leadership and on the Holy Spirit. Our prayer is that by working together we will be able to break the hold that Satan has over this region.

Received with Joy

Tim just returned from a trip to the region of Tabora in western Tanzania; he was accompanied by four other missionaries and the District Superintendent of Tabora, Sadok. They traveled throughout the region; visiting pastors and churches, and encouraging them in their efforts to win the lost in their region.

They were received with great joy and celebration as they traveled around and every place they stopped wanted to prepare a meal for them. They ate enough plates of rice and other foods to feed a small army.

Tanzanians are very gracious and hospitable and providing a meal for their guests is considered an honor for them even if it takes food away from their own families.

Here is a picture of the people celebrating Tim and the team's arrival and the inside of the church decorated with small brightly colored squares of cloth.

Mama Malula's story

Recently, I have been interviewing women students at the Mwanza Bible College as part of the process to obtain some scholarships for them from stateside donors. I thought I would share some of their stories with you.

Tanzanians, generally, are very reluctant to talk about themselves. It is sometimes like pulling the proverbial teeth to get information about their past lives and experiences. The women seem particularly reticent to reveal a lot about their pasts.

I have been amazed at the stories that come out of these interviews. Last week I interviewed two ladies; Mama Malula was abandoned by her birth mother and she and her twin were raised by their Grandfather. They lived in the village and because it was just the three of them and her Grandfather was very old, they often went without food.

Mama Malula was saved when she was fifteen; one day at school she heard a man's voice singing praise and worship songs to God and she and some of her classmates followed the sound of his voice. When they found him outside his home he offered to pray for those who were sick; when many were healed instantly the students accepted his invitation to accept Jesus as Savior. The students were beaten, starved and threatened by their teachers and families and all but three of them turned back to Islam. Mama Malula was one of the three who refused to abandon her new faith. Today she is married with four children and she and her husband pastor a small church.

Kagera

We just returned from a four day trip to the Kagera Region of western Tanzania; this involves taking the all night ferry back and forth. The ferry trip in itself is a wonderful cultural experience; both with positive and negative aspects. The actual journey is enjoyable but the loading and unloading process with hundreds of other passengers and tons of cargo all vying for the same space at the same time is rather chaotic and unorganized.
In Kagera we met with the leaders from the District to discuss the needs of each section and how we could partner with them in the areas of teaching/training leadership and pastors as well as provide some funds and/or teams to help in specific areas of need.
The Kagera region has a high incidence of Aids (7-8% of the population) and a large orphan population; 21% of the total population. According to World Vision, the criteria for being classified as an orphan is being under the age of 18 and both parents are deceased with no other family to take them in. Most of the orphans have lost their parents to Aids.
We also visited 10 churches in the region that are church plants started within the last two years. We visited with the pastors and their families and encouraged them in the work they are doing. They live and minister in difficult areas with little or no pay; living on food from their own gardens, food gifts from the people of the church and the little money that is brought in by selling crops such as bananas and coffee beans. Half of the churches we visited were meeting in temporary church structures made from wooden poles with cloth, grass or plastic walls and roofs were made of straw. The floors were covered with what they called "Tanzanian carpet" which was dried grass. Two of the temporary buildings were partially collapsed on one side but they were still meeting in them until they could finish their new churches which are made from handmade brick with metal roofs.
And yet, without exception, they greeted us with smiles and were joyful and hopeful in their attitudes and conversation. We prayed a prayer of blessing over each church, home and family before we left.
We also visited 3 orphanages that are being built by the local TAG churches; each one will house 56 orphans when finished.
It was a good visit and we look forward to our next trip to the Kagera region.