Wanawake Watumishi wa Kristo (WWK)

The WWK of Tanzania is the equivalent of the Women's Ministry groups in American churches; once a year they have a national convention and this year it was in Moshi, TZ.

I was privileged to attend along with the other TZ missionary women; there were several women from the Mwanza area that were also able to attend.

It was a three day conference packed full with reports, excellent speakers, prayer and worship, fun and fellowship. This is the one time a year when the women escape the confines of their lives here in Tanzania and have a break from the never-ending responsibilities they have on a daily basis.

Here, they are able to know the joy of coming together with hundreds of other women and receive encouragement, strength, friendship and be told that they are valuable and vital to the Kingdom of God. There is a balance of tears/sorrows and laughter/joy; it is the highlight of the year for these women.

There was, however, a few drawbacks. We were all expected to purchase and wear bright yellow polo shirts to the meetings; I wore mine even though I felt like a very large yellow lemon.

We sat for hours on the platform as honored guests listening to Swahili all day and understanding a portion of what was being said.

The evening service of the last night went well past dark; dark means "the invasion of the mosquitos". We missionaries knew this would happen so we all came prepared with mosquito repellent; unfortunately, on this particular evening we all left it in our rooms. We were attacked by swarms of mosquitos which made it hard to concentrate.

On the last day all the groups from the various sections of the country present gifts to the Christian Girls School and to the host District where we were meeting; we missionary ladies had purchased several mattresses to present as our gift.

When it came time to make our presentation, we hefted our bright pink mattresses and sang and danced our way across the field in the traditional way and placed our gift with all the others. The Tanzanian ladies were delighted that we took part in this event and that we made the effort to present our offering in the traditional way. It was fun, and, I might say, quite a colorful sight! A group of white women dressed in bright yellow shirts carrying pink mattresses across the field as we sang our Swahili chorus and tried to "keep in step"and move forward at the same time!

The yellow shirt is hanging at the back of the closet now; hopefully never to be seen again!

Blessings.

Full Life Study Bibles

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth” II Timothy 2:15

What if the only tool you had available to you to preach and teach the Good News was a simple Bible; no commentaries, Bible dictionaries or any other resource material.
One of the greatest needs among our Pastors and leaders in Tanzania is for study materials in their own language of Kiswahili; there are very few available and even fewer that have any help specifically in the area of the Holy Spirit relative to the Pentecostal experience. We have been amazed at the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures that many of our pastors have when they come to Bible College; much of this is due to the fact that they have no resource materials available to them and have had no formal teaching or training. The faculty at the Bible College often find ourselves in the position of correcting erroneous beliefs among our pastors/students who do not understand the Word of God. Their intent is NOT to teach false doctrine; they have simply misunderstood the Word of God as they have struggled alone and without assistance to grasp it’s meaning. They are also very vulnerable to the efforts of Satan to twist the written Word of God; much like the Serpent did to Eve in the Garden of Eden. “Did God really say…?”

A few years ago, the Full Life Study Bible (known to some as the “Fire Bible”) was made available to us in Kiswahili; this Bible is a study Bible as well as a Bible Commentary. Tanzania received a shipment of these Bibles while we were in the states on furlough and they were made available at General Council in Dar Es Salaam. Very few of our pastors in the western third of Tanzania travel the distance to General Council because the trip is very costly for them and so only a handful of our pastors were able to purchase a copy of the FLSB in Swahili.

We have a graduating class of 70 this year at the Mwanza Bible College, most of them pastors, who will be graduating in November; they have repeatedly asked us to try and locate the Kiswahili FLSB before they graduate and return to their homes. Due to the fact that many live in remote areas and small villages, they may never have another opportunity to have access to this valuable resource tool. For many of them, this will be the only other resource tool they have besides their Bibles to help them teach and train the people in their churches.

On a recent trip to Nairobi we discovered that the Kenya Assemblies of God has a supply of the Full Life Study Bible in Kiswahili; most of their pastors have purchased the English version. We can purchase these Bibles for approximately $25 each and would like to purchase at least 50 of them to make available to our graduating pastors. The money we receive from the sale of this first batch would be used to purchase more FLSB’s so that we can keep them available to our pastors in this part of the country. Some of them will need to save up for a few months or even as long as a year in order to purchase one of these Full Life Study Bibles.
Unfortunately, we do not have the money needed to purchase the Full Life Study Bibles before the graduation on November 7; we are writing to ask your help with this project. We have found transport to bring the Bibles from Kenya to Tanzania if we can purchase them and have them ready by the middle of October.

We are asking you to prayerfully consider helping us place a Kiswahili Full Life Study Bible into the hands of our pastors so that they can have access to valuable information that will help them “correctly handle the word of truth”.

We appreciate each of you and pray that God will continue to bless you so that you may be a blessing to others.

Menial Tasks

Menial tasks, those tasks that are mundane, boring, time-consuming but necessary, seem to take up so much of our time. Here in Africa, even simple tasks that take a few minutes in America can consume a lot of time.
As missionaries, even though we are on "the frontlines" doing "God's work" we are earthbound and part of the human race; thus, we have our share of menial tasks to be done.
Food shopping, for instance, takes up a good part of a day. There are no "super centers" or "one-stop" shops here. For fresh fruits and vegetables you go to a huge open market and you must barter for each kind of fruit or vegetable individually. You can never say, "I'll take all of this stuff, ring it up". Each item is sold at a different booth and must be bartered for, weighed and paid for one at a time as you twist your way through the maze of stalls carrying your straw market bag. If you pause or make eye contact, it is impolite to continue without greeting them and at least glancing at their wares.
Meat is purchased at the "meat market"; you must view the meats, choose your selection, tell them how much to cut off and wait for it to be weighed and wrapped and then pay for it.
Pre-packaged foods, are available though expensive. Often, you go to several little stores the size of a bathroom, before finding all the items you need. Not all items are available all the time so you must have a "treasure hunt" of sorts.
After shopping you arrive home and you must wash and soak all the fresh fruits and vegetables and while they soak you can cut up the hunks of meat into the appropriate amounts and place them in plastic storage bags in the freezer.
Canned and packaged goods are placed in the pantry; if you find a particular item that is hard to find in stock, you buy a number of them knowing it may be a long time before another shipment comes in.
Anything that is not in a metal can must be placed in a sealed container or tightly sealed bag to keep out any small living creatures that may seek to dine on your precious commodities.
Some items are stored in the freezer for the sake of freshness.
That's just the grocery shopping!
We will pay bills another day. No writing checks or paying on line here! We go to the water company and then to the electric company and stand in long lines waiting for your turn to pay. Mail is collected at the Post Office in town. If you have a water problem or electrical problem that must be looked at by the appropriate department, you must drive to town, pick up the necessary personnel, take them to your home to deal with the problem and then return them back to their work place; they don't have company vehicles to use for transport.
As I ponder these menial tasks, I stir the dog food that I am cooking on the stove; yet another menial task. Our outside worker is off sick for a few days with malaria and typhoid, both common ailments here, so I am cooking the dog food. It's a mixture of ground grain flour, water and dagaa (small dried fish) that must be stirred while it cooks to avoid having it stick to the bottom of the pan; the aroma that fills the kitchen is not a pleasant smell.
These small, seemingly insignificant routine tasks are mixed in daily with the ministry tasks such as teaching at the Bible College, praying for the sick, writing college courses, holding crusades, etc.
All of this mixture makes up what we call "Life"; a blending together of the mundane and the magnificent.
Have a magnificent day!

Our 109 Students

We took a picture of our 109 students enrolled this term at the Mwanza Bible College; it was the highlight of the day and possibly the week for our students. They were excited when I told them that it would be placed on our website so that friends, family and churches all over America could see it. For most of these students the computer world is a strange and unreachable place that they may be able to visit but will never live there.

However, for this special day they went immediately after chapel and changed clothes, fixed their hair and prepared for the big event. It was all accomplished with much laughter and good humor as we arranged and rearranged them in order to get them all into the picture.

This group of people are mostly pastors from small churches scattered across western Tanzania; they consider themselves blessed to be able to attend Bible College. They, their families and their churches have sacrificed for the privilege of being here.

Of course, we will need to figure out how to make 109 copies of this picture; they will all want a copy and it will be placed in a place of honor in their homes or churches as visual proof that they accomplished a phenomenal task.

Time flies...

Yesterday I felt like I blinked and somehow in that infinitesimal amount of time I lost 25 years. Yesterday was our daughter, Jenn's, birthday. Where did all of that time go?
We sent her a bouquet of her favorite flowers, yellow roses, and called her and chatted for a few minutes via Skype.
Time stretches out in front of us sometimes in what seems like a road that has no end; then suddenly, you find that you have traversed a huge chunk of the road and can't quite remember how you got from point A to point B so quickly.
Today at the Bible College we had a staff meeting and realized that it had been several weeks since we had our last one; how did that happen?
We were also reminded today the it will be time for mid-term exams after next week; we haven't even finished closing out the business from the first week of school.
We have finished our first year in Tanzania and have started into our second; I still haven't done a whole list of things that I thought would need to be done in the first few weeks after our arrival here.
I am reminded today of how quickly time can pass and how valuable a commodity it is to most of us. The thing that bothers me the most about the passage of time is not the things that remain on my "To Do" list. It is the time that I have wasted through the years striving to accomplish tasks instead of making good memories with people I know and care about.
Make a memory today that will bring a smile to your face when you look back on it someday as you travel down the road of life.

Labor Day

Labor Day almost passed us by here in Tanzania since it is an American Holiday. The only holidays that Tanzania and the U.S. have in common are Christmas and Easter, so we often forget about all the others.
Our Labor Day was business as usual at the Mwanza Bible College. We arrived in time for chapel; Monday is "Principal's Day" each week and Tim always speaks on that day. If Tim is out of town then "Mama Principal" speaks; that's me.
Most of our 109 students have returned; classes started over a week ago but they often take up to two weeks to arrive back for classes. The reason is usually because they are desperately trying to raise their tuition fees.
After chapel, we met with the teachers for "chai break" (morning tea break) and dealt with all the issues that had developed since Friday. We met with the Academic Dean about a number of student issues ranging from lost transcripts to failing grades.
Usually, because Monday is so busy, Tim and I "split up" and handle different situations to expedite things. Tim met with the Dean of Students and they looked over the situation in the library to determine what was needed to get our computer lab up and running.
I met with Mabesa, she is our Registrar and also one of our teachers, about a theological issue that came up in her first class of the day. We made copies of courses to be sent out to the various Districts for their Church Planting Schools, we filed records in the registrars office and did general office work.
Immediately after his meeting with the Academic Dean, Tim met with the Business Manager to decide what to spend money on this week, other than food, which is a necessity. Providing food for 109 students is the single largest cost the school has each term. The decision was made to hold off on paying the utilities one more week and buy a new pump for the well and some cleaning supplies for the bathrooms.
Time was then spent figuring out why there was no water coming onto the property; Tim walked part way down the hill and found a water line was shut off for repairs. Hopefully, it will be taken care of in the next few days. We have a tank for surplus water but it was discovered that the pump was not working. All the water used on Monday was hauled up with buckets lowered into the well since the pump refused to work.
We arrived home in the early afternoon and had two guests. One of the guests is the wife of one of our local pastors. She stops in from time to time and offers to sell me bars of soap; she uses the few shillings profit she makes on each bar to help pay school fees for their son, Gospel. Of course, I can only use so many bars of soap so this time I decline since I purchased quite a few last time to share with our students.
Tim spent the late afternoon working in the garage and I did some laundry and worked on the never-ending pile of typing projects.
We watched a little bit of CNN to find out if all was well in the U.S.A and went to bed.
That was our Labor Day; I hope most of you had a restful day and maybe even one more cookout before summer comes to an end.

Strange Twist

We sometimes refer to the phrase "wearing a different hat"; today we did that for our evening service at the Bible College Church (Bwiru Hill Christian Center). In fact, it is the first time we have done this since 1995.
For thirteen years we have been missionaries; we have traveled to churches both here in Tanzania and in the US. We have been announced as "the missionary" and dealt with all that goes along with that title; the good and the bad.
Today, however, as acting Senior Pastors of BHCC we were once again the Pastor presenting the missionary. We had the privilege of entertaining and presenting a visiting missionary to our congregation. Pastor Kennet is a missionary from Tanzania to the country of Burundi and is back in Tanzania doing his one year deputation/itineration. He is one among a handful of Tanzanians who have been sent out by the national TAG church to be missionaries in other countries/cultures. As a Tanzanian he has done the same things we have done by leaving his country, going to a land where things are foreign to him and his family, learning new customs, eating new foods and learning a new language. One thing he doesn't deal with is always standing out in a crowd as the "white person"; as a Tanzanian he blends in well with his African brothers and sisters in Burundi.
It was a joy to be with him and to spend time getting to know him after the service as we, the Senior Pastors, took the missionary out to a restaurant after the service. It was a nice change to wear the other hat for a brief time; however, we much prefer the missionary hat although these days we are missionaries, Senior Pastors, and Bible School Principals so we are wearing a variety of hats at the same time. It's all a part of that "flexible" thing we hear about all the time as missionaries; wearing whatever hat is necessary to the what needs to be done.
Be blessed

Mwamashimba

We visited a tarafa (similar to a "county" in America) church located about two hours outside of Mwanza in a small village called Mwamashimba.

The church is about two years old and we had been invited to visit this particular Sunday. A visit from the missionary or other leadership serves to encourage the pastor and his family as well as the church members.

In this place, it is a two-hour round trip by bicycle to purchase clean water at 500/=(about 40 cents) a bucket. If the pastor makes roughly $10 or less a month, this is a costly item for them.

They have a local "watering hole" which is used by people and animals alike; it is muddy and must be filtered and allowed to settle before it is even usable for non-drinking purposes.

The adults gathered for the service inside the church while the children and I gathered outside the church under a tree for our service. Some of the adults were fortunate to have chairs while many of them sat on baked bricks on the floor. The children were content to sit on the ground under the shade of a tree.

The wind blew across the dry parched land causing the dust to stir and billow around us making the use of most of the visual aids and object lessons impossible. However, the children were excited to have a special place, a missionary, and a service just for their benefit. Tim had about 25-30 adults in the church and Mabesa and I had about 60-70 children.

Afterwards, we went to the pastor's tiny two room house for lunch; rice, cooked greens and goat meat. A feast in their eyes that cost them more than they earned that week; but to them it was a joy and privilege to serve us as their honored guests. We were presented with a small bag of unground dried corn by the church elders which we presented as a gift to the pastor and his family.

It was a good day and a vivid reminder of the blessings we take for granted.

Death comes to visit

Yesterday, Tim received a text from one of the faculty at the Bible college and our peaceful evening was shattered by tragedy.
A young man from the neighborhood was found on the Bible School property; he had hung himself in one of the trees and was discovered by a woman as she passed by.
The Bible college church, Bwiru Hill Christian Center, had just started the all night prayer meeting which takes place every Friday evening.
And, just a stones throw away from the church where a group of Christians were gathered for prayer, this troubled young man decided to end his life at the end of a rope.
Tim arrived shortly after the police and the young man was taken away; he was known by the police because he had been in trouble with the law on several occasions.
A woman recognized him and identified him; a huge crowd of people had gathered. No one seemed to mourn the loss of this young man; they were merely curious to see what had interrupted their mundane daily routines.
The thought that continues to trouble me? Death claimed this troubled soul just outside the church while people were gathered to pray. I wonder how many times a day this exact scenario is repeated in the shadows of our churches around the world and what, if anything, we can do about it.
As a missionary I realize the tendency to see the lost as people who live very far away in another country; but, they are also our neighbors. Lord, open our eyes and help us to see.

"Electrifying" Praise report

We always know that God is watching over us and all that belongs to us; it is one of those absolutes that we believe without reservation. We preach it and speak it regularly without giving much thought to the magnitude of that blessing; sometimes we need a fresh reminder to keep it real to us.

Recently, we were away from home for a week traveling through Tanzania and into Nairobi, Kenya. One day we received a text from a friend who lives in the small guest house on our property in Mwanza. The text was "the pump in the well outside the house caught on fire and there were flames shooting up but it is out now".

Wow! That will get your attention!

After returning home and investigating the problem we found that one of the huge transformers near our home had exploded sending a bolt of electricity through many of the houses in our neighborhood. In each home, the electricity came out through an appliance or piece of equipment and melted or at least destroyed the particular item.

Our surge traveled through everything in our house including the large transformers in the attic and all the office equipment and exited from the outlet near the pump in our well, not actually from the pump itself. Tim bought the parts for a few dollars and repaired the outlet.

If the surge had exited anywhere in the house, our house could have caught on fire and we could have lost everything.

We have been reminded, once again, that God is watching over us. And, as the scriptures say, He never sleeps nor slumbers. PTL.

Be blessed

Joyce

District Councils

The first two weeks of July, Tim traveled with our National TAG leadership throughout the western third of Tanzania. It was time for District Councils and they were being held a few days apart all across the country.

We are part of five Districts in our part of Tanzania so Tim had a chance to meet leaders and pastors in all five our Districts. For many, it was the first time the national leadership had visited their regions and there was much excitement and celebration involved in each of the District meetings.

Tim and the leadership, traveling in our reliable Toyota Land Cruiser, logged hundreds of kilometers; some of them on paved roads but most were over very dry and dusty unpaved roads. At times the dust was so thick that it was like driving in dense fog. Their days began at about 5:00am and they often went until 10:00 or later at night. It was a grueling schedule of travel and meetings. However, the were received with such joy and excitement everywhere they went that it bolstered their tired bodies and spirits.

They were met at some places by motor escorts, by cheering people who lined the road, by local officials, with gifts and singing choirs. The leadership encouraged the pastors and church members everywhere as they presented the Ten Year Plan to reach the lost of Tanzania and to make disciples; to be people of excellence and integrity and to fulfill the Great Commission of Matthew 28:19,20.

The leaders wore special polo shirts that they had made and Tim was thrilled when they gave him some to wear as well; he was saved from wearing the dreaded "dress shirts and ties" that I had insisted he had to pack for the journey.

I have included a few of the pictures from their travels.

Be blessed.

Children's Day Tanzanian Style

Recently, it was national Children's Day in the TAG (Tanzania Assemblies of God); this is a very special day. This is the one day a year that the children have the full attention of the church; in this society they are often overlooked and many churches have no ministry to children at all.

However, on this day they are given the entire day; all classes are taught by children, all music is provided by the children, preaching and all parts of the service are conducted by the children.

We spent the week before meeting in the afternoons to practice songs, skits, music and all facets of "our" day.
We had a glorious day! The children were dressed in their best, they were in the spotlight and they were remarkable! I wish I could share all the pictures and videos with you that I took on that day. What a celebration it was. What a day to show the people in our church that the children are able and willing to be an integral part of the church body.

After the services (two morning services with Sunday school in between) the church provided a meal for all the children (about 70) plus their teachers. Enjoy the pictures!

Short Safari Thoughts

Eight people, camping gear and luggage crammed into one Land Cruiser is the beginning of an adventure in and of itself.
Flashes of memory (to be explained in greater detail later): dust, animals, fear, joy, awesome animal sightings, unpacking at the campsite, squat toilets, cold water only, eating for two days with no cooking, borrowed hot water for much needed coffee, putting up tents, blowing up a full sized air mattress by mouth-twice, taking down tents, keeping warm at high altitudes, forgetting your camera, baboons who steal your bag of bananas, elephant in the camp-twice, blue sky, endless view from the edge of the crater, sleeping in the car when the air mattress goes flat, animals rummaging around your tent at night, wishing you had brought your winter clothes for the high altitude, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, driving precariously down a narrow road for steep ascents and descents, laughter, waiting while everyone gets the perfect camera shot, driving for hours and hours, sore muscles, seeing birds, plants and animals you've never seen before, making memories, and traveling on safari with family.
Did I mention eight people, camping gear, food and luggage crammed into one Land Cruiser?
More later!
Joyce

Things you WONT see on an American college campus...

This list could be VERY long; but a few sights this week at the Bible College made me think, "Wow, you won't see that on an American college campus".
1. You won't see students gathered around an outside spigot after meal times washing off their metal plates and spoons.
2. You won't see students washing their clothes outside in buckets and hanging them on the line.
3. You won't see students carrying their chairs around campus from chapel to the dining hall and back to the chapel and back to the dining hall...you get the picture.
4. You won't see students doing assigned work tasks around the campus in the afternoons.
5. You won't see students rushing forward to carry your briefcase for you as you go to and from the classroom.
6. You won't see students stand in class when they want to ask a question and preface their question with "thank you, teacher".
7. You won't see students lined up with their cups at "chai time" (morning break) waiting their turn for their hot tea.
8. You won't see the neighborhood children playing on the campus.
9. You won't see a registrars office with an old manual typewriter sitting on the desk that is actually still used.
10. And, lastly, you won't see 20-25 students sitting around tables outside helping pinch the heads off piles of small dried fish called "dagaa" in the afternoon so that they can have them for supper that evening.
In fact, there are many, many sights that we see every day that you won't see in America. We have grown accustomed to the many sights and sounds that shocked and amazed us when we first arrived here. We always enjoy watching visitors react to the sights and sounds of Tanzania.
Be blessed.

Facebook and Twitter!

Over the next few weeks, our daughter Jenn is going to be making some upgrades to our Web site.

As part of our effort to connect with our friends, family and supporters, we're expanding our online presence starting today!

We've launched a Twitter account, which will post an update when there is a new blog post or new photos added to our Web site. If you're a Twitter user click here.

We also created a Facebook page. If you're logged into Facebook, you can search for "Tim and Joyce Jarvis" and become a fan!

We want to use every type of technology possible to make you a part of our ministry and keep you included on our activities.

Thanks for your continued support!

The "to do" lists.

"Flexibility" is a lifestyle that you must embrace as a missionary if you are going to keep your sanity. For instance, Tim and I had a schedule that we had set for ourselves for this past Saturday; we were going to get up early and get many things accomplished.
The first thing was that we overslept and while we were still getting ready for our day and before we had even had breakfast we had a visiting pastor at our door. He stayed two hours and five minutes after he left we had two other pastors arrive; they also stayed two hours. By the time they had left it was after 1:00 and we had not accomplished anything on our "to do" list for Saturday. In addition, a single missionary lady needed our assistance for a little project that we were more than happy to help with.
Sometimes you plan to bake and the power goes off, or you plan to go to town and take care of some business and the places you go have decided to close early for some unknown reason. We have guests drop in or we spend long hours at the Bible College because there are multiple problems/situtations that develop that need your attention. Or, maybe the dog gets away and you have to go looking for her. The pipes break or the workers have a problem that you have to help them with... the list goes on and on of the endless possibilites that drive home the need to be flexible and at the same time help you work on that all important virtue, "patience".
You must adopt the African philosophy that people are more important than schedules and there is always tomorrow.
"Haraka, haraka, haina barika"; an African proverb that means that there is no blessing in rushing. So, we take a deep breath, take things as they come, smile, serve some hot chai (tea) to our guests and enjoy life as it comes along. The other option is to get frustrated, miss opportunities that come with every "interruption" for fellowship and relationship building, and develop stress related illness.
It also helps to make your "to do" lists in pencil instead of ink.
Be blessed.

Breaking Bread Together

Occasionally, we have the opportunity to eat together with the students at the Bible College. This past Monday was one of those occasions. One of the local churches, KVCC, was supplying the evening meal for our 110 students and also invited the faculty and their spouses.
Everyone managed to cram into the Dining Hall; there was a head table set up for the faculty and the students sat around in chairs. We don't have enough tables for all the students at this time so they are accustomed to this arrangement.
Tanzanians are extremely patient so there was no restlessness as we waited for the food to be ready to serve and after about 30 minutes it was ready. Meanwhile everyone visited; I visited with the faculty wives which I don't get to do very often.
First we passed by the outdoor water spigot and washed with soap and cold water which is customary here before eating. Again, no rushing and no impatience.
Since Tim is the principal, we went through the line first and everyone patiently waited their turn. When we arrived, only part of the lights were working in the dining hall so it had a candlelight effect. Eventually, the few lights we had went out completely and we had a small battery powered lantern placed on the head table and a small light at the opposite end of the room.
Everyone accepted the dark without complaint and we just ate and fellowshipped together. At the end of the meal we thanked KVCC for supplying the food. Tim said a few words of greeting and then one of the students began to sing a worship chorus. The 150 voices in the darkened room harmonized together without instruments; but it sounded beautiful. There was a holy presence in the room as we sang together and prayed together.
We shared a simple meal of rice, chicken, greens and chapatis. The fellowship, however, was rich and the presence of the Lord was dessert; everyone left satisfied.
Be blessed today.

What a week!

This week has been a week spent working with water; we have had almost none and we have had an over-abundance all within a few days time. Such is part of the every day life of the missionary; we not only deal with the ups and downs of ministry but with the ups and downs of daily life here.
The city of Mwanza has been doing "something" with the water; no one is exactly sure what it is they are doing but we want to think it is improvements and upgrades. At any rate, we have gone to having a small trickle of water on some days to water gushing and spewing in great volumes from the faucets. We don't mind having lots of water pressure but there is such a thing as having too much water pressure.
We had city workers digging up a pipe in our yard because we had discovered a leak in one of the underground lines; Tim was digging with them to hurry the process along. They kept trying to change the agreed upon wages during the course of the digging but Tim held firm to the original agreement.
On Wednesday this week the city turned the water back on and we had so much pressure that we had a pipe in the bathroom burst. By the time I realized from the back office that this sound was louder and different than the sound of the fan, we had water running out of the bathroom and quickly filling the surrounding rooms. I called for Tim who was outside working on an electrical problem and he came running to shut off the water.
It took several hours of bailing water with buckets and then using mops, rags, and the Wet Vac that we almost didn't bring to clean up all the water. We also had a leak due to the extra pressure in the front bathroom as well. On Thursday, Tim spent the day cleaning out all the drains and pipes inside and outside the house so that the slow drainage of the high volume of water would not result in sinks, toilets and tubs running over.
On Friday, a day we would normally have been at the Bible School, I heard another loud spewing noise coming from the kitchen. I raced to check it out calling for Tim at the same time; he managed to get the water shut off before it left the kitchen. A hose under the sink had split in half from the high water pressure. If we had been at the Bible School we would have returned to a house full of water several inches deep. We thank the Lord that we were home due to Mid-term break at the Bible School. Also on Friday, we had a leak develop behind the washing machine due to too much water pressure rupturing the hose.
So this week Tim has been all over the property, inside and out, working on water problems. On top of that, we had an electrician here for two days trying to figure out why the outside security lights were not working. Tim worked with them and after several days they found the problem and repaired it.
We prefer our days and weeks to be filled with ministry; preaching, teaching, helping at the Bible College by training pastors, seeing the lost saved and the sick healed.
However, some days it's just broken pipes, electrical problems, ditch digging and mopping water.
All things work together for good.....

Time

The value of time is one of the marked differences between Tanzanians and Westerners (Americans); the Westerner can tell you the accurate time within a few minutes of the correct time. Tanzanians, on the other hand, don't always know what time it is and appear not to really care what time it is.

Case in point, we were scheduled to have a meeting of the official Board for the Bible College. Most of the board members do not live here in Mwanza and so traveled by boat, bus and car to arrive for the meeting. We were to start the meeting at 9:00am on Tuesday morning; we finally started at 11:00 after all the members had arrived, taken time to greet each other and enjoy a "chai break" (tea time) together. No one was flustered, no one glanced at their watch or looked frustrated.

Another good example of this difference in the way time is viewed is the fact that most churches in Tanzania don't have clocks; some have them but they don't always work. And, even more amazing, is the fact that I don't think I have ever seen anyone glance at the clock or their watch during a church service; except, of course, for the non-Tanzanians who are present.

The Tanzanians believe that people are more important than time, relationships are more important that schedules and that, "Haraka Haraka haina baraka". This Tanzanian proverb means "there is no blessing in rushing or hurrying". I think we have a similar one, "haste makes waste".

Be blessed

Widow's Mite

Sunday in church I witnessed another of several occasions that rank right up there with the "widow's mite" found in the Scriptures.
After church, a young mother with an infant tied to her back in typical Tanzanian style came forward and shyly greeted us and gave something to Pastor George. She quietly whispered something to him and then turned and walked away.
Pastor George opened up his hand and showed us the crumpled and dirty 10,000/= (shilling) note; the equivalent to about $8.00. By the simple way she was dressed it was obvious that it was a large sum of money for her to be giving away to the church.
Pastor George explained that she wanted to help buy chairs for the church; each chair is about 20,000/=. However, she had been holding on to the money for some time and was afraid that if she did not go ahead and give it she would be tempted to spend it for something else. She will work on collecting the remainder of the money over the next few weeks/months.
My desire was to return the money to her since she was obviously poor and could well have used the money herself. However, I remember the look of joy that flashed in her eyes in the brief moment she made eye contact with me and I realized that it was not for me to take that away from her.
She may go a long time before she again experiences the joy that simple act of giving brought to her. In the days ahead when times are hard and she has a financial need she will remember the joy and she will be content. She knows what it is to be in need on a daily basis; she does not, however, experience the joy and satisfaction that comes from giving every day.
There are some things more important than money and that money cannot buy; one of them is joy.