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.

Thanksgiving TZ style

Last Thanksgiving was probably the least traditional and least enjoyable Thanksgiving for our family. Tim was in Dar trying to get our Residence permits. I went to the Ladies Bible Study that morning and then another lady and myself went out afterwards for a vegetarian pizza.

Afterwards, I took a taxi home and spent the remainder of the day alone.
HOWEVER, this Thanksgiving was much more traditional. We ordered a turkey which was brought in from Uganda; the other guests/missionaries chipped in to help pay the $70 for the pleasure of having traditional turkey for Thanksgiving. It definitely wasn't a Honeysuckle Premium bird but it either wasn't too bad or we were so happy to have it that it made it taste better.

We had guests over; there were 11 of us in all. Two couples and one individual are Baptist, one couple is AIC (Africa Inland Church/medical) and one dear 70 year old lady is with AIC and Wycliffe Bible Translaters.

We divided the menu and pooled our carefully hoarded American foods for the special day. We had Turkey, Dressing(no celery but still good), Mashed Potatoes, Gravy, Green Bean Casserole (made our own french fried onion ring topping), Sweet Potatoes (local variety but pretty good with enough butter and sugar), fresh veggie salad, fruit salad, homemade rolls and a can of cranberries. For dessert we had pumpkin pie (pie filling from the states), pecan pie (pecans and Karo from the states) and apple pie.

It was a great day of food, fun and fellowship. We each shared things that we were especially thankful for this year and sang some traditional Thanksgiving hymns/choruses; we also played a few fun games together.

Later that night I called my family in the states and spoke with them for a few minutes on Skype and we were able to see each other via the webcam. I wasn't able to get through to Jenn, our oldest, but will be in contact with her this weekend.

All in all, it was a wonderful traditional Thanksgiving Day in Mwanza, Tanzania for the Americans who gathered in our home; for the rest of Tanzania it was business as usual.

Blessings and hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

A Perfect Blend

I'm not talking about tea or coffee; although Tanzania produces some of the best of both.
Thursday evening we were invited to a 70th Birthday party for a missionary here in Mwanza who is with the AIC (Africa Inland Church) and working with Wycliffe Bible Translators.
Naomi is full of life and energy and has a great love for the work she does and for the people of Africa. She was born in Africa; her parents were missionaries here in Tanzania among the Wasukuma people and Naomi, who never married, has been married to missionary life all of her adult years.
She planned her own 70th birthday party and there was about 35-40 people; a fairly even mixture of white people (mostly Americans) and Africans (mostly from the Wasukuma people). She was brave enough to try a "potluck" style meal; this is well-known to Americans but a new concept for the Africans.
It was a great evening; we watched old movies of her family and work through the years and sang her favorite hymns. We ate together and there was plenty of food; a delicious mixture of African, American, Danish and Canadian food.
We celebrated with her and the Africans who were there called her "one of God's gifts to Africa"; what a wonderful thing to have said about a person who has given their life to missionary work.
We sang the hymns three times each; once in English, once in Kiswahili (national language) and once in Kisukuma (the language of the Wasukuma people-Naomi is helping to translate Christian literature into Kisukuma for their use).
One of the choruses we sang:
Yesu, Yesu, hunsanyaga
Hunsayaga gwa, gwa, gwa
Yesu, Yesu, u wa mpango
Nansanye kutinda no (KISUKUMA)

Yesu, Yesu namwamini,
Nimenwona thabiti
Yesu, Yesu, Yu thamani
Ahadi zake kweli. (KISWAHILI)

Jesus, Jesus, how I trust him! How I've proved him o'er and o'er. Jesus, Jesus, precious Jesus! Oh for grace to trust him more. (ENGLISH)

Song: Tis so Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Blessings

Graduation Day

I woke to the sound of rain; I love rain, but not on this day. Today is graduation day at Mwanza Bible College and we expect to have lots of people on the campus and many activities are scheduled to be outside.
However, as I got ready for the day the rain ceased but it remained overcast; this was a blessing since it made for a cooler day.
We arrived at the Bible College, took a deep breath and plunged into the day. The guest speaker was our dear friend, Ron Swai, who was the first principal at the Mwanza Bible College when it opened in 2001.
The District Bishops were on campus and the students were busy with visiting family members and getting dressed in their finest for this special day. We began lining up in the library and discovered two students were missing; they arrived 30 minutes late. A catastrophe in America but a small glitch here; the students were attired in their red robes plus about 40 in a darker burgundy (we had to borrow 40 robes from another college since we only had 33). Teachers were decked out in our black robes and caps and we were ready to start the processional by 9:45; only 45 minutes late which is totally acceptable here in Tanzania.
The staff/faculty filed in and took our places on the platform. We were followed by the students stepping in perfect sync and rhythm with their music amidst cheers, clapping and encouragement from their friends and families. It was a very moving moment for me as I watched these 69 students proudly file into their places; each of their faces represented a story. There are numerous stories of struggles with health, finances and family situations. They and their families made great sacrifices over the past three years so that these graduates could attend Bible College. Most of these graduates are married, have children and pastor churches already; many are into their 30's, 40's, 50's and the oldest student is in his seventies. It is not just the individual who is graduating; it is his family, his village and his church and everyone present is personally involved in the process that has led to this day.
It is a great day! Every student crosses the platform as his name is called and has his/her moment of glory as he receives his diploma, congratulations from the faculty and guest speaker, has a lei (necklace of flowers) placed around his/her neck and has his picture taken before stepping off the opposite end of the platform.
After the graduation ceremony there is a feast provided for the graduates and all the guests; about 300-400 people are served food and sodas. There is a flurry of picture taking; Tim and I stand for a long time on the library steps as graduates and there families have their pictures taken with the "white" principal and their "white" teacher. I shake hands and hold babies and welcome families until we are finally excused to join the other faculty and visiting pastors in the library for our meal.
Later, I sit on the steps of the library and watch the crowds roam the campus; buying pictures from photographers who have rushed into to town and developed pictures of the graduates. The pictures are spread on blankets on the ground and others have booths set up to sale Bibles and other books. I am tired but happy that the day has gone well and it is nearly finished; but also I am a little sad that they are finished and leaving us. They represent our first year as Principals of the Mwanza Bible College; a memorable year for us as well as them.
We will meet them in the days ahead as we travel around Tanzania; they will be in their churches putting to good use their hard-earned education. We will have had a part in that training and will rejoice that they are now able to "rightly divide the word of truth".

Week of Graduation

Tomorrow is graduation day at Mwanza Bible College; we will be graduating 69 students (Three year diploma level). We believe this is the largest class that has ever graduated from any of our 5 Bible colleges here in Tanzania. We are anticipating about 500 people on the campus tomorrow for this special day; there will be less if it rains since about half of them will have to stand/sit outside. Our chapel will hold about 250 people packed like sardines with NO standing room; there are no fire Marshall's or fire codes to prevent a truly "packed" house.

It has been a week of activity; finals, grading papers, grade reports, decorating, buying food, buying gifts, washing and pressing robes, fitting robes, rehearsals, preparing diplomas, acquiring a generator (power is off frequently), buying food to feed a multitude, renting chairs and tables, and a multitude of other tasks.

We are thankful for the wonderful staff and faculty we have who, in typical Tanzanian style, do not get flustered, stressed or frazzled. They patiently take everything as it comes and make adjustments when necessary. In fact, they seem to expect last minute changes and adjustments and handle them with grace and acceptance. I am trying to learn to be more like them in this area and although I have not arrived there yet, I am getting better.

We had several practices with our students as we worked on the task of getting in and out of the chapel with dignity, grace and rhythm. They selected a song for their procession and then practiced keeping in step with the music. The younger students wanted a more complicated routine for the procession but the older students (the oldest being in his seventies) wanted a less complicated routine. Tanzanians don't just "march in" or "file in" they move in sync with the music and can get quite elaborate in their choreography. We settled for a simple procession with simple choreography.

The above picture is one of several practice processions made from the library to the chapel; some of them were done in the rain.

Tomorrow is a big day! I'll let you know how our biggest graduation for the college and our first graduation as "Mkuu wa Chuo" (Principal) and Mama Mkuu (Mrs. Principal) goes.

God still heals

Yesterday (Sunday) was Tim's turn to preach; at the Bible College all teachers are also pastors for the College Church/Bwiru Hill Christian Centre. Since Tim is the Principal, this automatically makes him the Senior Pastor at BHCC as well.
We are thankful for the wonderful group of faculty/pastoral staff that we have to work with during this time of our ministry at the Bible College.
Yesterday Tim felt that he was to preach on the topic of "Miracles" and that afterwards we would have special prayer for those who needed miracles in any area of their lives. During the first service which is mostly made up of the student body at the college, most stood for prayer. Many of the miracles needed in this group had to do with financial needs.
During the second service, which is mostly made up of people from the community, about 2/3 of the congregation stood indicating that they were in need of some kind of miracle, either a physical need, financial need, or a variety of other needs. Everyone, however, felt that their need could only be met by the divine intervention of God.
You can understand the large number of people who respond to this type of prayer invitation; many here can not afford medical help, have no insurance of any kind, no retirement, no government assistance and no way to receive any kind of loan assistance. God is not a last resort for many of these people; He is there only source of help.
Immediately after the second service we had two women who came forward who had been so sick that they almost did not come to church that morning, however, they came in spite of their sickness. Both women testified that while they were being prayed for they felt healing and strength return to their bodies; they were completely healed. We give thanks to God for healing these two women and believe that we will hear more reports of miracles/needs met in the days ahead. God still performs miracles today and we bear witness to this as we continue to minister here in Tanzania.

Too quiet?

Last night I had trouble sleeping; for some unexplainable reason it was very quiet. Nights in Mwanza are rarely quiet with Monday night usually being the quietest night of the week. However, last night was Tuesday night.
The noise starts mid-afternoon; we have a variety of churches around us and they all believe in having outdoor meetings on a regular basis. Tanzanians of all faiths apparently have the same belief in one area at least; the louder the better. It starts with the "checking of the microphone" so for several minutes you hear, over and over, "hello"; "1-2-3" and even "test-test". I don't know why they use the English language for these tests but they usually do. The music and choirs begin followed by the loud preaching, (Is God deaf?) and yelling which continues to grow in volume and emotion as the meeting progesses. There are often 2-3 of these meetings going on at the same time.
As daylight fades and darkness comes the local bars add their loud music to offset the outdoor meetings and all of this is topped off with the Muslim "call to prayer" also done over a loud speaker.
By bedtime, the churches are usually finished but not the bars; we hear several at different times.
There is always people talking as they walk on the road that passes our gate, children playing and crying, dogs barking and the birds (which we have in abundance around our property) singing as they prepare to settle for the night.
As the night progresses it usually settles down to a few distinct noises that last through most of the night. The bars blasting their music over their loudspeakers, the sounds of dogs barking at each other and our own two guard dogs barking at anything that moves.
However, last night it was almost too quiet to sleep because the power was also off most of the night so we didn't have the usual inside noises; the uneven hum of the overhead fan and the slightly louder noise of my c-pap machine on my nightstand.
Finally I am able to drift off to sleep; awakening occasionally to listen to the unusual silence before drifting back to sleep.
Hope your night is peaceful...or loud...whichever suits you best.

Wearing Shoes

I have always enjoyed moving around my home with no shoes on; I like the feel of the cool ceramic tile on my bare feet.


Here in Mwanza Tanzania we try to keep a pair of flip-flops by the side of our bed at night. If we need to get up in the night we slip our feet into these cheap colorful rubber/plastic shoes before striking out across the dark room.



Yesterday as I was strolling across my the living room enjoying the feel of the ceramic tile on my bare feet, I noticed something laying on the floor so I went to investigate. Upon close examination, I realized that it was a baby snake. It was about 6 inches long and very thin; some might have called it "harmless". "Snake" and "harmless" cannot be used in the same sentence.

So, I did what anyone would have done; I quickly went into the kitchen and grabbed my can of DOOM ( similar to Raid Bug Spray but stronger due to no restrictions on chemicals here). I returned to the snake which lay contentedly on my floor and proceeded to "doom it" liberally. I apologize to those of you who may love snakes or at least feel that we should "live together in peace" with them. This is my house and my rules apply; snakes are not welcome. They are grouped with those other unwelcome guests: rats, mice and gigantic roaches.

The snake, although not dead, was now immobilized and unable to escape; it lay groggily in the pool of Doom and occasionally lifted it's head to try for a striking position. Since Tim was not here, I went outside and called for our trusty yard worker, Juma. He came quickly and I pointed out the snake which he quickly picked up on a stick and started outside with it where he would proceed to "take care of it".

As he passed by he calmly explained, "it is a baby cobra - it's too small to hurt anyone". I smiled bravely as if I totally agreed with him.

I quickly went in search of my sandals; the feel of the cool ceramic tile on my bare feet had suddenly lost it's appeal.
I tried not to wonder where the rest of "baby cobra's" family might be lurking.
Have a good day.

Chicken Anyone?

Last Sunday was "youth day" in the Tanzania Assemblies of God; the youth of the church are in charge of the entire service on this day. There is also a "Women's Day" and a "Children's Day". There is no need for a "Men's Day" since every other undesignated Sunday service in this culture is unofficially "Men's Day".

On their special day; it is traditional that the officiating group presents gifts to their pastor/s. At Bwiru Hill Chrisitan Center all of the teachers of the Bible College are also pastors of the Bible College Church; this makes Tim, as Principal, the Senior Pastor.

At the end of the service, all of the youth line up outside the church and sing and dance their way down the aisle to the pastors who are standing at the front of the church ready to receive their gifts. As the youth proceed down the aisle, I can't help noticing that the lead person is carrying a live rooster. The large red rooster, who's feet have been tied, is stuffed into a blue plastic bag with it's feet protruding from the bottom and it's head sticking out of the top of the bag.

My mind begins to process the fact that there is only one large red rooster at the front of the line and there are no other chickens visible in the approaching line of singing, dancing youth. The implications of the solitary rooster becomes clear in light of the fact that Tim and I are the Senior Pastors and the Senior pastors usually receive a more substantial gift than the rest of the staff.

As I suspected; we are presented with the bound and bagged rooster as part of our gift; the rest of our gift was a large umbrella, a box of fruit and vegetables and two flats of eggs (60). Knowing that our rooster would become a tasty snack for our guard dogs; we left it in the care of one of the teachers at the Bible College who has added it to his own flock. We see "Big Red" each day when we drive up to the Bible College; he seems to be happy in his new home.

New Road

Yesterday was a grand day! The Mwanza Bible College sits on top of Bwiru Hill here in Mwanza. Although it affords a lovely view of Lake Victoria, the dirt and rock road that has to be climbed to reach the school has been an ongoing problem since the College opened in 2001.

The road is steep, narrow, filled with deep potholes in some areas and large protruding boulders in others. If a taxi will agree to go up that road, they charge you double price because the road is very bad. We have been praying about that road for years!

Recently, we started up the road only to find it blocked off and city workers working on it. What a shock and surprise. So, for the past two months, we have had to use the back road up to the school; this road is worse than the front road and requires a four-wheel drive vehicle to make the steep ascent over the rocks and boulders.

We have been anxiously anticipating the official opening of the front road. We received a text from our staff at the Bible College Wednesday morning that the new road was open! It was a wonderful drive over new pavement as we drove easily to the top of Bwiru Hill.

Some things you take for granted, like paved roads, until you don't have them. When you do have them, they are considered a blessing for which you are always thankful.

Melting pot potluck

Friday night was our "Mwanza Missionary Potluck"; all the missionaries from Mwanza and the nearby areas gather on the first Friday night of each month for food and fellowship.
At these meetings we don't discuss doctrine, mission policies or have theological debates.
We have single missionaries, young couples, families, couples with grown children and grandparents. We have Americans, Canadians, Swedish, South Africans, Europeans, and a variety of other nationalities. There are AIC (African Inland Church), Baptists, Pentecostals, Lutherans, Church of Christ and a variety of Faiths.
We gather together for the purpose of fellowship inspite of the many things that could divide us. The things that we have in common: the call to Tanzania, the love for Tanzanians and the desire to be obedient to the call of God on our lives to build HIS Kingdom, these are the things of importance that cause us to come together and become friends.
We eat, we fellowship, we sing, we share testimonies, we share needs, we pray together and then we are free to go. Most of us, however, linger; basking in the comraderie of people different from us in some ways but alike in the important things. In our countries of origin there is a good chance that we would not be together in a setting like this and that we would not be friends or even aquaintances. But in this place where all of us are considered foreigners and strangers, we come together for awhile and are able to "blend in" with everyone else. Time enough to return to the isolated places where most of us do our part for the Kingdom of God; sometimes we feel alone, forgotten, frustrated, helpless, and overwhelmed. On this one night a month, we take the time to have another piece of pie, another cup of coffee, another shared story and another laugh.
Be blessed.

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!