Anticipation

Anticipation is a good thing. As Christians, we live our lives every day, anticipating the soon return of the Lord! Every day, we are one day closer to seeing Him, seeing heaven, seeing the things unseen. That is exciting! Much of the world lives in spiritual darkness, and is completely unaware of the reality of the true and living God. May we who know the truth, fulfill the calling with which we have been called!

While we are enjoying this daily anticipation of our Lord, I have to confess I am greatly anticipating the soon return of Jennifer , Elaina, and Katie to TZ! They will arrive in Tanzania on Tuesday, and Sam and I will be there to meet them :-) We appreciate your prayers for our travels, and for the transition back to African life :-)

Although I have been on a hybrid schedule with Jennifer and the girls in the US, the work in the Maktaba continues on! We think the Lord for the many children who come by to watch the Gospel films, read tracts and books, and color!

We had several Emmaus students receive certificates of completion for finishing specific sections of the program last month. Each student was gifted a small book along with their certificate as a gift. Some of the students live in town, while others live in various villages an hour or two away. We praise the Lord that so many are studying God's Word with the help of these Emmaus courses!!

During Ramadan, we had lots of visitors! One day, a man came in with questions about Martin Luther! He was taught that Martin Luther was an American, who left the Roman Catholic Church because he wanted a wife :) ha ha, nevertheless, we had a great conversation that day about Grace! We discussed the truth that we are sinners, saved by grace alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone! This was the true reason Martin Luther left the Catholic church. We never know what kind of questions we will get in the Maktaba!

We are looking forward to restocking our reading glasses, as this ministry (providing reading glasses for free) draws in so many Muslims who would normally not come into the Maktaba. Along with a pair of reading glasses, we gift each one a New Testament in Swahili and Arabic, which is specifically designed for the Muslim reader. We appreciate your prayers for the mini seeds that have been serving through coming for these glasses, and give thanks to all who contributed!

The little village church of Kizenga is continuing on well. We thank you for your prayers for this little gathering of believers. We have been waiting for the rains to stop so that we can continue building the church building. The dry season begins around the end of May, and the work will resume Lord-willing.

I had the privilege of preaching on Easter Sunday and spoke from 1Corinthians 1:18 on the meaning of the cross. We rotate the preaching between three brothers, and hopefully after the girls are back, we will begin some door-to-door and open air work in the area.

The kid's work is going really well! Pagi has been going out to Kizenga on Fridays and doing a kids meeting, and then joining us on Sundays for Sunday school. The kids love the songs, games, and teaching!

The latest news about Camp Nuru: of the two plots of land that we believe the Lord led us to, one has been purchased, surveyed and is all set, while the other is in a bit of a delay. I have to say, this has been the longest land purchase process I have ever been a part of! The owner of this plot is a Muslim and the chairman of the area. Initially, he was very willing to sell, but as of late he has been delaying the process and slow to communicate. We are just continuing to pray and wait on the Lord's timing because we are confident that this is where He has lead us up to this point. Please pray with us that this man would be willing to sell, and the Lord would protect us through the process. We still believe that these two plots together will be enough space for this camp. Thank you for your prayers! This is no doubt a spiritual battle! Ephesians 6:10-12

Isaac has returned to Kenya for his last semester of school. Unfortunately he missed the girls return, but we all had some good guy-bonding time together (basketball, swimming, eating)! He is a growing!

It is a joy to serve the Lord, no matter where we are in the world! We appreciate your prayers, support, and interest in the work here in Kigoma and Ujiji. We trust you are looking for His coming with great ANTICIPATION!

~ The Kinlaws

Pic of the month:

Homemade wooden bicycle 😳