Joy in the Journey

We praise the Lord for His SUSTAINING GRACE as we press on in the work out here in western Tanzania. It is amazing to look out over Lake Tanganyika and enjoy the beauty of God's creation during the evening at sunset. Every evening is a fresh work of art to enjoy! The few times we actually catch the sunset, (pictured above) are wonderful ways to decompress from the strains and stresses of daily life.

I've been enjoying a study on the life of Elijah, and was especially touched by chapter 19 where Elijah is discouraged and running from Jezebel. The Lord met him on that long journey while he was sleeping under a tree, touched him, provided food and water (in the desert), and said,

"Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you..."

Elijah went in the strength of that food for 40 days! Sometimes we too can feel the same way, that the journey is too great for us, and it is! If it were not for the touch from the Lord, refreshment from His food (The Word of God) to sustain us, we too would faint along the way. The Lord Jesus is Himself our Joy in the Journey!

The picture above represents 3 weeks of Emmaus ministry! Each colored certificate represents 7 Emmaus courses completed, and the white certificates represent the completion of all 36 Emmaus courses. It usually takes a year or more to complete the entire program. That sums up a lot of what I, John, have been doing this past month, grading, recording, and ordering Emmaus courses! Below are just a few of our students:

The Emmaus ministry is really growing!

We currently have approximately 258 active students:

• 74 students in 3 prisons

• 114 students in 5 villages along the lake

• 45 students from the maktaba in Ujiji

• 25 students outside the maktaba (John meets with personally)

Please pray for these students as they continue to study sound doctrine through these studies. Every three weeks when we go visit the different villages along the lake, we get the opportunity to bring a message on a topic we feel needs clarity on from the many exams we have graded in the weeks prior. Recently I gave a clear explaination of the doctrine of "Justification by faith", another on "Forgiveness", and another on the doctrine of "Eternal Life". These amazing truths are very cloudy and confusing to many here, but what a joy to open the Word and help them understand the blessings they have in Christ!

Jennifer is extremely busy these days as she continues to work on her masters in midwifery online, while juggling many other responsibilities. She is working in the local Baptist hospital in the Labor & Delivery one day a week, and continues to pour herself out whereever she is, either at home or at the hospital. Her love for babies, children, and her family is evident! In the picture below, she is holding a newborn from a young lady at our church. Pray for Jennifer as she works to fulfill her calling in midwifery.

(Soon to be) Grace Joy Kinlaw is doing really well, and we are all anxiously awaiting July 24th to arrive so we can begin the adoption process. She is walking, or should we say"toddling", but really enjoying her new found freedom. She is a lot of fun, and we especially enjoy her easy-going, pleasant temperment.

We appreciate your prayers as we work through this upcoming process of adoption. There are several steps such as the big initial one where we go before the TZ court to officially adopt her, then change her birth certificate, then apply for her TZ passport, then go to the US Embassy in TZ to apply for a visa to complete the process on the US side. Once we have completed everything we will return to the USA for a much needed furlough. She is worth every sacrifice we have made!

This past month I, John, have had many opportunities to preach and teach the Word. On the 2 Emmaus village trips, on Sundays in Kizenga, and also preached 8 sessions at an elders conference at the end of May. We worked through the 8 Signs in the Gospel of John. I especially enjoyed this study as it's applications were so practical and helpful in my daily walk and service to the Lord. I have been so blessed by this study and hope those present were also encouraged. Please pray for the Seed sown in their hearts to bear fruit.

For example:

Water to wine - Jesus came to fill us with JOY

Nobleman's son - Jesus came to fill us with FAITH

Lame man at pool of Bethsaidia - Jesus came to fill us with STRENGTH

Feeding of the 5000 - Jesus came to fill us with LIFE

Jesus walks on the water - Jesus came to fill us with HOPE

Blind man receives his sight - Jesus came to fill us with LIGHT

Raising of LAZARUS - Jesus came to fill us with GLORY

Catch of fish to restore Peter - Jesus came to fill us with LOVE

Lord Jesus FILL us!

Often I find myself in situations where I'm asked to preach without any notice, in SWAHILI! So, I have learned to be ready every Sunday and anytime the Word is shared, no matter who is scheduled! The church in Kizenga (pictured above) is slowly growing, and continues to need our prayers for leadership, and more youth involvement. We are hoping to have a few of the youth begin helping out with Sunday School, and opening the meetings etc... We are encouraged at the occasional visitors each Sunday, and hope to cement the floor during this dry season.

The maktaba continues to be a fruitful ministry, especially the reading glasses which are freely given out along with the Gospel.

The building of Camp Nuru has been a slow work, but building a youth camp by faith goes at a different pace than we would like. We continue to do what we can with what we have, a truth we constantly encourage the Tanzanians to do as well. With dry season in full swing, we recently cut all of the grass, and next we will work on cutting down the trees that need to be removed. Please pray with us over this work for the Lord's protection and provision!

What a journey it has been!

In other news, we killed a "Boom-slang" snake last week in our backyard. They are venomous snakes and I read that if bitten, they can cause major brain and muscle hemmorrhaging - yikes! - but are docile and not reactive like the black mamba.

Also, for our survival, we replaced the old, rotting basketball goal we built 4 years ago with a new snazzy goal. Now that we can get plywood out here, we took advantage and used that instead of 1x6. We could not imagine life without basketball! :)

We appreciate (and miss) all of you so much! We are thankful for your prayers and support, and for "holding the rope" for us as we serve the Lord out here. The journey is too great for us, we all need the Lord's touch, and His Word which refreshes and strengthens us so we can go the distance!

The Lord Jesus is the JOY in the JOURNEY!

Lord, FILL US with Joy - Strength - Faith - Life - Hope - Light - Glory - Love!

Thank you

~ The Kinlaws

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Please pray for the many Emmaus students for spiritual growth, for the Gospel to become clear to them, and for them to pass these truths on to their churches.

• Please pray for Jennifer as she works on her Masters in midwifery, for strength, and for the Lord's help.

• Please pray for the upcoming adoption process of Grace Joy Kinlaw. Please pray for the grace needed to persevere through this process.

• Please pray for the Kizenga church, for spiritual growth, growth in leadership, and for the youth to get more innvolved.

• Please pray for the Seed sown over the past month through the preaching and teaching of the Word.

• Please pray for our family, especially our children as they wait for the Lord's timing on our next furlough (been 3 years!)