We can all grow numb to the enormous need and urgency all around us, no matter where you are in the world. Here in Ujiji, which is no doubt a Muslim stronghold, the need for the Gospel is overwhelming. Recently, the Shia Muslims here had a “remembrance walk” to pay homage to a deceased leader from Iran. I watched as hundreds walked by the maktaba, many whom I know personally as my Muslim friends. This is why we are here, shining the light of the Gospel in this (spiritually) dark place. This is our mission field. Pray with us over these precious souls for whom Christ died.
The maktaba is continuing to have a steady flow of people visiting for reading glasses, Emmaus courses, and just out of curiosity. We enjoy giving each visitor a Gideon pocket New Testament in Swahili. We are staying very busy these days grading Emmaus courses, as the number of courses has increased.
Another student finished all 35 courses and received his final diploma! We also have several other students ready for their certificates.
Emmaus is such a great discipleship tool that we are utilizing out here. Gerald, Pagi, and I went down the road to the south, along Lake Tanganyika, to bring the Emmaus courses to the many Christians in these villages. We stopped at 4 different villages : Nyamore - Kaseke - Mwakizega - Ilagala.
We coordinated with church leaders in advance, and met at a predetermined time in the center of each village. We stayed one hour in each village, and amazingly stayed on schedule, getting home before dark - it was a full day!
Once we set up our sign and table, Gerald explained what Emmaus was and how it works for everyone. The first course is free and the rest are approximately $1 each. Our trip went really well, we were well received in each village, and picked up approximately 60 new students! Praise the Lord!
We plan to follow up with them this coming week, return Friday to pick up their exams, and bring them their next study. We are excited because we know these courses are such a blessing, and will help them grow spiritually if they will continue. We also brought the paint board and did a Gospel meeting at the last village of Ilagala in the market area.
We had a good crowd, the Gospel was clearly preached in Swahili, and, with the help of our small speaker, many heard the Gospel up close and at a distance. Overall it was a fun day, and we were so excited to see the Lord working in these places.
Gerald and I are back in the schools teaching through a study on “The Life of Christ”. We began in eternity and will finish in eternity! What a fun study on an amazing Savior!
Above Gerald is teaching at Karuta and below I am teaching at Mbano.
The work at the village church in Kizenga is going well. We are encouraged at the spiritual growth we see, and hope to add a mid-week meeting soon. We especially love these precious children :)
We started gathering sand from the river to mix with concrete for cementing the floor inside the church building. Everything is harder in the village! We hope to start this work in the next month.
Jennifer is continuing to work 2 days at the hospital delivering babies. She has helped in delivering over 50 babies this year, and also assisted in several C-sections. Keep her in your prayers as she works in this 3rd world hospital with it’s many challenges.
Speaking of challenges…
We are in the middle of 2 very intense spiritual battles right now, and we really need your prayers. One is this little orphan, Grace, whom the Lord has put on our hearts to adopt. It has been a 6 month battle of prayer and paperwork, and we still have not been given permission to bring her home. We feel like things are moving towards completion, and have been especially burdened to pray for this little girl right now.
We are on our knees in surrender for this little girl. This is a battle between light and darkness. Our Lord will win this battle for us :) This coming week is crucial, and we ask you to pray for God to do AMAZING things this week. We feel like it is time, and we are ready for His Amazing Grace ❤️.
The other spiritual battle is over the land for Camp Nuru. We are putting a Christian Youth Camp right in Ujiji, a Muslim stronghold. Did I think this would be easy? Definitely not, but I didn’t think it would take this long. The battle is real! The Light will overcome the darkness! The land deed is being held up in the land office, and the problem continues to drag on and on.
DELAY (the enemy’s tactic).
Pray with us for the land deed to be released to us. For those who have given to this work, it was not in vain. God is working, even calling another young man out to help with this work, and continues to encourage me to not give up! Pray with us - pray for Camp Nuru (which means Light)!
The Light will shine in Ujiji!
You may have noticed already in the pictures above, that Isaac has returned home from school in Kenya, and we are so glad to have him home!
Thank you all so much for praying with us, and please join with us these next several days bringing this precious little girl, Grace, before the Lord.
Prayer Requests:
Please Pray for this stronghold to be broken that is keeping this little girl (Grace) in the orphanage.
Please pray for us to stay encouraged as we serve the Lord in this challenging place.
Please pray for the land deed for Camp Nuru to be released to us.
Please pray for the Emmaus courses which are bearing much fruit in this area.
Please pray for the many lost souls blinded, in spiritual darkness, that they will have their eyes opened to the light of the Gospel.
Please pray for the little village assemble in Kizenga to grow and develop leaders.
Thank you SO much for your prayers and support!
~ The Kinlaws
A few animals we don’t see back in North Carolina:
Monitor lizard ( this is a smaller one as they can get much bigger than this - this one was caught and killed next door by Isaac.
Hedge hog! These guys are so mild and fun to find. Pretty much harmless except for being a tad prickly.
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