Mambo Mengi

"Mambo mengi" translated into English literally means, "many matters", but basically it means, "We have a lot going on!" Right now we truly have a lot going on out here in Kigoma, Tanzania, so hold on while I catch you up on everything :)

First of all, we have a very special visitor, (Jennifer's mom, Patti), who arrived at the beginning of March and will be with us for 3 weeks. She has adjusted very well to life here including the heat, and has made several friends already!

Isaac will return to Kigoma next Friday for his month break from school, which will allow him to see his grandmother for a few days before she returns to the US. He is doing great at RVA this semester, and is ready for his end of semester month home. He will fly back to Kigoma next Friday! Here is a picture of his basketball team which was really good this year. They won most of their games and are celebrating in the picture below :)

Another big thing happening out here is that we are in the process of trying to foster a little girl who was abandoned at the beginning of January. Jennifer was working in a hospital about an hour away near the Burundi border (which also has a small orphanage) in January when she heard about this baby. We had been preparing to adopt, and were ready to respond when we heard about this child. We have completed the paperwork to be approved to foster the child first, then possibly adopt later if no family is located. Please pray that this process would move forward efficiently so that this child could be brought into our home. We have enjoyed visiting her and we are continuing to pray for the Lord's guidance :)

I gladly returned to Dar last week to have the stent removed from my right kidney after the kidney stone surgery a few weeks ago. The time couldn't go by fast enough! Thankfully, the operation went well and I was back to normal after a few days.

Another thing happening right now, not just in Ujiji, but all over the world is RAMADAN! Ujiji is an interesting place during Ramadan. Most shops are closed during the day, but we tend to have more visitors to the maktaba! Pray for the many Muslims receiving Bibles and Tracts on a daily basis!

Reading glasses continue to be given out on a daily basis in the maktaba. We are thankful for the most recent donation which were brought out by Jennifer's mom from Shannon Hills Bible Chapel in Greensboro, NC.

We also were able to get another 1,000 Gideon Bibles in Swahili which is a huge blessing! Each pair of reading glasses which are given out will be accompanied by one or more of these New Testaments. Pray with us as we sow God's Word among this Muslim community!

Each box above has 100 Gideons!

Gerald and I continue to teach in the schools each week. It is truly the highlight of my week-- I love these kids! This year we have been teaching them about salvation, baptism, assurance, obedience, worship, church, evangelism and other topics and their meanings.

Emmaus courses are continuing to be a tremendous discipleship tool here. I just graded courses from the two prisons in our area and prepared their new courses for the team of pastors that regularly visit these prisons.

Another thing going on out here is lots of sand is being gathered and brought out to the camp land in preparation for the many cement blocks we will be making. We purchased a small pickup truck for the camp which is a big help with moving this sand. The sand is free and washes down from the hills when it rains. We are gathering as much as we can right now before the rains end and dry season begins! There is a lot of work ahead and we still need the believers to pray with us for the final land deed and building permits to be granted!

The church in Kizenga is going well and we were very thankful for the 6 new benches which were ready and brought out last Sunday! Six more are on the way, and the kids filled them all as we had 70+ kids this past Sunday!

I preached last Sunday on

"Effective Evangelism" and we considered how important it is for us to know and preach the true Gospel, understand the Great Commission and how it strengthens the local church, to understand the importance of being led by the Spirit, and being responsible with the knowledge God has given us in the Gospel and His Word. It was effective in putting at least one to sleep!

Yes, we have "Mambo Mengi" going on out here! It is encouraging to see all the different things the Lord is doing, and as always we SO appreciate your prayers and support!

~The Kinlaws

If we ever get overwhelmed, we can always remember this guy, and know others have "Mambo Mengi" also! 😂