Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to everyone from Kigoma, Tanzania! We are looking forward to a nice Christmas together, and hope the same for you and your family :) I'm not sure if we will ever get "used" to summer weather during the Christmas season, but that is what we have here in East Africa!

Just a few updates to share with you from the work going on in the month of December. The schools are closed this month until they reopen in January, but many kids come to the maktaba to watch "The King of Glory" and other Gospel films. Their favorite thing to do is to color with crayons! We can get really crowded in the maktaba when school is out, but we are thankful so many kids enjoy coming :)

Gerald usually travels during our Christmas break to visit other churches to preach and help with their children programs. He picked up some Kids EE booklets from a friend to share with those he visits. We also give many resources out to pastors in the area for their kids meetings & Sunday School, so I'm sure they will enjoy these kids booklets as well.

We have done 3 open air meetings in 2 areas of Ujiji in December. They have gone fairly well, and have led to some good discussion afterwards, usually on the two hot points with Muslims (Deity of Jesus and the Trinity). Overall, we are encouraged that the Gospel of grace was expounded clearly and simply, and many are hearing this for the first time ! Praise God!

I also had the opportunity to preach the Gospel at our chapel for the Sunday School Sunday where we had close to 100 kids come. It was a fun meeting with several dancing choirs and singing specials, all led by the kids. Preaching the Gospel to them was a great joy, and I trust the Lord will use it for His glory :)

The house to house visitation is always an interesting experience! Recently we visited a house where several Muslim men were sitting outside, and we were welcomed and given permission to share the Gospel with them. After one hour or more of discussion, we asked each of them if they were ready to follow the Lord Jesus, but they were not quite ready. They were clearly and visibly moved by what they heard, and we left them all with a New Testament. As we left, one of the guys with me told me that was the house of an Imam (leader of the Mosque)! Thankful for these open doors and a willingness to listen to the message of God's love for them! Below is a picture of this visit :)

We are thankful for all the Seed being sown in hearts here, and for the many opportunities the Lord continues to give us. We are SO thankful for your prayers and support!

Jennifer is officially half way through her course work in her nursing license renewal process and we hope she can return to the US in February for the hospital time needed to complete it. We appreciate your prayers for this!

We hope you all have a merry Christmas and a happy new year :)

~ The Kinlaws