Open Doors

Thank you all for holding the rope by continuing to pray for us as we serve the Lord in one of the poorest regions of Tanzania. The picture above was taken while we were visiting one of our friends who lives on the outskirts of Kigoma. Every time we go to visit a friend, a crowd of kids gathers out of curiosity, which provides us with many opportunities to share the love of Christ with them. I was able to share my personal testimony and the Gospel message with these precious children before we left. We continue to discover more and more opportunities or as we like to call them, "Open doors", here in Kigoma.

One of the open doors we have recently discover was found in Ujiji. One of my friends, Gerald (above), asked me if I would be willing to partner with him in teaching the Bible to children in a few schools in Ujiji. Here in Tanzania, every government school has a "Religious" day, once a week, where a volunteer can come in and teach the children. Many schools do not have this class because not one comes to teach them, but the door is open! We were quickly given permission to start coming to "Shule ya Msingi KARUTA" every Friday at noon. This school is a 5 minute walk from the reading room!

A few days later, we were given permission to start coming to another school nearby, "Shule ya Msingi MBANO" every Wednesday at noon. This is an amazing opportunity! We can leave the reading room, walk to these schools, teach the kids for 40-50 minutes and be back to the reading room in one hour.

I am able to get boxes Gideon New Testaments in Swahili (100 Bible per box), and on our first day after introductions and a few songs together, we handed out the Bibles to each student. They were so thankful to be given a Bible of their own that some even kissed their Bible when they received it! Gerald and I covet your prayers as we walk through these "Open Doors" and begin teaching these precious children the Word of God. Thankfully Gerald is fluent in English and Swahili, so he can help me in my ongoing language learning. Below are some pictures of our first week of classes in both of these schools.

The two above pictures were taken at KARUTA and the picture below is from MBONA.

This past Sunday, before the regular meetings at the chapel in Kigoma, there was a baptism where four believers were baptized. Baptism is such a vivid illustration of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. The water representing death, and the believer going down into death, buried, and rising again to new life in Christ! Baptism is an outward expression of what has happened on the inside of those who have been saved. What a joy to see four more believers choose to follow the Lord Jesus in their lives. Below are a few pictures of that special morning.

After the baptism was over, we drove an hour away to a village called "Kizenga" with 2 brothers from our assembly. I have shared about this small village church before, but they are a small group which is slowly growing. We met under a tarp by a mango tree next to the remains of the old church building.

As the service got started, it began to drizzle. Then right before I got up to speak, the rain began to fall in sheets! We had our own kind of "Baptism" in Kizenga :) Needless to say, everyone got wet, some more than others. Our kids ran for the car, and I continued preaching while holding on to the pole that kept the tarp from filling with water. The tarp had holes which made the situation more interesting. As the rain fell harder, I had to shout over the sound of the rain, but the believers wanted me to continue. It was an experience we will remember for a long time :)

We thank the Lord for these "Open Doors" to share the Gospel and covet your prayers as we walk through them by faith. The ministry with the street boys continues to go well, although last week during our soccer game we were hit by a big rain. At first we all ran for shelter, but a short time later they stripped off their clothes and continued to play in the pouring rain and mud. It was fun to watch, but I was happy to stay dry :)

The reading room in Ujiji is going well and we are in the process of moving the Emmaus Correspondence Ministry out there. Most likely Emmaus will make an appearance in our next blog post! A big part of living here is receiving requests for help from many different people every day. Some of these situations are even life and death situations for which we need much wisdom. These requests come in the form of text messages, visitors at our door, in town, at church meetings, and sometimes in the form of a written letter. Below is my all time favorite request letter which I received last week from a dear friend in Ujiji.

Five thousand shillings is equivalent to $2.25! For those of you who are curious to know what happened with this request, I consented and saved a man from starvation! The challenge here is not to let the physical needs, which are overwhelming, mask the spiritual needs, which are even more overwhelming. It is a daily challenge for all who serve the Lord here. The man who wrote this letter, who I meet with several times a week, continues to hear the Gospel, but has not yet trusted the Savior. Please pray for him!

Truly there are many "Open Doors" here to serve the Lord. Whether while visiting a friend, working among the street boys, in the reading room in Ujiji, teaching the Bible in the schools, or just in daily interactions with the people. We are so thankful for all of you who are "Holding the Rope" for us in prayer!

In other news, we have learned that our visa is processing, but not yet been granted. There were a few items that needed updating for processing, which is a good sign. So we continue to pray over our visa. We will send out a praise when it is granted!

Our animal picture of the week:

There is a group of wild zebras that live in the area near Lake Tanganyika where we swim on Saturdays. One is especially friendly and let Isaac pet him on the nose! Also, as I write this blog post, today is Isaac's 12th Birthday! We are so thankful for him and for all the plans God has for his life. Happy Birthday Isaac!

1 Corinthians 16:9, 13-14

"For a great and effective door has opened to me, and there are many adversaries."

"Watch, stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong; let all. that you do be done with love."