Time to BUILD!

We are excited to announce that we received the land deed for the Camp Nuru property last Friday! Praise the Lord! This was a long and intense spiritual battle! We knew it would be challenging to build a Christian youth camp in a Muslim area, but didn’t expect this much resistance. Thank you to all who prayed with us, and persevered over the last almost 2 years.

The Lord has answered!

Below is a picture of 2 of the 3 elders who were working on our behalf to get this deed for us. We were rejoicing when they brought the deed last Friday :)

We also received the building plans this week, which were completed by a brother in the US. The next step is to get the building permit approved. The elders are hopeful this can be done before the Christmas break. Please pray with us as we finish this process and get started on the building of Camp Nuru!

The government schools are winding down their school year with exams. We had our last Bible study with them last week, and will not resume until the new school year begins in January. (Their school year begins in Jan. & ends in Nov. with a month break in June). Please pray with us for these children to continue to grow spiritually during their break.

The Emmaus ministry is really growing as we try to keep up with all of the grading! It is such an encouragement to see so many with a hunger to study God’s Word. Between the students in town, the prisons, and the growing number in the outlying villages, we have our hands full!

Each certificate represents 7 completed courses :) I am ordering certificates now every 2 weeks!

The trips to the outlying villages every 3 weeks are the most fun. We get to visit with many believers in these villages, and the fellowship is so encouraging. Along the way are opportunities to share the Gospel, and also answer Bible questions. This last trip we returned with 73 courses to grade!

Our biggest group is in the village of Ilagala where between 20-30 believers are ready and waiting. After arriving and greeting everyone, we open in prayer, Gerald gives a short word, and then we begin the Emmaus work. They are so thankful to have the opportunity to study God’s Word with the help of these courses.

Pagi took the Emmaus courses on an outreach trip, together with tracts and Gideon Testaments. There were 2 Muslims who were eager to take the first course. The next day these 2 told Pagi they both had dreams that night where Jesus was calling them to follow Him. They both surrendered to the Lord, and are continuing on in these courses to learn more about the Lord Jesus. They are in the picture below on either side of Pagi, faces blocked for privacy.

Jennifer is enjoying her ongoing work in the Baptist Hospital 2 days a week. She is closing in on helping with 100 deliveries this year, and is actually delivering a baby as I write this blog :) It is a very “rustic” experience as there are no epidurals, little comfort for the mothers, and the power often goes out. It’s not unusual for them to be using phone lights and head lamps during deliveries, and even c-sections! Elaina occasionally comes with Jennifer to shadow - great experiences!

We also appreciate your prayers for Jennifer as she begins a Masters program for midwifery in January (mostly online except for clinicals). Some may wonder why she needs a Masters in midwifery when she has helped deliver almost 100 babies this year! One main reason is that expanding her knowledge will enable her to detect serious complications earlier, which will save the lives of both baby and mother. This level of schooling is unavailable in most 3rd world countries, and would be a huge help and blessing in this hospital.

Jennifer is traveling to Kentucky alone for orientation, leaving Kigoma Tuesday Nov 26 and arriving in KY on Friday. She will return to Kigoma December 8, missing Thanksgiving with us, but it is a mandatory orientation. Thank you all for praying for her as she navigates this trip, and also this midwifery journey!

While we are still rejoicing over getting the camp deed, we are still persevering in prayer for Grace and this adoption process to be completed. The latest update is that our case is supposed to be sent back to TZ from the US office of ISS. Once it is received here, we can proceed with the final steps to bring Grace home.

As you can see from the video above, she really misses her “Dada”!

We were blessed to have Tim and Joy Beer visit us in Kigoma. They are a part of the CMML missionary care team. It was a great visit for all 3 families, ourselves, Harry & Ruth Johnson, and Luke & Gina Johnson.

As we close this blog post, we thank you all for your prayers and support as we serve the Lord here in East Africa. We hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for the building permit for Camp Nuru to be granted, and praise the Lord for the land deed!!!

• Please pray for the many Emmaus students studying God’s Word.

• Please pray for these new believers to grow spiritually.

• Please pray for Jennifer as she travels to the US for her orientation next week.

• Please pray for Jennifer and her midwifery program as she begins classes online in January.

• Please pray for the Lord’s help to finish the adoption process for Grace. (Also so we can take a much needed furlough in 2025!)

~ The Kinlaws