I’m in Tanzania this month! We are in Mwanza, the second largest city in the country. It is located next to the Serengeti in the west on Lake Victoria. We are working with a local church called “Christ, God’s Messenger”: helping with children and youth programs, crusades, preaching, teaching children, door-to-door evangelism, and general relationship building and discipleship among church members. 

This church is so alive and its members are very involved!  They have a service every evening, youth weeks, children’s activities on Saturdays, crusades, frequent evangelism, church-wide fasting on Friday’s (by choice), and “night watches” where they stay up all night to pray in the church once a week.  They have a choir that dances and sings, all age groups do skits fairly often in their services, and the people are so passionate in worship (including the littlest ones praying with their eyes closed and raising their hands).  They have so much zeal and passion. They expect God to work, to heal, to transform lives…and he does!

And I have never seen so much celebration and dancing when someone comes to know the Lord.  It’s like a party when someone does!  It reminds me of the Price is Right when the contestant wins a million dollars and everyone goes crazy! 

The people here seem to have so much joy and life about them. Tanzania has been in relative peace for a long time, and I have found it interesting to compare the people of this country to those in Kenya and Uganda (who have not had much peace). I have enjoyed being in three different countries in this region to see differences in culture, language, political situations, etc.

Please pray for the rest of our month here; that we stay strong and do not get worn out. Also, please pray that we are able to build strong relationships with the church members and love on the children even more (they receive it so well, there’s always a kid clinging to my arm or sitting on my lap). Also, keep the men on our team and on our squad in your prayers: they are going to do “manistry” and live with the Masai the next couple weeks before we go to India. Lastly, please pray that our visas get accepted for India (yes, we’re still working on it this late) and for him to blind the eyes of those that may not want Christians in their country. India is “closed” and not receptive to missionaries.

Thank you for all you are doing!  God Bless You and Happy Valentine’s Day!