We had a special joint prayer service today for Aliseni, a young pastor who has become very sick. Over 200 people came from 6 different churches!!
Pastors praying for Aliseni
Children of TX eating an ugali/dagaa snack
Heading home
I was the "official" baker for the wedding. Here are the 2 cakes I made for the wedding and send off party (party the bride's family puts a day or 2 before the wedding). The hole in the wedding cake was for a bride/groom figurine. (Didn't have time to take a picture of the finished product.) I borrowed cake pans and decorating bags/tips from other missionaries in town, made several "practice" cakes over the last month (since I'm not a baker in any sense of the term!) Then Sophia, the bride, came over to my house the Monday before the big day to help mix the cakes.
God knows just when we need a boost of encouragement and He gave me just such a boost yesterday.
I had been struggling with a certain issue all week. I had been taken advantage of by someone and was struggling to forgive. (I've seen whole new levels of my own sinful heart recently. I didn't know I was an angry person, till I came to Tanzania!) Fuming over one issue effects other areas, doesn't? I became fed-up with a flirtatious drunk man while we were out witnessing, and refused to slow down for pedestrians who think they own the road. The chirping birds were even grinding on my nerves!! I thought things were getting better when went to pick up a package from the post office, only to realize someone had cut open the box and stolen some mini speakers that were a generous gift from a friend. Ugh!!! I was struggling and fighting with my flesh all week.
Then yesterday afternoon, I asked Pastor Pele for some advice regarding the original problem that had happened over the weekend- being taken advantage of. We talked it through and he immediately agreed to go talk to the individual. Then he said something I wasn't expecting... "We've already decided, Deli and Aliseni (2 other pastors) and I. As much as you've done here, helping and encouraging our people in our churches, with physical and spiritual needs. We are amazed and so grateful, and we've already agreed that if anyone tries to discourage you and causes problems so that you get too overwhelmed and just want to go back home to America... we'll do whatever it takes on your behalf."
There are times where life here seems very rough, and I feel so vulnerable and alone. God knows what we need and right when we need it. I've got at least 3 brothers in Christ here on my side, ready to defend and fight for me! Thank you, Heavenly Father!
Had a great celebration last Saturday. Two of our Bible college students got married.
Friday night in Bariadi I got to hear the testimony of this man (I wish I could remember his name!). He would regularly come home drunk. One night, 2 months ago, his wife (who's been saved several years now) called Pastor John again for help. She feared her husband would beat her and the kids again. Pastor John said that he didn't feel led of the Lord to go over that night, but spent much time in prayer. The next day he went to visit and witness to him again, this time the man got saved! Now his drinking buddies are starting to come up to him and ask, "umetumia dawa gani?" What medicine are you using? They've noticed a difference! "Yesu ni dawa yangu!" Jesus is my medicine (or answer)! Glory to God!! His Word is ALIVE and POWERFUL!!! I can't wait to hear how many of his friends will be saved because of his testimony!!!
Pastor John and his wife Mariamu
Sunday, July 18
Sunday was a big day. Colorful khangas hung around the auditorium and smoke wafted from the "kitchen"! 3 choirs sang; the adults, the children, and a group of grandmas that call themselves the "hallelujah choir!" Such fun!! ;-) Then Pastor John preached from Psalm 116 on the depths of God's love.
Bariadi choirs
Afterwards we had a big dinner (rice and goat meat) followed by an afternoon service. At the end of the morning service, Pastor John took up a special offering for us three as a thank you for coming. After the afternoon service Pastor John invited us all up, then the church ladies all marched in with a gift of fabric for each of us. Afterwards we had one last get-together with the ladies to share our thanks, and give a final devotional to tie up our seminar on the armor of God. We had also assigned different ladies a verse each from our passage in Eph 6, what a delight to hear them quote Scripture!!
This being my first trip, I had moments... and days... of anxiety. Can i really do this? Will I be able to handle the food? What will bathroom/shower conditions be like? What will I do if the car breaks down so far away? How often the enemy uses the fear of the unknown to keep us from running the race the Lord has set before us! I'm so grateful that God got the victory over my anxiety this time around. Days before, He surrounded me with His peace. I'm so grateful for His protection and strength each day of our trip to Bariadi and back. Yes, there were struggles, but there were also incredible blessings!!!
New and old friends: (from left to right) Standing: this lady (don't remember her name) just got saved 4 months ago- used to be a witchdoctor; Mariamu (or Mama Nathan, pastor's wife); the deacon of the church and his wife (we stayed at their house); Mariamu; and Joyce (daughter of deacon, also recently saved). Sitting: Justa and ... hmmm, i wonder?
Thurs, July 15
I think Pastor John felt a bit guilty about filling our schedule so much the day before, so Thurs we didn't have to be anywhere til 10! :-) We got up to a HUGE feast of a breakfast made by our hostess Joyce, including chai (hot tea with lots of sugar and milk), a kind of donut, bread, rice, beans, and cooked cabbage.
Justa and I began teaching the ladies of Bariadi (from about 11am to 1pm), with Mariamu leading the singing. We taught 3 sessions, who our enemy is, the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness. We had about 12 ladies
That afternoon Pastor John took us to a different village, Mwadobana (Mwah-doh-bah'-nah). The road was the worst I had ever driven on, but we made it by God's grace!! We visited with the young man acting as pastor out there. While the food was being prepared we headed out on a 20 min walk to visit a church member who had just had baby #5. Returning to big piles of rice and goat meat and sodas, we ate quickly to try to get back on the road before the sun went down.
Fri & Sat, July 16-17
Spent both days at the church in Bariadi, teaching women and children. Great memories, lots of laughter, playing "volleyball" with the kids, hearing them sing at the top of their lungs, and keeping them on the edge of their seat with a missionary story (Ringu).
Singing with the kids
Ladies seminar
Justa using flannelgraph to teach the armor of God
Justa, Mariamu, and I traveled 5 hours away (normally 4 hrs but part of the road had grown huge potholes since December!) to the town of Bariadi. We left Tues and returned the next Mon. We went planning to teach a ladies seminar in the mornings and the children in the afternoon. What one plans and what one does are 2 very different things! One thing one must have here in Africa is flexibility!
Tues, July 13
We left Mwanza around 10am, planning to stop in Lamadi to visit pastor Joas and his wife Rhoda and take them for lunch. Another church member, Mussa's wife, was heading back to her village on the way and asked for a ride 2 days before. So we picked her up as well, then Justa was asked to take some medicine to Zephania's (Bible college student) mother in Bubinza. Can't just drop in for a quick visit when we had never been there. We sat and ate rice and beans and drank tea with her for about an hour. Then lunch (at 3) in Lamadi. We finally made it to Bariadi about 7:30 that night. :-) 5-hr trip turned into 9 1/2 hrs!!
We ate dinner at Pastor John's house then left the car there and we 3 ladies were escorted to the deacon's house where we stayed each night. His daughter, Miss Joyce, (is about my age and still single- because she was working to be a nun) had just gotten saved a few months ago and took extra good care of us!! We had 2 beds for 3 of us and took bucket baths each night. Hospitality may look different in different cultures but it's still hospitality, still out of a heart of generosity!
Wed, July 14
We made it back to Pastor John's house for breakfast at 8am, ready to start our women's seminar and children's meetings. Kumbe, Pastor John had different plans... Instead we drove out to the village of Mwamunhu (mwah-moon'-hoo) for a day to teach the ladies and children out there. On they way we stopped to visit a few of John's relatives in Mwamapala and then again way out in the "bush" following some cattle paths and driving through a dried cassava field where I got to witness to Pastor John's cousin and his wife and children. After I shared the plan of salvation in Swahili, Pastor John switched to Sukuma to explain further. Both husband wife received the Lord!
Arriving in Mwamunhu, the church members were so excited to have us. They had decorated a special little hut for us to eat breakfast in (chai and chapatis). Then we drove out to their property (no building yet) and split up, men in one bit of shade and women and few hundred feet away in another patch of shade. Pastor John taught the men about witnessing, Justa and I taught and greatly revised version of the armor of God. Afterwards we had an hour of games and songs and a lesson for the children. Then we headed back to our special hut for a dinner of rice and goat meat.
Teaching the women
Children getting lined up for a game
Dinner at Mwamunhu
Heading back to Bariadi (about a 45 min drive) we were all tired!! Pastor John had already scheduled us to head to another church member's house for dinner that night, so we couldn't back down (they had no doubt already slaughtered the chicken!), so we got there about 8 pm (hoping to able to put more food and a 3rd bottle of soda down!) One thing the Sukuma love to do is feed their guests!!!
I went to bed that night thinking, Lord... this was only day1? Help!! Didn't have much time to get concerned though, sleep came much too quickly for that. :-)
Dear family and friends,
Thank you to each one of you who wrote notes of encouragement and prayed in response to my last prayer letter. It’s always a bit of a risk to be transparent, so thank you for your love! For those who might be concerned, please know that I’m not considering quitting. Tough times might slow me down a bit, but by God’s grace and through your prayers, I will not leave the battlefield where my Captain has assigned me.
Children’s Ministry
Mariamu and I continued our church rotatation up through June, encouraging teachers and modeling good teaching techniques. Last week Mariamu was asked by her pastor to stop traveling with me and stay and help strengthen the children’s ministry in their own church. Thus, I’m heading to the next level of faith and dependence on the Lord. I plan to continue our monthly rotation on my own, working more closely with the teachers from each church. I also continue translating Sunday school lessons. It takes me between 6-8 hrs for each lesson. I’m on lesson 23 out of 50, almost half way there! We have started teaching the series in many of the churches which is motivation to keep translating… to keep ahead of the teachers! Also, in May, I had the opportunity to teach a series of lessons on purity at a private school. A short-term missionary nurse and I taught 5th & 6th grade girls both the physical and spiritual sides of staying pure. We had a lot of fun with the girls and pray God will use our words in their hearts.
Women’s Ministry
The Lord be praised…He is slowly opening a door for me to get involved with the women in our churches. We’re starting small. Several pastor’s wives and I have taught two 1-day women’s retreats on the armor of God in two different village churches. We had about 10 women at each church. We have two more retreats planned in July and August and will be combining them with a VBS-type program for the children.
Sweet Potato Season
A few months ago I went out to visit Mariamu’s family, they took me to their fields and taught me how to plant sweet potatoes. Last week I went back and we harvested my “crop!” Nothing in life happens by accident. Sometimes I feel at a disadvantage being such a city girl, but at least my Tanzanian friends get the pleasure of educating their ignorant mzungu! Afterwards I pulled out a coloring book and box of crayons. Mariamu’s 5 younger siblings spent the next several hours huddled over the book trying their hand at a new experience called coloring.
Praises
*The waves of culture shock still come and go, but things are much better. Thank you again for praying!!! Praise the Lord! I was able to get away for a weekend and spend some time with the Lord. It is much easier to handle daily pressures when the spiritual batteries are recharged!
*I praise the Lord for the privilege of 15 months of working closely with Mariamu. She had mountains of patience with all my questions and blunderings in the language. She also became a close ministry and prayer partner and will remain a dear friend!
Prayer Requests
*Pray for safety and the Lord’s strength each Sunday as I work alongside children’s workers. July and August I will be at our new church in the village of Mayoka.
*Pray for our women’s retreat and children’s program in Bariadi, July 13-18. Then again at Nyamasale, Aug.23-29. Pray for safety on the road and safety staying overnight in these villages. Pray that we would be able to communicate clearly and the Lord would use our words in the hearts of the women and children.
*Bill and Tammy Brouwer are back in the U.S. right now on a medical furlough. Pray for rest and healing.
In His love and care,
Lisa
I had the opportunity to teach a special class for young teen girls at Jacaranda School. Margaret Tans, a missionary nurse and I taught a series of 3 lessons; she focusing on the physical aspects of purity and I focusing on the spiritual aspects. We had about 40 girls aged 11-14. The girls were very attentive and responsive. I'm praying that the Lord will continue to use our words in their hearts!!!
