Lisa Newland

Lake Victoria Baptist College has been in session last week and this week. Missionary Greg Wagoner started the college several years ago, and this April the first two students will graduate with an associates degree in Bible. Most of the students are from churches out in villages and would not be able to leave their families and fields for months at a time, so LVBC has classes for 2 weeks, twice a year...with plenty of homework in between sessions. All the classes are in Swahili, and this session the classes offered were Baptist Polity, Spiritual gifts, Dispensations, Isaiah, and Acts.

This session has been a great opportunity for me to start some relationships with several of the Tanzanian ladies and listen to lots of Swahili!!

Students of LVBC, Oct 2008

Singing in evening chapel -"All will pass away, but the Word of God will stand firm!"

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"Nina kitabu kizuri. Sasa, una nafasi nikusomee?"

Wednesdays afternoons before the evening service are set aside for soulwinning. Last week 2 ladies and a teenager were saved, and another man received the Lord this week. PTL!!

Since arriving here, my role as we visit "hut-to-hut" has been to greet people and hand them a John/Romans booklet and invite them to church. Which, is great...but I wanted to say more!!!

PTL! Today I got to witness for the first time in Swahili!! ...with the help of a little green book that goes through the whole plan of salvation with African-style pictures. Last week during language class we went through all the unfamiliar words, and I've been practicing reading it out loud. Today, while soul-winning in Igoma we stopped and visited with 4 ladies and I asked if I may read them the book.

I tried to clarify a few things and Tammy (Brouwer) and Elizabeth (Tanzanian teen) helped me explain some more things. None of the ladies accepted the Lord today, but they heard! Please pray with me for Pendo, Mariamu, Lusi, and Rehema. Pray that we may see them again to share further. And pray that my language learning will keep progressing!

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Well...so much for my 2 tropical birds. One finally went stir crazy and attacked the other bird. I preferred not to keep the murderer around, so he was released.

Don't despair, Mother, I'm not alone though. I have bats to keep me company in my new apartment. Yes, I sleep under a mosquito net, not for mosquitos- I've only seen one in almost 2 weeks- but for bats. Three so far have swooped in to say hello, leaving little reminders here and there before they go. Can anyone explain to me why bats are so ugly!?!

...And here's an amazing grasshopper for you, Travis. Can you find him?

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Last Friday, Angel took me to the edge of Lake Victoria. It was probably a 3-4 mile walk round-trip, from my home. We sat on a rock heap overlooking the lake and marveled at our amazing God- Mungu wa Ajabu!

High on the hill, sits a memorial of a ferry boat that sunk in Lake Victoria over a decade ago. Well over a thousand people lost their lives in the tragic accident.

This is a common sight around here. Men working in the quarries with nothing but a hammer.

Notice the "swarms" of kites- similar to a hawk. They're stealing an easy meal of "dagaa"- small fish that the women lay out by the thousands to dry in the sun.

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It's hard to believe I've already been in Mwanza over a month!! Here's some pictures to give you a little tour of my new life and to help me report how God has provided in so many ways:

The "upper room" (in the back/center of the picture) is my home during these first months of language training. It's a great little apartment next to the Weekly's home (on the right)...

...and has a beautiful view of Lake Victoria!

The apartment was already furnished with a big comfy bed, little kitchen, and bathroom. Notice the cupboard, the countertop gas oven, and the Katadyn water filter. All have a story- different ways God has provided through different people for all my needs- over and abundantly!!

May I introduce you to Angel, my language helper for 4 mornings each week. She was trying to remind me what a "mdenge" was...can you guess?

a shish-ka-bob stick. :-) Angel and I love to laugh. Needless to say, our mornings together are far from boring.

Finally...

my lunch, four days a week. This massive bowl of rice, beans, and meat is about 90 cents. Saves me from packing a lunch every day as I head down to the Brouwers' home for our afternoon language sessions.

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Last night the Brouwers, Bro Ray and myself went out to the village of Igoma to help a struggling church. We went out with the Pastor and his wife and teenager to huts all over the "neighborhood," giving out John and Romans booklets and talking about the Lord. Neither Tammy nor I are comfortable enough to witness in Swahili yet, and it seems that the Tanzanian pastor's wife isn't comfortable either. Thus we ladies only passed out booklets while the men got to share the whole plan of salvation with several people. Today in language class at the Brouwer's house...guess what we studied! :-) Next week we'll be ready!! One elderly lady we talked to didn't even know Swahili. She only knew her native tongue- Kisukuma. Is it possible to learn 2 languages at once?

For the church service Bro Bill is starting a series on Revelation. I love chap 1 and was excited to realize how much i understood of what he was preaching. God has truly given "Mchungaji Billi" (Pastor Bill) a gift for preaching and for communicating in a way that is clear for the Africans!

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