Lisa Newland

Moving to Africa has brought some big changes in my life but also a whole bunch of small ones! Here's a sampling:

*The tap water isn't safe to drink. I always forget that and have to go back to the kitchen for a cup of clean water to brush my teeth with.

*There's no such thing as emissions testing here and most vehicles run on diesel which means part of a quick run to town means clogging your lungs with some else's exhaust.

*Pineapples, bananas, tomatoes, and cucumbers seem to be always "in season." The sweet fresh fruits and vegetables here beat anything available at Walmart!

*I used to laugh when I heard Tanzanians are cold when it gets down in the 60's. Now I understand! We're not prepared for any kind of cold weather here. The windows in my house are screens, metal bars, and glass slats that don't close all the way. The other day it cooled off to 71 degrees (F) after a rain storm. The wind was blowing through the house. I ran for my socks and sweatshirt! :-)

*I saw monkeys chasing each other on a hillside while out soul winning yesterday.

*My hair is hopelessly straight and some days when I'm extra tired of it, I'll go to bed in curlers. Mosquito nets are a necessity here and my head usually ends up getting caught on the way to the pillow!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Oh yes," I agreed, "there is so much evil all around us. Satan is hard at work...or...do you believe there is a Satan?" .
"Yes, yes, and angels. They are using us to do their good and bad deeds."
"Yes, I agree there are good and bad angels. Do you believe they would exist even if we didn't?"
"No, no...they are in all of us."
What? I thought. Now I'm really confused. Then I asked, "Well the real question is whether we will go to heaven (or paradise or whatever term you use) after we die. What is the way to heaven?"
"Our good deeds, of course."

I have had problems with my Rav4 ever since I bought it two months ago. This morning I got a glimpse of a possible reason why God allowed all the car issues. I found myself in Moraf's office... again. My car was getting checked...again. But this time we had a lively discussion on the differences in our faiths, between biblical Christianity and the Islamic religion.

Moraf is a successful business man in Mwanza, an Indian, and a Muslim. Other BIMT missionaries have been working on building a relationship with this man for many years now.

This morning Moraf had a guest sitting in his office with him, a cousin of his, another Indian man who grew up in Uganda and has moved to Sweden to publish Islamic materials. And what a conversation we had! We talked about 9-11 (and boy do they have a different perspective of that!), we talked about the war in the middle east, we talked about the Koran and the Bible.

"May I just say this one thing though?" I asked. "I do not pretend to understand everything or be a student of all religions, but from what I can see, there is one major difference between the true Christianity of the Bible (not just general protestantism) and all other religions." I seemed to have gotten their attention so I continued. "All religions have some set of rules or a list of requirements to earn their way to heaven (or paradise or nervana). But the Bible says the way to heaven is only by accepting God's gift of salvation. Jesus already did all the work when He died on the cross for all of us."

Oh, it got exciting from there!
"How could Jesus do such a thing?"
"He's God," I answered. (Since Muslims reject the biblical view of the Trinity, you can imagine the reaction! )
"How many gods do you serve?"

I normally despise arguments and avoid conflict of any kind. Clearly I was surrounded by the presence of God and enabled by His grace because I was thoroughly enjoying myself. :-)

"Three in one," I said. "God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. I don't pretend to understand it. The God of the universe is bigger than my tiny brain; how could I possibly understand Him? But I believe it! Take an egg... one egg, but how many parts? 3. Somehow God, too, is one and yet three."

Somewhere about there word came that my car was ready to go. Thankfully our conversation was lively but not heated. We parted with smiles and handshakes.

"Father, are you drawing these men to the Savior? Work your work of grace in their hearts, Holy Spirit, that they may understand the incredible sacrifice of the Lamb, offered for them!"

Posted by Lisa Newland at 3:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm so excited I don't know how to write this blog! This afternoon I got to lead two Tanzanians to the Lord...in Swahili!!! A momentous first for me! Yee-haw!!!!

There were probably 12 or 13 of us who showed up to go witnessing. Normally we all stay together and Bill Brouwer and Gervasi, the Tanzanian pastor, do all the talking; but normally there are only 5 or 6 of us. Today we split up and I went with 2 other Tanzanian gals, Esther (age 21), and Happy (age 15?). The first home we went to a man was taking an afternoon "siesta" with his toddler. His wife was working around with their other child. They both invited us in (to an open, unfinished part of their house). Though John and Angelina both have biblical, or at least western-sounding, names; they rarely attend a church and did not know the one Way to heaven.

They welcomed me to share. I started with the same intro I've used in the U.S. "It's great to go to church, but it's even more important to know for sure if we'll go to heaven after we die." Then I went into the Romans Road. A church in Virginia has provided us BIMT missionaries with plenty of copies of the book of Romans, so John and Angelina were able to see the verses for themselves.

They both listened intently, smiling once in awhile at my awkward Swahili. Esther and Happy helped me by re-explaining things here and there along the way. When I finally got to the question (always seem to be the hardest one to ask)- would you like to receive Jesus today? "Uko tayari kumpokea Yesu sasa hivi?" There was a little part of me that thought, ok my brain hurts and I haven't practiced this part very much...maybe they'll say no. On the other hand my spirit did a triple flip for joy when they said yes. :-)

After reading through the sample prayer in the tract, I gave them the option of repeating after me or praying their own prayer. They both chose to pray after me. It was rather awkward, I definitely need to practice "the prayer" some more. Praise the Lord salvation doesn't come because of a well-formed prayer, but because of an open heart!! And now... the angels are rejoicing, two more lost sheep have been found!!!!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An older gentlemen came to the gate a few days ago asking for me. (I never met him, but he had seen me drive by.) He shared that a family member just died at the hospital and he was out of money to take care of the burial expenses. He didn't seem to be the beggar-type. He had a clean-cut appearance and even wore a worn-out bow tie.

I have been told by experienced missionaries not to believe such men, that it is easy to be "duped" into their sob story, only later finding out it was all a hoax. I was mentally preparing my polite decline, but also thinking "if he continues to be persistent and sincere, I might go find something for him. After, how do I know? Maybe he is telling the truth?"

Another evidence that God takes care of His girls: Guess who came along? An honest Tanzanian! A man "happened" to come to the gate at that exact moment, who had some business with my neighbors. "No, no," he told me. "This man is a liar. Do not believe him. All he does is go from one foreigner's house to another with false stories." They started to argue, but the new visitor eventually chased the "gentleman" away.

Thank you, Lord! One day at a time. One lesson at a time.

Posted by Lisa Newland at 4:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This weekend I visited an orphanage for babies (up to 5 yrs old) with Aleshia and Hannah Weekly and Abigail Brouwer. Forever Angels is in the Weekly's neighborhood and the Weekly girls volunteer there every week.

I was impressed! Very nice facilities and well-organized!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 2:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Happy New Year!!

Sometimes I get impatient with my lack of language progression and inability to teach kids yet- the very reason I'm here! I was kindly reminded by Tammy yesterday that it's a long and slow process. I need to be patient!

After reflecting over the past year, how can I be impatient or frustrated? This time last year I was still traveling and raising support. God brought all the support in, brought me here, and settled me into a new home and routine. What an amazing God!! This major year of transition I must have had a whole army of prayer warriors... there's NO possible way I could have gotten here otherwise! THANK YOU!!

Please don't stop praying!!
*I don't think I've come through the hardest part of transitioning and culture shock yet.
*Also, continue to pray for my Swahili. My goal is to teach my first Bible lesson this month. Pray that I'll have the opportunity and will be ready to do so.
*Finally, keep praying for the babu. We had a wonderful talk last week after reading John 10. I shared that Jesus is the Good Shepherd and is ready to accept him as one of His sheep, but that it's ultimately Bakali's choice. Then I asked him if he was ready to die and where would his spirit go. He said it will hover here on the earth (ancestral worship beliefs). This is where the conversation went beyond my Swahili ability. :-) Angel and the babu talked for another 20 minutes about the realities of heaven and hell, and that the earth will one day be destroyed. The babu would not accept this. He kept repeating, the world will not be finished, the world will not die. Angel reminded him of Noah and God's judgment of the flood, and that the scorners back then said the same thing. God is working and drawing the babu's heart, I just know it! God is being so gracious to give him another opportunity to hear and receive the truth.

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)