Lisa Newland

Not that I need reminding, but here's some random moments recently... :-)

Maduka (deacon at the church in Fumagira) asked me if the houses in America were like theirs with thatched roofs.

I showed Mariamu my binoculars and said they were a Christmas gift from my parents. She asked who brought them over. I told her they came in a box through the mail. She just kinda stared at me and commented quietly- inawezakana?- that's possible!?

Another man was shocked to hear that there's no ugali (the staple starch here made from cassava). What did we eat then?

I served Mariamu an American lunch the other day. (I thought I was being so generous.:-)) We had ham sandwiches, apples slices and chips. I explained that it would not be offensive if she didn't want to eat something. Well, she took one taste of everything but that's about it. She never said she didn't like any of it; she was just very quiet. :-) :-)

Posted by Lisa Newland at 4:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thursday
Justa (pastor's wife), Mariamu (my language helper/ ministry assistant), and I headed out to Bugando and Sekoutoure hospitals to pass out John/Romans booklets to new mothers (and any one else in the hallways who wanted one). As soon as people realize we're giving out booklets for free, it doesn't take long for the booklets to run out. Last week Justa and I left Mariamu near the children's ward, while we went back to the car to fetch more booklets. We started to pass out a few on the way back. By the time we reached Mariamu we had none left. Next week, we'll have to hide the booklets till we get inside the children's building. It's so fun to pass out the Word of God and to pass by again and see people reading it. Pray that we'll not miss opportunities to talk with people too!

View from the 9th floor of Bugando Hospital

Friday
My Rav 4 became the church van- poor little car! :-) Friday afternoons the ladies at Ibungilo get together for Bible study and prayer. Lately they've been meeting in different ladies' homes. This week I drove them to Mihama (a couple neighborhoods away). Seven ladies in a Rav 4 on a rough African road? We were scraping bottom much way! But what a blessing! Oh how these ladies can pray!! :-) We visited Mama Amos and I got to hold her 2-wk old baby, Chaliga.

Saturday
I'm learning that visiting each other is very important in the culture here. If a friend comes to see you they expect you to return the visit and visa versa. Every Sunday several people invite me to their home. I've been to several homes and Saturday I had my first guests come visit me- Justa, Mariamu, and 2 teenagers from Ibungilo- Sophie and Regina. :-) A hostess brings water in a pitcher with a bowl to pour over their guests hands to wash them before food (and food is only eaten with the right hand). After this, I brought out sodas, banana bread, and pineapple chunks. It is also proper for the hostess to pray before the meal. The teen girls (19 and 20 yrs old) spent the first half hour giggling (with nerves and excitement). :-) They had never been in a western-style home before and were blown away that the bathroom was inside the house! :-)

Posted by Lisa Newland at 3:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I want to be a smart missionary. I'm learning that may involve restricting my resources.

In the states, I tried to collect all kinds of teaching materials to use when I started teaching children in Africa. I brought puppets and missionary stories, chalk and balloons, books and lots of Bible flashcards.

Now that I've been here almost 7 months, I'm starting to reconsider...

Tammy Brouwer shared with me that there was a missionary who started a church in Kenya. He wanted to bless the people and was very generous with his money, purchasing things to help the church, including printing a bulletin each week. When it was time to hand over the work to a national pastor, the young man was too intimidated to take the pastorate. The missionary had set a precedent that the national could never have attained.

I don't want to make the same mistake.

Don't get me wrong, I haven't thrown out all my visuals. I've decided they will be the exception though, not the norm. Last Sunday, I used a stick and a paper crown and several children to teach the story of Mephibosheth. I have a flashcard series with some beautiful pictures to illustrate the story. It was hard to leave it home! But I want to be a smart missionary!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 5:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It is amazing how many Africans can cram into a small space, but even they couldn't get 60 children on 3 benches. When the children were dismissed for children's church yesterday, we found only 3 benches. Someone had forgotten to assign the task of bringing the benches over from Petro's house (about a half a block away). So 10 or so of the older children went to fetch them while the rest of us starting singing. (The small wooden benches would be easy to steal and there's no windows or door on our children's church building. Thus the benches stay at the assistant pastor's house and are carried over every week.)

Ah...10 benches for 60 children... much more "doable."

I taught the story of Mephibosheth that morning. Baraka limped like Mephibosheth with a stick and Edward stood on a bench as King David. I shared that this was a perfect illustration of God's amazing grace for us, undeserving sinners.

The kids loved the story and the acting. Some of the time I was able to teach without notes too!! I did start to lose them at the end though. Got to make sure not to go too long, and practice the conclusion better. :-)

Posted by Lisa Newland at 4:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In children's church yesterday, Mariamu taught the story of Zacchaeus and I taught a memory verse and led the review "game." We had over 40 children, crammed on 9 benches, ages ranging from 3-15. It doesn't take much to keep their attention (having not been raised in a cartoon/video game culture). Our review "game" consisted of me asking questions and then rewarding the right answer with a "soda." The child chooses what type of soda he wants (usually orange fanta), then all the children clap together in a certain pattern, pretending to shake a bottle of soda and give it to him which he "drinks." Ah, the giggles of delight!! :-)

Posted by Lisa Newland at 3:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I just finished a missionary autobiography (more like a memoir) by Rosalind Goforth called Climbing. Ah...and oh how my heart was touched! We are all on a journey in this Christian life. We are all climbing... taking steps closer to the Lord as we travel through life. Mrs. Goforth was so transparent with the blessings and struggles of being a missionary wife and mother in China in the late 1800s and early 1900s. She lost children, suffered through illnesses, and traveled miles and miles with her evangelist husband, Jonathon Goforth.

After 15 years as a missionary, the Lord brought Rosalind through a personal revival while on furlough. She was gripped with the realization that Christ was IN her, and living an "overcoming, victorious life in Christ is the normal life God has planned for His children." ...in contrast to the ups and downs of victory and defeat. When she returned to China their house workers asked Mr. Goforth what had happened to his wife. No one wanted to work for her before because of her temper, but now they all saw the new joy in her life.

"What would happen if we all believed God?" she writes.

Colossians 1:27: "To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory."

Posted by Lisa Newland at 3:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week I started working with a new language helper/ ministry assistant. Mariamu is from the village of Fumagira, she is 20 yrs old and a student at Lake Victoria Baptist College. She also was recommended highly by her pastor as a faithful and involved church member.

She and I will be working together 3 days a week, putting together Bible lessons for children and then teaching children's church together on Sundays. Mariamu is teaching me the children's Swahili songs and correcting my Swahili in the Bible lessons I'm preparing.

Yesterday I finally got to TEACH in Swahili!! I had written out my lesson from Acts 9, Saul's Conversion. There is one thing I cannot stand is a children's teacher who reads their entire lesson, word for word- ugh- yesterday I became just such a teacher- double ugh! :-( Got to start somewhere though.

Posted by Lisa Newland at 4:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dear friends and family,

Each lesson in Swahili we (the Brouwers and I) finish brings us closer to completing our language study, but also gives me another page of vocabulary to memorize. Ugh! Is there an end? There is! We only have three lessons left- but even more exciting- I’ve gotten to lead several Tanzanians to the Lord! The hours with my nose in a book or practicing conversation with my language helper are finally starting to pay off!

John and Angelina were my first Tanzanians to lead to the Lord. PTL! We met them on our Wednesday visits out in the village. Coming to their home to offer them a Romans booklet they invited us to sit and share more. I started with the same introduction I've used in the U.S. "It's good 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. They both listened intently, smiling once in awhile at my awkward Swahili. Esther and Happy, my Tanzanian partners, helped me re-explain things here and there along the way. When I finally got to the question-- would you like to receive Jesus today? "Uko tayari kumpokea Yesu leo?"-- there was a little part of me that thought, ok my brain hurts...maybe they'll say no and we can come back another day. On the other hand, praise the Lord, they said yes!

We came to the house of Baba and Mama Ngoro a few weeks later also while visiting out in the village. Tammy and I and the other ladies of the church sat down on the chairs offered. Baba Ngoro listened very carefully as I shared the gospel, looking up the verses in his own Bible. Because of their background in the catholic church, I emphasized that Christ paid our entire debt on the cross, there is nothing we can do to make ourselves acceptable before a Holy God. This young father of five looked at me and asked, “What do you advise me to do?” Tammy shared further and then led he and his wife in a prayer to receive God’s free gift of salvation! Even more good news- the whole family has been attending church and Mama Ngoro has joined us on Wednesdays, taking us to her neighbors so they can hear the same message!!

Asomani Bakali, yes, the babu got saved! PTL! After reading from the gospel of John to this elderly man every week for the last three months, we made it to the last chapters, the crucifixion and resurrection of our Great Savior. Knowing he would be moving to a new town the next week Angel and I asked him again, “Why did Jesus die?” We talked about our desperate need as sinners for someone to pay our debt, and for the first time the babu admitted that he was a sinner. On February 13th, 2009, the babu bowed his head to receive God’s gift of salvation.

Thank for your prayers! God is answering! Along with these wonderful praises comes a huge prayer request. In their culture, Tanzanians will go to great lengths to “save face,” to prevent someone from being shamed. People are generally very kind to each other, but there are drawbacks to such a culture. They would rather agree with a foreigner, praying a prayer “to be saved,” than disagree and cause that “mzungu” embarrassment. I need wisdom, are there better ways to share the gospel in this cultural setting?

For our Great Savior,
Lisa

Posted by Lisa Newland at 10:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)