Lisa Newland

Driving out to Fumagira yesterday for soul-winning we saw a chameleon crossing the road. I stopped the car and Justa and I got out to investigate. He was moving rather fast for a chameleon, but I swooped him up ,interrupting his plans for the day.

A couple months ago I had had a chameleon living on my laundry line and thought maybe this new friend could replace him. I had a box of Romans booklets in the back of the car. I emptied the box and placed the chameleon in it, then we drove on to the church.

We left him there while we out witnessing, hut-to-hut. It was a rather stifling day, so I left the windows open about 2in, hoping my new friend could get a bit of a breeze once in awhile.

Obviously his schedule for the day was too important to be interrupted! When we returned two hours later, you guessed it... good-bye my 1-hr friend. Next time i won't be so sympathetic. I'll keep the windows closed!!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 3:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Sunday after the service one of the faithful teen gals at our Igoma church, Deborah, asked if I would like to stop by her house. Her dad was home! Her mom and dad are gone for weeks and sometimes months at a time, Deborah pretty much lives alone. I hadn't yet met either of her parents and thought this might be my only chance, so I followed her home.

Baba Deborah was finishing up an early lunch and making plans to head back to his fields (about 3 hrs away by car). He was so pleased to have a visitor though and immediately stopped everything. We sat and talked for over 3 hrs. He postponed his trip till the next day because I had come! It was the perfect opportunity to witness! He was very open and interested. Asked lots of questions and wanted to read the verses for himself.

The phrases, "accepting Jesus as your personal Savior" and "believing on Jesus," have become very commonplace in this area. Many use them without understanding their meaning. The Lord seemed to really work... at least I had his complete attention... when I started sharing about the possibility of being completely washed from our sins. I showed him Rm 3:23, 6:23, and 5:8, then John 3:16-18. I also showed him Jas 2:19 and talked about the meaning of belief in Jesus. Not just to believe that He exists and He's our Savior. Even the demons believe this and tremble. Believing means to depend on Him completely and only Him to wash our sins. He was genuinely surprised to hear that good works don't play any part in salvation. When I asked if he was ready today to ask God to wash away his sins. He said yes, but seemed to still have questions. "Is this something you do in church, or how do I get this?" "Where is God?" I asked. "Since He's everywhere, He can hear you where ever you are."

That afternoon, January 10th, 2010, Baba Deborah was born a second time!

I was so excited! We ate lunch and continued talking till the evening church service, and then he joined us for the service! His first time to come to our church even though his daughter has been coming faithfully for years! (I dropped him and his daughter off, and then headed back into town for our English service.)

Moments like this make it all worth it!

Posted by Lisa Newland at 10:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Thinking about what this year will look like in my life brings up many prayer requests.

*Swahili- Continue to slowly improve in the language through translating children's materials with Mariamu's help. Also, looking at the possibility of getting some tutoring with a school in town. I'm looking forward to the day when I'll no longer be complimented on how well I'm doing. (Meaning the Tanzanians no longer notice any struggle, so there's no reason to encourage me.) :-) Pray for diligence and self-discipline.

*Children's ministry- Three more churches have asked Mariamu and I to come help them teach their children: Nyasaka, Bubinza, and Bariadi. The last 2 are further away (1 1/2 and 3 1/2 hrs). Pray for the Lord's direction on how we can give these churches a boost of encouragement in reaching their children. Meanwhile we're continuing our 5-church rotation. (This month- Igoma) Returning to these churches now, 2 of the Sundays we teach and the other 2 we watch and assist the teachers. We're also introducing the children's curriculum of Firm Foundations, (a great series of 50 lessons, teaching the story of redemption from Genesis to the cross).

*Women's ministry- We've had requests from several churches to come teach a special seminar for the ladies: Igoma, Nyasaka, and Bariadi. Tammy and I are in the planning/praying stage. We're looking at starting with a 1-day series on the armor of God. Pray for the Lord's clear direction and the Spirit's power.

*Teen gals- I'm getting an increased burden for the teen gals in our churches, and am seeking the Lord's direction for how to go about reaching them. I remember how much fun and how much I grew spiritually in my youth group back home in Colorado. Pray that the Lord would burden the hearts of someone in each of the churches to start reaching out to the teens.

Posted by Lisa Newland at 2:05 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Two thousand ten or twenty ten? Hmmm...

Looking back over this year... so many firsts!

Jan- first time to lead someone to the Lord in Swahili.
Feb- first time to teach a children's Bible lesson in Swahili.
Mar- first trip to the Serengeti.
Aug- first time being "mother" of a pre-teen for 6 wks. :-)
Sep- first teacher training seminar.
Oct- first time to have visitors from the states (Love you, Mom and Dad!)
Dec- first chance to teach at the Bible college (seminar on teaching children in the church)

Most of those firsts represent moments and sometimes days way out of my "comfort zone." Stretching, growing, learning. A year of adventures. A year of being held up by the GRACE of GOD!

I am so grateful for the stretching. Not that I necessarily like it, but I do hate being stagnant in my Christian life. I hate settling in to a quiet time routine, resting on past spiritual victories without desperately needing Him TODAY. I'm so glad our God is the I AM! Not the "I was" or the "I will be," but I AM!!

Thank you, God for all these "firsts" and for Your comforting presence and enabling grace through each one.

Posted by Lisa Newland at 1:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)