Saturday, April 28, 2007

Recruitment Drive for Students in Central TZ







William and I had a good trip for about one week in late March in an endeavour to promote the work of BBC among the churches of Kanisa la Biblia, the primary church group which we serve in Tanzania.
We were well received in six different centres and we were encouraged to hear of mauch interest in joining BBC. Many are struggling with issues of finance as they worry about how to sustain their families while they study away from home for three months. Others have pastoral concerns for the congregations they serve that they may not be able to survive without their leaders.
Destination Kahama...
Kahama, Shinyanga was the intended final destination for our safari in north central Tanzania. Kahama is a fast growing town owing to the increasing interest of the mining companies in searching out gold and precious stones.
In the area of the town there are two rural churches, each about 13km north and south of the centre. The third church we visited in the vicinity takes its village name from the middle name of the Father of the Nation, Julius Kambarage Nyerere.
The Lord’s servants in Kahama are so used to being visited in passing when missionaries visit that their first question when we arrived was, ‘So where are you going?’ When we said we have arrived at our destination they were overjoyed. We had three short days with them but full of blessing.
Town church packed...
Permanent Christmas decorations and a 30 strong choir brought cheer and blessing to the day’s seminar in Katesh town church where 80 people gathered. Others came and went for the duration & William, Leonce and Allan taught the Word in succession from Mark 12, Phil 1 & Col 1.
It was great to see the growth in this church which 8 years ago consisted in 13 people gathered in a front room.
Recruits for BBC 2007 were immediately forthcoming and the church agreed to help sponsor them in their fees and fares.
Ron & Maria Cunningham have had considerable input at Katesh.
Making inroads past Singida...
The roads infrastructure in mainland Tanzania is still seriously under-developed. Only last month a washed out bridge left 900 HGV lorries stranded in the middle of Singida Region. The Sekenke pass weaves its way up the steep Rift Valley wall but many trucks fail to make ascent or descent on its treacherous slopes and usually block or restrict other vehicles for hours, days or weeks.
Gladly, we were able to pass but not without slippery mud, dense fog, potholes, deep mud trenches and ruts attempting to thwart out progress. Highlight among the hazards was a 1 hr wait while flash flooding attempted to destroy a bridge ahead of us. We were thankful that it subsided so quickly or we may have had to spend a night in the car. Walking through the flood on foot after it seemed safe allowed the Land Rover to be guided through to the other side in safety.

Women's seminar success




During the week running up to Easter we are able to provide a series of lectures and seminars for some women from surrounding churches. The seminar title was best translated "Beautiful Women" and focused their attention on the inner beauty of which the Bible speaks.
About 24 women attended during the week and although they did not all manage every day they all were greatly enthusiastic about its outcome and blessing for their lives. Mrs Upendo Mmari, an optician working in a local hospital's eye department was able to conduct the main teaching slots. In the later part of the afternoon Mr Allan McKinnon and Mr William Rea shared responsibilty in leading Bible study in the lives of some beautiful women from the past. Naomi, Hannah, Huldah, and Mary Magdelene were the women whose walk with God was of great importance in the lives of God's people.