Bible College - Kigoma, Tanzania. The Bible College I was teaching at previously is currently closed until the February session starts. This is due mostly to a lack of teachers. I wish I could accurately describe what it’s like to teach the Word of God to the students here. They are like sponges, just soaking up the truth of God’s Word and asking so many questions. If I could only paint a picture that would give you the inspiration and vision that the Lord has given to me, then I’m positive that those of you able and qualified to teach God’s Word would be on the next plane. I don’t want to exaggerate. There are always a few students who are there for the wrong reasons and even those who have never truly committed their lives to Christ. But even that is a blessing, as we get to re-introduce them to Christ and His Word and lead them into an understanding of a right relationship with Him and a right motive for studying His Word at the school. I can always attach pictures and tell stories, but I pray that God will instill in some of you a true and deep desire to come and help us teach - short term, long term, any term - so that the truth and power of His Word will continue to go forth to the men and women of Tanzania, Burundi, and Congo (yes, there are students from many places). And if you’re reading this and you’re not in a position to help by teaching, there are many other ways to co-labor with us, both here in East Africa and there where you live, including spreading the word to others about the opportunities. Fortunately for me, there is another Bible School in a nearby town that had a visiting teacher cancel at the last minute and they asked me if I would teach the class with only five days notice. You’ll never guess what class they had scheduled... MISSIONS. God has a wonderful sense of humor. Though I’ve taught Inductive Bible Study, Hermeneutics, and various books of the Bible before, I’ve never taught a class on “missions”. But if you’re going to ask me to teach a class that I’ve never taught before, and that at the last minute, what better subject is there? The class was daily for two and a half hours and we had a great time looking into the Word in regards to missions. The topic of the class was geared mainly towards evangelism and “church planting”, and I was able to teach them by example of Christ, Paul, and those whom Paul trained up, as seen in Acts and the letters that Paul wrote to those churches he planted and ministers he trained. The students always have so many great questions, many of which I would never be asked in the West and therefore never have to spend time reasoning and searching the Scriptures for the Biblical response. It’s not so much a challenging experience, as a refreshing one. I, the teacher, am learning and being built up in the Word by looking at things in ways I normally wouldn’t think to. The students were very well disciplined, relatively attentive (considering it was the “after lunch” class in the heat of the day), and seemed to really “get it”, and retain the information well. Preparing for and teaching a new class at the last minute is hard work, as you sense the sudden responsibility of teaching a subject for which you cannot just use previous notes and teaching experience. But at the same time, it’s so rewarding, as you are forced to let go of “how I normally do things” and trust in the Holy Spirit for His guidance, enlightenment of Scripture, strength, peace, and ability to communicate. I, like Paul, am surprised and humbled that “to me, who am less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should preach among the nations the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8).
Southern California, USA. By the time you receive this update the due date for our new baby will be at our door (October 15th). Carrie and the kids are doing well. All of her check-ups with the OB/GYN have been good, with the baby growing normal and healthy. Here’s a short excerpt from an email Carrie sent to me (Jon) regarding the children's schooling:
“The kids are doing well. My goal is to have them memorize a Bible verse every week. We are reading through the book of First Samuel and they memorized 1 Sam. 12:24 this week. We read one chapter a day and sometimes they really like what we're reading and ask to read more. It's a blessing for all of us. I know we have Foxes Book of Martyrs somewhere. I was thinking of reading that to them once a week as well. I am also having the boys write in a journal everyday and read a book.”
The Vice President of Tanzania. What do “Sandals”, “The Vice President of Tanzania”, and a “T-Shirt” all have in common? Me, unfortunately! Let me explain... I went to town to meet with a Congolese friend who is a leader in one of the local ministries here in Kigoma. Shortly after arriving at his office, he told me he had to hurry to the airport and asked if I could give him a ride. He said we could talk while driving. As we were driving, he told me that the Vice President of Tanzania was coming to town and that he was going to join with other local politicians and community leaders to greet him when he got off the airplane. So I planned to drop him off at the airport and then meet with him later regarding the questions I had about ministry. As we were driving he began to explain to me the protocol for meeting the Vice President and what was going to happen at the airport. It was then that I suddenly realized that he intended for me to join him in meeting the Vice President! As soon as I realized what he was saying I exclaimed that I wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion. I was wearing long pants, but only had on a T-Shirt and sandals. His response was a bit derogatory, but comical in it’s honesty. “Oh, he knows that Americans don’t care about the way they dress,” he said. I tried to convince him to let me make the detour to my house to put on a nicer shirt and some shoes, but he insisted that we needed to get there right away so we could get a good spot. To make things worse, I realized when we arrived at the airport that he intended to introduce me to all of the local “bigwigs”. First I met the Regional Traffic Officer (the head guy over the Kigoma Region’s Traffic Police). Then I met the second in command of the Kigoma Region for Immigration. Then I met the Kigoma/Ujiji Mayor, then the District Commissioner of the Kigoma District (like a county in the U.S.). His name is John, and so when he said I had a good name and asked if it was he who was lucky to be named John or me, I correctly stated that it was I who was lucky to be named like him. I passed the test and we talked for a brief moment. After that I met the Regional Immigration Officer in charge of the immigration department for the whole Kigoma Region (like a state in the U.S.). Then I met the Town Planner for Kigoma/Ujiji. He’s in charge of all land use issues and zoning for the area and he is a Christian and a very amiable man. He’s a good person to know when it comes time to find a plot for the Kigoma/Ujiji Youth Center we’re trying to develop. Then I met a bigwig from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (like the IRS in the U.S.), then the Regional Commissioner of the Kigoma Region (like a governor in the U.S.), and finally, after waiting for almost two hours for his plane to arrive, the Vice President of Tanzania, the Honorable Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein. And even though they all supposedly don’t expect us Americans to dress nice for such an occasion, it was still extremely uncomfortable, though very fruitful.
Left to right: Regional Commissioner, Vice President, Mwenge (my friend), Me
Praises and Prayer...
Please join with us in praising the Lord for His goodness to us in providing for our daily needs.
We also want to thank Him for a healthy pregnancy for Carrie thus far and pray for a continued blessing upon Carrie and the baby in her womb; that the pregnancy, labor, and delivery would all go well.
Please continue to pray for provision for the ministry in Africa, that we can stay busy, and be able to stay for a long time without having to think about finances.
Please pray for Jon’s health and safe travels.
Please pray for Carrie and the kids, that the Lord would grant them peace and safety and bless their time together.
We really need language training in order to be more effective in Tanzania. Please make this a matter of prayer on our behalf, as this will cost a few thousand dollars if this is what God wants us to do.
Lastly, please pray for the funds for a new phone/modem.
Southern California, USA. By the time you receive this update the due date for our new baby will be at our door (October 15th). Carrie and the kids are doing well. All of her check-ups with the OB/GYN have been good, with the baby growing normal and healthy. Here’s a short excerpt from an email Carrie sent to me (Jon) regarding the children's schooling:
“The kids are doing well. My goal is to have them memorize a Bible verse every week. We are reading through the book of First Samuel and they memorized 1 Sam. 12:24 this week. We read one chapter a day and sometimes they really like what we're reading and ask to read more. It's a blessing for all of us. I know we have Foxes Book of Martyrs somewhere. I was thinking of reading that to them once a week as well. I am also having the boys write in a journal everyday and read a book.”
The Vice President of Tanzania. What do “Sandals”, “The Vice President of Tanzania”, and a “T-Shirt” all have in common? Me, unfortunately! Let me explain... I went to town to meet with a Congolese friend who is a leader in one of the local ministries here in Kigoma. Shortly after arriving at his office, he told me he had to hurry to the airport and asked if I could give him a ride. He said we could talk while driving. As we were driving, he told me that the Vice President of Tanzania was coming to town and that he was going to join with other local politicians and community leaders to greet him when he got off the airplane. So I planned to drop him off at the airport and then meet with him later regarding the questions I had about ministry. As we were driving he began to explain to me the protocol for meeting the Vice President and what was going to happen at the airport. It was then that I suddenly realized that he intended for me to join him in meeting the Vice President! As soon as I realized what he was saying I exclaimed that I wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion. I was wearing long pants, but only had on a T-Shirt and sandals. His response was a bit derogatory, but comical in it’s honesty. “Oh, he knows that Americans don’t care about the way they dress,” he said. I tried to convince him to let me make the detour to my house to put on a nicer shirt and some shoes, but he insisted that we needed to get there right away so we could get a good spot. To make things worse, I realized when we arrived at the airport that he intended to introduce me to all of the local “bigwigs”. First I met the Regional Traffic Officer (the head guy over the Kigoma Region’s Traffic Police). Then I met the second in command of the Kigoma Region for Immigration. Then I met the Kigoma/Ujiji Mayor, then the District Commissioner of the Kigoma District (like a county in the U.S.). His name is John, and so when he said I had a good name and asked if it was he who was lucky to be named John or me, I correctly stated that it was I who was lucky to be named like him. I passed the test and we talked for a brief moment. After that I met the Regional Immigration Officer in charge of the immigration department for the whole Kigoma Region (like a state in the U.S.). Then I met the Town Planner for Kigoma/Ujiji. He’s in charge of all land use issues and zoning for the area and he is a Christian and a very amiable man. He’s a good person to know when it comes time to find a plot for the Kigoma/Ujiji Youth Center we’re trying to develop. Then I met a bigwig from the Tanzania Revenue Authority (like the IRS in the U.S.), then the Regional Commissioner of the Kigoma Region (like a governor in the U.S.), and finally, after waiting for almost two hours for his plane to arrive, the Vice President of Tanzania, the Honorable Dr. Ali Mohamed Shein. And even though they all supposedly don’t expect us Americans to dress nice for such an occasion, it was still extremely uncomfortable, though very fruitful.
Left to right: Regional Commissioner, Vice President, Mwenge (my friend), MePraises and Prayer...
Please join with us in praising the Lord for His goodness to us in providing for our daily needs.
We also want to thank Him for a healthy pregnancy for Carrie thus far and pray for a continued blessing upon Carrie and the baby in her womb; that the pregnancy, labor, and delivery would all go well.
Please continue to pray for provision for the ministry in Africa, that we can stay busy, and be able to stay for a long time without having to think about finances.
Please pray for Jon’s health and safe travels.
Please pray for Carrie and the kids, that the Lord would grant them peace and safety and bless their time together.
We really need language training in order to be more effective in Tanzania. Please make this a matter of prayer on our behalf, as this will cost a few thousand dollars if this is what God wants us to do.
Lastly, please pray for the funds for a new phone/modem.
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