Special Appeal

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  My dear friend and elder from the Hoover Church of Christ, Harold Rhodes, asked me to share an important opportunity to demonstrate pure and undefiled religion in taking care of orphans in distress (James 1:27).   This relates to The Imani Focus Foundation, an orphanage managed by one of the alumni of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, along with his wife.  The facility currently cares for 16 orphans.  However, during the rainy season, flooding on the orphanage grounds create hazardous living conditions both inside (mold and contamination) and outside of the building (venomous snakes).  This condition re-occurs every time there is a hard rain. Here’s brother Harold’s message: “As an Elder at the Hoover Church of Christ, I have the honor of helping to oversee our work in East Africa. This year, we have been presented with a remarkable opportunity to embody God's call to care for orphans. The condition of this facility, which houses 15 children along with the Director and his wife, is in a state of disrepair. This rental property has not been adequately maintained, and the owners have refused to address the issues.  The picture below shows water damage and mold in the girls' bedroom, as well as mold along the wall. The facility is located in a flood zone and experiences annual flooding during the rainy season. Consequently, mold is found throughout the facility. “We feel that God would like for us to raise money to purchase land and build a safe facility for the children. They are facing serious health challenges due to the unhealthy air caused by mold. We ask for your prayers and financial support to help us achieve this mission. Please share this message with your family, friends, and church to spread God’s blessings to the children in East Africa.” What is needed? New land outside of the flood plain to build a facility.   This was purchased on 9/10/24 Building for housing 15-20 displaced children.  You can see the approved drawing of the prospective facility below. As of 12/3/24 $48,000 has been raised of the projected $120,000 in total costs for the project. On this Giving Tuesday, would you consider helping the Imani Focus Foundation reach this goal? How To Contribute: Donations via checks can be made to: Hoover Church Of Christ 3248 LORNA RD. Hoover, AL. 35216   PLEASE make sure that “Imani Foundation” is in the memo line to ensure that your contribution is routed to the correct project. Or you can give online by going to: Hooverchurchofchrist.org/ministries/foreign-mission -works. Scroll down to Tanzania and select “Give to Tanzania Work” Tiffany and I believe in this project and have sent our personal check to support it.  Will you join us? Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

November Short Report

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  Not long ago, the Andrew Connally School of Preaching hosted its annual lectureship, the Tanzania Leadership Conference.  This is a major event for us each year and it well attended by Christian leaders around East Africa.  Let me share with you the observations from one of the directors, Ahimidiwe Kimaro: TANZANIA LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE    “I am so grateful to our almighty God for granting us a successful conference. The Tanzania Leadership Conference Is a leadership meeting which is set up for teaching, motivating, encouraging and helping preachers to know each other. This year’s topic was timely and sensitive. The theme was “Ancient Wisdom for Modern Living” and    describes a lot of the existence of life. We dove deep into the wisdom from the Psalms and applyed it in our daily life. It was great moment to see the great preachers teaching the big crowd that gathered for learning.     “This year conference included many teachers from various churches. We were happy having brother Denny Petrillo who is the former president of Bear Valley Bible Institute. Denny has not been in Tanzania for over twelve years, and everyone was happy to see him. One of his lesson was “Contentment Despite Bad Times” from  Psalms 34:17-20.  This powerful text reads, ‘The righteous cried, and Jehovah heard, And delivered them out of all their troubles. Jehovah is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, And saveth such as are of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous; But Jehovah delivereth him out of them all. He keepeth all his bones: Not one of them is broken.’ This is one of the passage that really impacted me from the conference.     “This year we had a growth of the participants compared with any other year. We had participants from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda Zambia U.S.A and Democratic 0f Congo. The number of participant’s ware one hundred and eighty. The participants enjoyed lessons much more due to good arrangement and good preparation from teachers as well.  “The ACSOP student alumni meeting took place at the same time, and we thank brother Denny for the encouraging speech. Much more were done by these folks sharing experience and work Ideas. It turns out that the attendance of alumni was also increased from forty two last year to sixty seven this year. Please continue to pray for this work that God can open more doors to His word to be preached, thank you very much for reading and supporting this work.”     Let me add that I am very thankful to those who supported and participated in the conference from the local support staff who worked so hard to facilitate the event to the speakers who traveled so far.  I pray that God was pleased and glorified through this event. Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

Donations Can Be Made Out To: "Hoover Church of Christ" - be sure to mention TANZANIA MISSIONS in the Memo line and  Send To: 3248 LORNA RD. HOOVER, AL 35216

September Short Report

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  I hope this note finds you doing well and your service thriving.  Today, I want to share with you a recent update from our Dean of Academics, Michael Losotwa.  He shares what the students and staff have been up to over the summer: “Hello, core workers! “Greetings from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching! Along with these greetings, we are glad to give you a report on the school following the beginning of the third quarter of this year, with classes starting yesterday, August 19th. I want to remind you that after the first and second-year students completed their second quarter of studies for this year on May 31st, they all went on break. All 15 first-year students and 6 second-year students returned to school as of last Saturday, August 17th. During their break, they engaged in evangelism practice within their home congregations, which led to the establishment of 68 new classes, the baptism of 36 people, the restoration of 19 backsliders, the founding of 5 new congregations, and the holding of 13 outdoor meetings. We, as a school, commend our students for the excellent work they have done in saving souls during their break, which has greatly contributed to the growth of those congregations both numerically and spiritually.     “During that break, the entire faculty of ACSOP was divided and traveled to various locations within and outside our country to visit our second-year students, who are expected to graduate on November 22nd of this year. During these visits, we also sought out new students to join ACSOP next year in the English-speaking class.     “After completing these visits, we traveled to Busia, Uganda, to join various preachers from across East Africa for joint evangelism efforts. While there, we also announced the availability of positions for new students to apply to ACSOP next year. During this evangelism, we witnessed the baptism of 5 people and the establishment of many new classes.     “In conclusion, in this third quarter of studies at ACSOP, the following courses are being taught, starting with the first year: FIRST-YEAR: August 19–23: Godhead, Peter K. August 26–30: Christian Evidence, Peter K. September 2–6: Matthew (Life of Christ 1) - Desdery,  Exodus – Deuteronomy - Josephat, and Public Speaking 1, Losotwa M. Short Courses: September 23–October 2: Acts and Joshua–Ruth. SECOND YEAR: August 19–23: Life of Christ 2 (Mark) by Desdery M. August 26–30: Life of Christ 1 (Matthew)—Joseph M. September 2–6: Public Speaking 3 (Advanced Homiletics): Losotwa M.,  Galatians - Ahimidiwe K., and Bible Geography. Short Courses: September 23 – October 2: September 23–27: Marriage and Family Life September 30 – October 2: Foundation of Missions (study of missions in the New Testament). October 3–6: Tanzania Leadership Conference. ”We continue to express our gratitude to all the brethren in Christ who have been with us, supporting us physically and spiritually in making this noble work of God possible. May God continue to bless you richly, both physically and spiritually. Amen!” Michael, ACSOP, Dean of Academics. I’d also like to share this little video update that highlights some of what has happened this year in Tanzania:

Thank you for your interest and support.  Also, we are in need of more financial support for the general work fund.  If you can help or know someone who can, then reach out to me.  I’d love to visit with you about it.  Above all, please keep the work in your prayers.  God is good. Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

Donations Can Be Made Out To: "Hoover Church of Christ" - be sure to mention TANZANIA MISSIONS in the Memo line and  Send To: 3248 LORNA RD. HOOVER, AL 35216

July Short Report

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  Last month was a big month for the work in Tanzania.  We were blessed to have quite a few visiting Americans working in the Arusha area.  Mike Benson taught a course at Andrew Connally School of Preaching.  Groups from Henderson, TN and Elk City, OK did seminars and Bible studies. There were at least 28 baptisms that resulted from the these efforts.  Several of the visitors have been kind enough to share their reactions to their time in Tanzania.  You can read them below:

Harold and Lana Pirtle: We went.  We saw. We’re in! Lana and I both had the opportunity to go to Tanzania over the past several weeks.  The purpose of the trip was for us to see, first hand, the need for Jesus and how responsive Tanzanians are to the preaching the Gospel.  So we went.  It took nearly 2 days to get there; from Jacks Creek to Nashville, from Nashville to JFK International Airport, from JFK to Amsterdam, Netherlands, from Amsterdam to Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, and from Kilimanjaro to Kisongo, Tanzania, a district on the outskirts of Arusha.  That’s a LOOONG trip but it has turned out to be one of the best experiences we have ever experienced.  Now to what we saw. We saw the hustle and bustle of a preaching school, Andrew Connally School of Preaching, with staff and students full of love and zeal for God and His word.  I actually had the opportunity to help my dear friend and brother, Mike Benson, teach a class in 1, 2 and 3 John.  The students are absolutely amazing and they captured our hearts.  You could see from their faces how anxious they were to listen and learn!   We saw a group of students and a faculty member from FHU so excited to go out and spread the good news of Jesus to perfect strangers.  Their excitement was contagious! We saw a grandfather bring his grandson to do mission work for a week and safari for a week as a graduation gift to his grandson.  Their zeal for the Lord was truly refreshing and encouraging. We saw staff members of ACSOP that went over and beyond to make us feel comfortable and loved. We saw our interpreter, a young man of 35 years, become so close to our hearts he now calls us mom and dad and we call him son. We saw the Tanzanian people anxious to learn the bible with over 24 obeying the Gospel. We saw a new convert cry simply by giving him a Bible. We saw the hearts of Muslims, Catholics, Pentecostals, Lutherans, and Seventh Day Adventists change when they learned the simple truth of Christ’s church. We saw an alcoholic obey the Gospel and persuade his alcoholic friend to do the same. We saw the hospitality of our Tanzanian brethren welcome us into their homes to eat with them. We saw little children in an orphanage being provided for by two brothers in Christ (who have very little themselves). It reminded us of the impoverished brethren in Macedonia giving much, even beyond their means, to support other brethren in need (II Cor. 8:1-5). How could we, who have so much, NOT give as well? And we heard some of the most beautiful singing, hearts full of the joy of Christ. And, as an added bonus, we saw some of the most beautiful country and animals one can only imagine while on safari during the closing 2 days of our trip.  Something we will never forget. Yes, we saw and we’re in!  You can expect to see more from God as He works through us to spread the Gospel and help with the needs of the people in Tanzania.   To God be the Glory!

Freed-Hardeman University Student Campaign Dr. Neil Richey It was a great pleasure to journey to Tanzania this summer with five Freed-Hardeman University (FHU) students and two members of the West Side church in Salem, VA. As a FHU sponsored trip our goal was to reinforce the importance of learning to serve God in a global community regardless of our students’ educational background and future professional aspirations. This group spent three weeks working in Kisongo and Arusha. The work involved leading two children seminars, two mental health seminars, and one on the Holy Spirit. Our students made more than 60 visits to community members to offer encouragement, prayers, and Bible studies. During their time there, more than 25 Africans were baptized into Christ, becoming Christians. In addition to their work with local churches of Christ, the students had the opportunity to engage the culture and witness some of the wonders of God's creation while participating in two safaris. They toured Arusha National Park and the beautiful landscape of Mount Meru, seeing several amazing animals roaming in their natural habitat. The group also traveled to the Ngorongoro Crater—the world's largest inactive volcano. There, they traveled over the volcano's rim, into the lush grass area that has become one of the homes to Africa's Big Five—leopard, lion, African buffalo, elephant, and rhinoceros. One final treat before leaving Tanzania was a beautiful view of the tallest free-standing mountain in the world—Mount Kilimanjaro. Among the many wonderful experiences of this trip the group fostered meaningful connections with church members and individuals within the community. It was a special treat to share meals in the homes of local brethren Charles and Ahimidiwe. This was a highlight for all. The impact of the trip was significant, with the students gaining valuable experiences and the local African community expressing their appreciation for the group's presence. The exchange was mutually enriching, with both parties eagerly anticipating future interactions and collaborations. In closing, three students provided brief testimonials of their trip: Aurora Tennant (photography major) stated, “This project expanded my knowledge of cultural and spiritual matters. At the beginning of the trip, I had limited experience with cultures in 3rd world countries and a spiritual foundation I was eager to build on. I have had the opportunity to grow tremendously spiritually. Our group of women was tasked with the responsibility to plan, prepare, and conduct two children’s seminars spread out over the course of our three-week visit.  Additionally, I participated in daily home Bible studies at two congregations. This is where I think I have grown the most in my confidence to lead and conduct personal studies. As the designated photographer, this project has provided me with ample portfolio and experience working in a different culture with a group, being responsible for documenting the journey.” Another student, Cy Warren (missions and music major) shared, “Finding words to describe such an incredible and rewarding trip is difficult. Spending three weeks in Africa evangelizing, teaching and fellowshipping has been a great blessing in my life. I was privileged to be able to work with a Christian team and build godly relationships with them. While working with the local churches in Kisongo and Arusha I was able to make an impact in the community and make new friends with the brethren. During this trip, I was reminded of how blessed we are in the US and how content I should be with my life. While studying the Bible with the locals I grew more confident in my ability to share the gospel. While on safari I was continually amazed by the beauty of God's creation. This trip was unforgettable and it would be almost impossible to share all the wonderful things that come out of this experience. If the Lord wills I will return at the earliest opportunity.” A third student, Daniel Guthrie said, “Tanzania is one of the most amazing countries I have ever visited to work with the Church. I encourage anyone who wants to work in a mission field to see what the Lord is doing in this place, it will be a life changing experience and you will always want to go back. The members of the Church are so hospitable. The people in Tanzania are so interested in Truth it warms my heart every time I think about the work there. I remember the studies we were able to conduct in houses, at places of work, and sometimes just sitting in the dirt. It doesn't matter what the place is, the Tanzanians truly are people who hunger and thirst for righteousness, and they shall be filled with the Word of God. Amen”

I had the opportunity to teach a course on Leadership in the Home and Community to the first class of students in the Cy Stafford School of Leadership. This school was Cy’s last vision for the work here, and it is incredibly exciting to see it finally coming to fruition as this first group approaches completion of their courses of study.

Harold and Lana Pirtle collected and brought 5 suitcases full of school supplies to give to the local children on behalf of the churches of Christ. Each child received a little backpack filled with school supplies and some biblical material. The kids were very grateful!

Some sweet girls from the South Green St. Church made a bunch of “pillowcase dresses” to send with me to Tanzania.  Some sweet girls in Tanzania happily received those dresses.  They were distributed to children who attended a children’s seminar at Kisongo.

There are so many wonderful things going on in the Lord’s work in Tanzania.  It is exciting to be associated with such a wonderful work.  Thank you for being partners through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support.  May God be with us and we work together for His cause! Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions