Short Report

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.       Thank you for your continuous prayers for this great work!  Today I want to share with you some updates from our faculty at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching.  First, our co-director, Charles Mwanga says this:       “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. (Eph. 2:8-10). We have all been given the chance to share our abilities we have in His kingdom so that we can all bring as many as we can to Christ, we can bless as many as We can in Christ and we can prepare our ways as we follow Christ. This is a noble work to the extent that, God prepared it beforehand. We here at Andrew Connally School of Preaching are doing our level best to work together with the Lord. This is through training faithful men who will go out and train (commit) these things to others also.      “The year has started very well here at ACSOP, we have a total number of 35 students, 15 are in the second-year class and 21 new students who are in their fist year. We are soliciting your prayers as we begin this new classes. We have students from Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania who will be spending their time here studying on who they can be beneficial in the Kingdom where they come. These men have left their homes and families to come here so that they can be better workman in the Lord’s vineyard.      “We thank all the full - time instructors, short course instructors and all those who are endeavoring every day to make this work moving forward.      “During our break times, normally students who are still in school are asked to go back and work with the congregations where they came from. This will benefit them in two ways. One, they will grow on their knowledge since they are putting in to practice what they have learned, but secondly, they will create a better environment since many of them will be working with some of the same people  when they return back home after school. During this time our students were able to set up 105 bible classes, 21 baptisms, 8 restorations, 3 new churches were planted and 4 public (air) meetings were conducted. We thank God for these efforts, and we are continuing to pray that all that has been done will grow to His glory. We also thank all the students who participated in Working with the Lord during this break time. To God be all the Glory.      “We are continuing with our classes, please keep us in your prayers daily. We would also like to take this opportunity to THANK YOU ALL. To those of you who have been making possible for this work to continue as it is. May the Lord continue to bless you beyond measure. May He continue to keep you and yours as you are working with Him through praying and supporting this work. Many souls will one day be in Heaven, because you chose to support this.” One of our instructors, Desdery Massawe, adds these stats:     “This week we are going to wind up the first quarter according to our teaching time table and also is the first week for masters class.   The instructors this week are: The first year class is taught by John Hall and the course is Bible geography. 21 students are in the class.  The second year class is taught by Charles Mwanga and the course is the How We Got the Bible. The masters class is taught by Jerry Bates, and the course is the book of Hebrews. This masters class is the first year and the first course for them.12 students were enrolled to join masters class.”   I appreciate both of these men and their commitment to reclaiming lost souls for Christ.  I would add that this is the largest English-speaking class that I can remember in more than a decade that I have been associated with this work!  It is exciting to see it continuing to grow!  With so many students, there is a growing need for scholarships to provide for their education.  Our friends, Harold and Lana Pirtle, are spearheading an effort to raise funds specifically for scholarships.  I encourage you to visit the website here and learn how you can contribute to this need.  You can also see a well-done promotional video here. Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

January Short Report

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  I hope that your year is off to a great start!  Today I’d like to offer you some highlights from the past year and an update on the special request that was made last month.   2024 By the Numbers Bible Training 21 Total Undergraduate students at ACSOP  6 Bachelor’s Degrees Earned 12 Total Graduate students  4 Master’s Degrees Earned   6 Total Cy Stafford School of Leadership students  4 Graduate of the Cy Stafford School of Leadership (Alpha Class) 3 Kisongo Bible School students  Evangelism 483 Baptisms    4 New Congregations 2 Restored Churches  302 Restorations   107 Seminars 1 Lectureship Camps 216 campers at Tanzania Christian Camp 19 Baptisms 75 Campers at Future Preachers Training Camp So many wonderful things happened in the Lord’s service in Tanzania this year, but I have to say that one of my favorite moments was seeing the first graduating class of the Cy Stafford School of Leadership.  Our team has been working toward that goal for several years now, and it is thrilling to see it beginning to produce.  I’m proud that two of our very first graduates are the co-directors of ACSOP, Charles and Ahimidiwe.  They’ve had the opportunity to learn and model leadership at the same time, and their involvement demonstrates the confidence that we have in the new program. I also wanted to give you an update on the special request that we sent out regarding funds to build a new facility for an orphanage that is run by one of our alumni.  We let you know that there was a need for $72,000 more to be able to complete the project.  I was totally blown away by the resounding way that you responded!  You have already pledged ALL of the funds needed to reach that goal! As I have mentioned in every missions presentation that I have given in the past 12 years, Tanzania Missions has four pillars: Evangelism, Preacher Training, Benevolence, and Edification.  So much good happened last year in each of those areas, and this year is already looking even better!   Thank you for being a part of the team through your prayers, support, participation, and encouragement. May God bless you! Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

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