Short Report 7/21

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.    I hope this note finds you doing well!  Let me start by saying that we are working on our schedule for September and October.  If you would like a visit during that time, then let me know so we can get you on the schedule.  I would love to visit with you and/or your congregation personally about this great work.  Speaking of the work, here are some of the recent highlights:       We were blessed to be a part of the VBS at the Kisongo church (pictured above).  Each afternoon, increasing crowds of local children flocked to the building to learn about Jesus.  Just look at those precious faces!  The efforts are bearing fruit with the parents too, as bible studies have already resulted with some of them.      I was invited to conduct a seminar at the Temeke church in Dar es Salaam. This is one of only a handful of churches in the country that have elders (the two men pictured above).  It was great to visit with them, and learn more about their history and plans for the future.  The seminar lasted all day, and was well attended.  The brethren even ate breakfast at the church building to help make sure that nobody would be late to the lessons.        We're also very glad to be overlapping time here with Sid and Lori Aultman and their sweet children.  Sid is being a great asset in helping with a variety of projects.  I'm especially excited about the progress being made with the library renovations!  You can look forward to more information about that in a future report.  But in the meantime, remember that if you'd like to donate books to the library, then we have an Amazon wishlist. (Click Here)  You can mail them to:       194 Narrows Drive, Suite 1      Birmingham, AL 35242    The church at Hoover sent one of their elders and his wife, Harold and Donna Rhodes, to visit Tanzania and survey the work first-hand.  Sid and I, along with the local brothers, have enjoyed giving him a closer look at various aspects of this expansive work. I'm grateful for this active involvement and presence from the overseeing congregation.  Brother Harold plans to be a regular around here, and will be a blessing to the work.         As a part of his visit, he taught classes at the Arusha Bible School.  He also was able to visit the Kilimanjaro Bible School and Kisongo Bible School.   Another part of the survey, was inspecting the off-site farm land that was rented as a part of our sustainability efforts. This harvest should provide all of the cornmeal and sunflower oil that the school will need in the coming year.        Please keep Harold and Donna in your prayers are they travel home.  We look forward to their next trip to Tanzania!       This past weekend, the Arusha Church of Christ hosted a ladies seminar.  Donna, Lori, Tiffany, and myself were invited to join some talented local women in addressing some key areas of interest to the sisters here.  The seminar was well received, and follow-up programs are already being scheduled.       We have been visiting as many congregations as we can to encourage them and better understand their needs. One such congregation that we worshipped with recently was the Atomic Church of Christ (located in the area near the Atomic Energy Commission).  This congregation formed during the COVID lockdowns and is still meeting in a home.  I preached sitting on a couch with a rooster standing in the doorway beside me. From spacious auditoriums to crowded living rooms, it is always a blessing to gather with fellow believers to worship our Lord and study His word.   Thank you for your support and your love.  Please continue in prayer for the Lord's church here in East Africa!   Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

Tanzania Updates

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  I hope this report finds you doing well.  This message is a little picture-heavy so I hope it isn't too big for your inbox, but there was a lot that I wanted to show you.  Things have been very busy here over the past month!  One of my top agenda items on this trip was to visit some congregations that I haven't been able to see in person before.  This gives me the chance to see their circumstances and needs, offer some encouragement, and do some recruiting of new preacher training students. Such visits are important in understanding the scope of the work here and in maintaining relationships.  So far these travels have taken me to the southern border of Tanzania and back up into the other side of Kenya!  Let me tell you a little about it. Endamarariek The church at Endamarariek has been meeting in a school room where one of our students from ACSOP travels back on weekends to minister to them.  The congregation is thriving and bursting at the seams.  We enjoyed the chance to teach and preach to them and rejoice that there were two baptisms during the visit.  Thanks to our friends at Burns Flatt, the church at Endamarariek will soon have their own new building (pictured above) to continue worshipping and growing in!   Chamwino Ikulu  On our travels we were able to stop in and meet Elias Mayaji, the preacher at the Chamwino Ikulu church.  This congregation in Dodoma is located just across the street from the Tanzanian White House.  Lukando Leaving paved roads several hours behind, we spent a day with the Lukando congregation in central Tanzania. They asked us to do a seminar for them, and rewarded us with warm hospitality including farm-fresh local cuisine. We enjoyed visiting the work of Boniface, a second year ACSOP student, and recruiting some more future preachers. Kyela At the southern border of Tanzania, near Lake Nyasa, we met with the Kyela church.  This church is the home of a couple of our students, and it was great to see the brethren that produced them. Cy was last able to visit Kyela in 2015, so it was encouraging to see their continued faithfulness since that time.  Makunga The northern extent of our travels took us back across the equator to Matunda, Kenya, which is home of the Makunga church.  There we preached to the congregation and met with several former ACSOP students who are evangelizing the area.  You can tell that these guys are working hard and the church is thriving.   Lerai For the past week, we've been back home in the Arusha area.  Our friend, Brad Whinery, from Elk City, OK came and joined us for a mini Safari for Souls campaign for the scenic mountain congregation of Lerai.  The campaign was well attended as evangelists from the east side congregations, along with many of their members, came together to help reach the community.  We did bible studies each morning, seminars each afternoon, and children's classes as well.  By the end of the week, 7 precious souls had put on Christ in baptism!   (Your new brothers and sisters in Christ!) Let me tell you, your support of Tanzania Missions and the Andrew Connally School of Preaching is having an impact on the Lord's kingdom over a very large area!  Thank you for being a part of this through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support.  May God bless our efforts together.  Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions

Short Report 5/26

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.  I hope this note finds you doing well.  I wanted to touch base with you on how things are going with the work.  First of all, despite all of the COVID era travel restrictions our family has arrived safe and sound in Tanzania.  I am delighted to be here and want to thank you for your prayers for safe and smooth travel.   One of the first orders of business was to meet with the school of preaching faculty to share some exciting plans that Bear Valley Bible Institute International is developing.  Namely, they are standardizing the academic experience  across all of their extensions.  This is starting with a standard set of syllabi that I was able to share with our local faculty.   I was also able to share a generous resource donate to the Andrew Connally School of Preaching by our friends at World Video Bible School.  They gave us three large hard drives full of their complete catalogue of very well-done videos, along with a portable projector to be used in showing those videos.  We're already making plans for viewing and sharing these resources at the school and at area congregations.  Speaking of generous gifts, some other friends of the work have provided funds to renovate and update our school library!  I will be excited to share update with you about this project as it moves along.  Our friend, Sid Aultman, is sending a container later this year and has kindly offered us space for library materials.  That means this is a perfect opportunity to get A LOT of books over to upgrade the library.   I've prepared an Amazon wishlist of textbooks and recommended readings that we'd like to include.  You can find that list here: (Book List) If you would like to purchase some books on that list, then you can have the sent to: 194 Narrows Drive, Suite 1 Birmingham, AL 35242 There are also some books we want that are not available on Amazon.  I would be happy to send you that list too upon request.  Thank you in advance for your help with this project.  I'll close here because I try to keep these little updates short so it doesn't take too much of your time. However, personal bible studies and congregation visits are going great!  The work here is so nourishing to the soul.  Here are a few other recent pictures for you to enjoy! Our English Class of Preaching Students Our Swahili Class of Preaching Students Worship at Ilkiurei Kanisa la Kristo Baptism yesterday at Manyire Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Director 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

Short Report 3/27

 

Grace and Peace to you friends.       I hope this note finds you well.  I want to thank those of you who responded well to our appeal last week regarding stimulus funds.   For example, one church pledged to cover the expenses for the proposed Arusha church campaign.  There are plenty of needs remaining though! Today, I'd like to share with you a message from Michael Lesotwa, our Dean of Academics at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching      "Hello everyone,  It’s my hope that things are going well with each one of us, and that we are all working hard in the kingdom of our dear Lord Jesus Christ. Also, I hope that the gospel is being preached and taught by the faithful servants in all parts of the world despite the fact the COVID19 pandemic is a big challenge in the whole world nowadays. This is only possible because of the ability that our God supplies through His faithful sons, that is you and I. Just be informed that our nation (Tanzania) is in great mourning because of the death of our former president, Dr. John P. Magufuli. According to our government reports, he died on March 17, 2021, because of heart malfunctions, and was buried at Chato district which is in the Geita region of Tanzania, on March 26, 2021.      "On the other hand, here in ACSOP we can see things going well. We have just finished out first quarter of the year with two short courses.  David and John Hall were able to visit from the U.S. to teach courses in 1 Corinthians, and in Denominational Doctrines.  God willing, next week we will start our second quarter for this year.      "We, teachers, are working hard to mold and strengthen these fellows by imparting to them the skills of the word of God. The 16 second-year students are in the first quarter of their last year of being in ACSOP for studies. They are expecting to graduate on November 20 of this year. We really appreciate this great effort because of your prayers, and your great financial support that you gave to make these things happen. May our God of our Lord Jesus Christ supply all your needs as you do to us. Amen." Let me join Michael in expressing gratitude for your interest, encouragement, prayers, and support.   Till all have heard, Daniel Gaines Mission Coordinator Tanzania Missions