PRESSING ON

Philippians 3:12

"Not that I have already attained or am already perfected, but I (we) PRESS ON, that I (we) may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me."

This verse best describes where we are in this journey right now. 

The road ahead looks long and dusty, but we know we are on the right path. 

We find ourselves in the trenches of language learning, 

which is slow, hard, and time consuming. 

 It takes time to rewire the brain to a completely new way of communicating. 

We are growing a little bit every day, and as they say here, "Pole pole!"(slowly).

It is encouraging to see how far we have come in the language. I have preached 3 times in Swahili, but it was more like reading a sermon than preaching :). With each sermon, I have learned so much and look forward to my next opportunity. Jennifer continues to grow in her Swahili as she has conversations daily with various ladies. I have also had recent opportunities in town to share my testimony and the Gospel message in Swahili. So we press on!

Everyday we make a little more progress whether from our own study and translation or with daily conversation at home, in town, or at church. I confess that some days it feels like we are not making much progress, but other days we are able to see much improvement.  So we press on!

Kigoma is most likely the poorest region in Tanzania. One big part of living here is dealing with the many requests for help. We have come from one of the wealthiest countries of the world to one of the poorest. It is true and humbling that we are wealthy compared to them. 

The requests come in continually for help with school, books, school uniforms, medicine, doctor visits, food, rent, clothes...etc. This aspect is by far the hardest part of living here as there are often numerous requests each day.

Please pray for us as we navigate through each one, that we would keep our hearts tender and soft towards these precious souls, and that we would not harden towards them. Please pray for much wisdom as we seek the Lord in how to respond according to His will.

There is an ocean of needs and we only have a thimble! 

The Lord knows, and so we press on!

Jakobsen's Beach.

There is a little paradise located on Lake Tanganyika in Kigoma 

that is called Jakobsen's Beach. This place is well known to many who need to get away from the pressures of missionary life. The cell phone signal doesn't reach here, so it is a true get away! Jakobsen's Beach is about 10 minutes from our house and we go there every Saturday for a few hours to swim and unwind. 

The water is crystal clear, a great place for snorkelling, and the best part is that it is the same year round! Curious George lives here, and we have to watch our lunch because the monkeys will steal it when we aren't looking. There are also zebras in the area, and we get to see them occasionally when we visit. Other than a rare hippo sighting, there are also a few monitor lizards and dikers in the area.

True African wildlife :)

 

There are also many rocks for the more daring kids to jump off into the water. 

We are so thankful for this little paradise which is such a contrast to daily life here,

 and also such a blessing to our family.

Other news from September:

One of our guys in the chapel, Emaneli, got married last month. It was a lot of fun to go to a Tanzanian wedding! Even though we should have brought ear plugs, we really enjoyed the cultural experience. The wedding began with the groom entering from the rear of the chapel with his best man, and they danced their way to the front. Shortly after, the bride also entered the rear with her entourage of brides maids. They danced a short distance, then danced stationary at the back door, waiting for the groom who danced all the way to the back again to meet her! 

This was done so that the groom could lift the veil of the bride to make sure she was the right one, not making the same mistake Jacob made in the book of Genesis!  

Then, they danced together all the way back to the front and sat down together. Then the 2-3 hour program began with many choirs dancing and singing, Harry Johnson gave a message from the Word, and the couple exchanged their vows which were very much like western vows.

 

We also were able to visit a friend of ours, Mlisho and his family, who just had their 5th child in September. Mlisho and his family are Muslim, and he is our electrician and plumber all in one! He has been a huge help when we first moved into the house. We were able to see and hold their baby girl, read Scripture and pray with them.

So we continue to press on during this time of language learning 

and adjusting to a new culture. 

Its very interesting that one can feel so at home here, 

but at the same time feel so far from home. 

We covet your prayers as we continue to serve 

our Great and Faithful God here in Kigoma!

"There are a thousand needs in the world, 

and none of them compares to the global need for the Gospel."

- John Piper

So we press on...

Prayer Requests:

1 - Please pray for the Lord to open doors for us to share the Gospel, 

and that people's hearts would be open and sensitive.

2 - Please pray for the Lord to continue to narrow our focus to His will for us here.

3 - Please continue to pray for our children's home schooling.

4 - Please pray for Jennifer as she applies for her drivers license this week.

THANK YOU!!!