Greetings from Arusha!
The team from Mountaintop is well. We arrived late on Friday night and spent a portion of Saturday at the Orphanage in Kibowa. The kids greeted us with singing and we were grateful to see how healthy they all appeared. At Kibowa we held an eye and health clinic for the kids. How exciting to share the joy as glasses were received that brought the blessing of improved sight. We led the kids in a craft and the story of the shepherd with one lost sheep – ask us later about the ad hoc acting. We also presented the children with gifts of Mountaintop T-shirts, new shoes, backpacks with composition books, pencils, colored pencils, erasers, pencil sharpeners, toothpaste and a toothbrush, and the prayer books with prayers from our Prayer Team. We were also able to provide food for the orphanage. God is definitely on the move at Kibowa.
Sunday morning was a powerful day at the Zion Evangelical Assembly of God church in Arusha. The 3 hour and 15 minute worship was a little short by Tanzanian standards but Pastor Doug only preached for 45 minutes so we finished early! During the service we presented the Bishop with a laptop for the church and 20 pastors with bicycle to use for their ministry. The choirs, the dancing and the movement of God’s Holy Spirit were all powerful. Before the service we led Sunday for all ages of children and teens – 3 years to 20. The shepherd and sheep were back as were Jonah and the Whale! After the service we enjoyed lunch with the Bishop and his wife.
This evening we received sad news. During the afternoon a storm in Kisongo knocked down one wall of the church there. Fortunately church was over but one man, Ezekiel, was inside and was killed by the falling wall. Please pray for Ezekiel’s wife and 7 children. This tragic death will change the course of our week. To show respect for their loss we will no longer be holding a revival in Kisongo. We will visit the village in the morning to assess how we can best be used to support the church and their Pastor. Our hope is that we might still provide a medical clinic for the village but we expect to shift our other programs. We have all been reminded that we are empty vessels and we trust that God still has a plan for this week and that His plan will prevail. We are practicing the truths of Plan Z here in Tanzania!
Again, we are all safe but ask that you pray for the church in Kisongo. Pray for protection and provision and that God might have a way to use us to help bring hope in the midst of this loss.
It was good to TRY to connect during the worship services at Mountaintop and we are praying for each of you. Please continue to pray for our team and our ministry partners here. We remain confident that God has greater things in store for us this week and can’t wait to discover how He is planning on using us.
To His glory!
Tanzania Team 2012
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