A body?( how are you?) I’m so thrilled to find have found a small Internet café and wish you all a Happy New Year! The last 2 weeks have challenged me in my walk with God and has made me truly surrender all my desires and rights to him. At times I have felt very homesick and miss the comforts of America but I know God has me exactly where I am for such a time as this. On New Year's Eve my team and me met up with a group of men who are new believers in Jesus Christ to do ministry at a local hospital. It is truly amazing to see the life changing power of Christ work in these once Islamic men to now serve Christ passionately in their own country.
When arriving at the hospital there was instant culture shock in the way hospitals in America and Tanzania are run. A man came driving up to the hospital with his pregnant wife and no one was there to help transport the mother then a truckload of men came with a dead relative in the back. It was very chaotic but it was sorted out. The 20 some of us walked around to the different wards praying for the children and adults affected by Malaria and children's disease. I had the chance to talk with a Tanzanian lady through a translator. I asked her if I could pray for her she replied," yes, but it's not enough." Her words cut right through me and I thought "Lord she is right, I can't do enough-but you can." I prayed for her and asked the Lord to heal her and be more than enough. I may never know if the lady was healed or not but I was hit with the reality of caring for the poor/sick and believing Jesus to be enough.
Later we went to lunch with the men a women's club in Dar es Salaam. Our new brothers felt like friends and we shared cokes, rice, beans, and chicken. We pray that they will take the gospel into the streets of Dar es Salaam and grow in christ.
Later that day we went back to St. Joseph's hostel (where we were staying) and packed up. Our first encounter with a YWAMer gave us great joy. We packed into her land rover style van and drove an hour and half to a YWAM base outside of the city. It is in the heart of local Tanzania life. It was so nice to celebrate New Year's with the Tanzanian YWAM staff. There was dancing, singing, laughing, and a time to share what Christ has done in our lives. I believe God is doing a great work in my heart. For the next 5 months I will be living in Africa. He is my strength everyday and I am learning to lay down every right. Surrender hurts but I learning that it is the best thing I can do. Yesterday our team went to a small village where the villagers rarely see white people. There one of our team members gave a message of surrender in the small mug church. God spoke to me there and was asking for me to give him my very life...if I try to hold onto my life I will lose it but if I give it up for his sake I will find it. Apart from the Lord I could not be here but God is teaching me about myself, the Tanzanian people, and how to love like Christ.
On Thursday my team and I will travel 8 hours by bus to Arusha, a popular city by Mt. Kilimanjaro to stay at another YWAM base. While there we will be going into villages, churches, and clinics talking about HIV/AIDS and the gospel. We don’t know what to expect but we know God is leading us there.
Thank you so much for your prayers and reading my updates. I appreciate hearing from you and getting updates from home. The Lord is good and I’m starting to really adapt here through God's grace...I’m even enjoying washing my clothes by hand and using the squatty potty! God is good! God bless all of you! I would love to also hear what God is doing in your life and how I can pray for you at home.
Sunday, January 07, 2007
Happy Boxing Day From Tanzania!
Happy Boxing Day!!! Can you believe I am 11 hours ahead of you guys?! I was so happy to receive your email here and your presents!!! You have no idea how i loved getting presents from home...i was very surprised. I was homesick in the morning but after opening your gifts and the gifts my team gave me i was satisfied. I love receiving emails and letters!!!! I am living downtown Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Although it is a city it is very run down and extremely dirty. My room is small and i have a mosquito net hanging over it. My shower is rain water that drips from a pipe! The first few days I had culture shock and I was really homesick especially because it was xmas! God is good though and I am laying down my right to see you guys...just know when i get off that plane in 6 months I’m going to kiss your faces off and wrap my legs around you guys!
For Christmas we had a special breakfast: toast, African eggs, and apples. Our food is very limited here so is was a blessing to have all that. The seven of us had xmas together and opened gifts. Sharon I LOVE that song you wrote me! I can’t believe you did that! Later on I walked with two other people and we spent a few hours talking to homeless men on the street. The day before we met them and they were very eager to hear more about Jesus Christ. All of the men are very young about 20's. I had the chance to talk with a man named Sulton. At the end of our talk together we knelt down on the sidewalk and he accepted Christ. God is doing amazing things and it's genuine. Islam has a strong presence here and it is a very big deal to become a Christian. About 13 men came to Christ yesterday....on Xmas! Tomorrow my team is bringing bibles and we want to plug them into a church. Through talking with the men God has challenged my faith and what I say. These men have nothing not even money for food...yet Christ is their food now...they are truly hungry. Am I that hungry for God?I am so happy to hear from you and I want to hear more. The internet is very slow here so i might get your emails once in awhile. I miss all of you. Please pray for God's boldness and wisdom. I want to know God so much more and I am hungry for truth to share with the poor and outcast. Every time I go on the streets i think of Jesus and how he would be walking with me sharing salvation and healing people. I am excited for the weeks to come! This week we will be working in a HIV/AIDS clinic. Then on the 31st we will connect with a YWAM base...thank God!!!! We have been on our own for awhile so it will be good to meet other Christians here
For Christmas we had a special breakfast: toast, African eggs, and apples. Our food is very limited here so is was a blessing to have all that. The seven of us had xmas together and opened gifts. Sharon I LOVE that song you wrote me! I can’t believe you did that! Later on I walked with two other people and we spent a few hours talking to homeless men on the street. The day before we met them and they were very eager to hear more about Jesus Christ. All of the men are very young about 20's. I had the chance to talk with a man named Sulton. At the end of our talk together we knelt down on the sidewalk and he accepted Christ. God is doing amazing things and it's genuine. Islam has a strong presence here and it is a very big deal to become a Christian. About 13 men came to Christ yesterday....on Xmas! Tomorrow my team is bringing bibles and we want to plug them into a church. Through talking with the men God has challenged my faith and what I say. These men have nothing not even money for food...yet Christ is their food now...they are truly hungry. Am I that hungry for God?I am so happy to hear from you and I want to hear more. The internet is very slow here so i might get your emails once in awhile. I miss all of you. Please pray for God's boldness and wisdom. I want to know God so much more and I am hungry for truth to share with the poor and outcast. Every time I go on the streets i think of Jesus and how he would be walking with me sharing salvation and healing people. I am excited for the weeks to come! This week we will be working in a HIV/AIDS clinic. Then on the 31st we will connect with a YWAM base...thank God!!!! We have been on our own for awhile so it will be good to meet other Christians here
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