PRAISE GOD! And thank you so much to those of you who have prayed with us for the scheduling of meetings. God’s miraculous grace has once again been evident in so many ways. We arrived in the States on December 31, with no meetings scheduled. As we mentioned in our last update, circumstances allowed by God directed nearly the entire first month of January. Our first meeting to share about the Lord’s work in Tanzania was not until the last Sunday of January. Since then, God has miraculously answered prayers with all the remaining Sundays (except Easter and Mother’s Day) until our return to Tanzania, being scheduled with one or two churches a Sunday. Now our Wednesday evenings are beginning to fill up. Please pray that God will graciously fill our Wednesdays and that He will provide protection as we travel to all our meetings.
ALL the churches we have visited so far have been such a blessing! It has been so good to fellowship with friends and just be encouraged by them. We are thankful for every church, every individual, and every opportunity the Lord has given us to share about His grace and work in Tanzania.
We would, however, be remiss if we didn’t share a few specific and very clear examples of the grace of God in scheduling our meetings. We were invited to a revival/missions conference at a church that had been such a blessing to us back in 2014. We are so thankful for the pastor, who has a heart after God. We were thoroughly blessed in many ways. While there, we were also able to spend some time with another man who has become a very good friend of our family over the last couple of years. He called some preacher friends of his and was instrumental in scheduling six meetings. The Lord used him to schedule one Wednesday evening meeting for us . . . for the following Wednesday! That pastor was going to be out of town on Wednesday evening, so we met him and his family for lunch on Tuesday. Our hearts began to be knit together from the start. The Lord gave us a wonderful service Wednesday evening. Thursday morning, the pastor called and invited us to dinner that night at his house. The Wednesday evening love offering was an answer to a very specific prayer need, and then on Thursday evening, the pastor was touched by God to stuff some money into our pocket that met another very specific prayer need. We are passionate about the message of God’s grace that He has given us to share with churches and with the unparalleled opportunity for Gospel ministry in Tanzania. Please pray with us that God would be gracious to open the understanding of those to whom we minister, whether it be in churches or elsewhere, “. . . that they may understand the Scriptures.” (Luke 24:45)
How the Lord has provided housing for us by His marvelous grace is also a tribute to HIM alone! We are thankful for our daughter and son-in-law (Bethany and Micah), who have let us stay with them on many occasions while in their area. Although Mom Wyatt has moved to Maine, we have already been able to stay with her and look forward to spending Easter there. Several pastors, including some who did not even know our family, have opened their mission houses to us for extended periods of time, allowing us to drive to nearby meetings and return “home.” Space does not permit us to expound, but there have been many miracles of God’s grace in this area as well.
We have been able to make frequent calls to various Tanzanian church members by means of a special program, providing us with a Tanzanian number much like SKYPE provides us with a U.S. number. We rejoice to hear that the churches are continuing to “. . . walk in the truth.” Praise the Lord! All of the ministries, even the four public high school Bible classes, are continuing to see visitors, salvations, and Christian growth. Please pray with us that the Tanzanian believers would continue to “. . . grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.” (II Peter 3:18) Please also pray with us for Jim, Willie, and Marie, all to whom we have recently witnessed, that they would trust Christ. EVERY person to whom we have given a tract has readily received it, often with thanksgiving. PRAISE the LORD!
Life is simply our faith in HIS grace!