As mentioned in our last update, we are so thankful for the way in which the LORD has opened doors of ministry opportunities since arriving in Tabora. The first two months of 2016 are proving to be no different, with several new opportunities opening up for ministry. We have not sought these opportunities but have been invited to participate in all of them.
The first opportunity came one Wednesday evening in December as we were leaving church. A man came walking up to us and introduced himself as Pastor Antony of the Independent Baptist Church of Ujiji. After talking for a while, he invited us to come out to Kigoma, a city about 265 miles to the west of Tabora on the shores of beautiful Lake Tanganyika. The second week of January saw us taking our first trip to Kigoma. Instead of taking 6 hours to travel to Kigoma, it took us 9½, because the dirt roads had deteriorated so badly due to the rains and the fact that our car is low to the ground. The meetings turned into a two-day seminar. The people are hungry for the teaching of God’s Word and want us to come back every month to start a Bible institute. That will not be possible for the time being due to the road situation. Please pray for this open door of opportunity at the Independent Baptist Church of Ujiji; pray that we will be able to make future trips as the road condition improves. We were also told by the Tanzanian pastor who invited us that there are even some pastors from Eastern Congo who would like us to visit them.
The second door of opportunity that has been opened to us will take us to Morogoro, a city about 429 miles to the east of Tabora. We will be helping the missionary pastor, Mshama Kinyonga, of Grace Baptist Church to start Grace College the last weekend of February. Lord willing, we will be traveling to Morogoro every month for the foreseeable future in order to teach and to help establish the college.
The latest opportunity came just this week. We were invited by the student leader of the religious classes for Christian faiths in one of the many local secondary schools to come each week in order to teach and lead the program. We will be doing so every Thursday as we are able. What an opportunity! Over the years, hundreds of students have trusted Christ through the Public School Ministry. The last two churches in which we have had a part were significantly influenced by the students coming from the Public School Ministry. One such student, Mshama Kinyonga, is now even pastoring.
Here in Tabora things have exploded, both at the city church and at the village church. We are having many visitors, with salvations nearly every week. There is a new excitement, as many are taking discipleship lessons; and, Lord willing, we will be starting a Bible institute later this year. We finished building a baptistery and are looking forward to baptizing many new converts. We passed out Bible-reading charts on the first Sunday of the New Year and challenged everyone to read their Bibles through. Please pray with us that these young Christians “. . . might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.”
For those of you praying for our house situation, we are thankful to share with you that the carpenter and tile layer have both finished their work! We are only waiting for the electrician to finish his work now. We will still have a few odds and ends to finish up before we can move into the house, but we are very close. Praise the Lord!
The Wyatt Family