Let me first start out by saying, Happy New Year! We pray that God will grow us all more this year and that we will continue to be that beacon of hope the world so desperately needs. Thank you all for your prayers, cards, and texts that have been sent on behalf of our family. We sure do love and appreciate each and every one of you.
MINISTRY
My trip back to Tanzania went well. I was able to get a lot accomplished in the short amount of time I was there. A young man named Chris, whom I have had the privilege of discipling for a long time, was getting married. It was so encouraging and a blessing to me personally to be able to marry him and his bride. It was also a blessing preaching and encouraging our people to just continue doing what God wants them to do in every area of their lives, to just stick with it. We had a Teen Camp during the break too. There were 388, with 136 trusting in Christ.
The opportunity to give the Gospel freely is still available in Tanzania, and I’m so glad that God has allowed the door to remain open. Please be in prayer, though, for Tanzania. There has been a tremendous amount of rain, so much rain in fact that streets, bridges, farms, homes, etc. have been destroyed. The rain has turned into flash flooding, with millions of dollars of damage throughout the country. There is a family that lives next to our church, and the flooding went right through their house. So, we are currently sheltering them in one of our Sunday school rooms. Pray that God will use this trial to encourage them to get saved.
I will be heading back to Tanzania in March. Until then, I’ll be doing some traveling to some new churches and visiting some supporting ones. If you would like me to come and give a report, please feel free to reach out. I’m always grateful for the opportunity I have to be able to represent Tanzania.
MARTHA’S HEALTH
Martha had a successful surgery on January 5. They were able to remove a foot of her colon. She spent five days in the hospital and then was able to come home; full recovery will take eight to twelve weeks. She has had some good days and some not so good days, but all in all, we are grateful and thankful that the mass is out. The tumor was about the size of a small apple. Her type of cancer has some aggressiveness to it; it is in some lymph nodes and tissues surrounding the colon, so she will need to have more chemotherapy done. We see the cancer team on February 5 to find out more details, like how many more rounds, etc. The doctor said before the surgery, they were hitting it like a sprint, but now this journey is a marathon.
Martha has had numerous opportunities to share the Gospel with nurses, transporters, and others. She’s had so many conversations; people are still looking and searching. We are so thankful for your patience with us. Please feel free to email or call if you would like more details. As of right now, we are taking this season of life one day at a time. Remember, we pray for you all and your ministries, and we are so appreciative of your prayers for us.
For those of you who don’t have them, here are our address and cell phone numbers:
10135 West Cleveland Avenue Mshama’s Cell: 414.308.7851
West Allis, WI 53227 Martha’s Cell: 262.666.0008
For His glory,
Mshama, Martha, Esther, Benjamin, Rachel, & Sarah Kinyonga