It seems that 2016 is flying by—it’s almost March. Wow! Since the New Year has begun, we have been busy here in Tanzania. There is never a dull moment, and new opportunities to minister are ever present. We are always honored to report to you all, and we are glad that we can partner with you.
To kick off New Year’s, we had a Watch-Night Service. It started at 9:00 p.m. and went till 6:30 a.m. The night was filled with singing, preaching, playing games, eating, and, of course, praying. We had each family come up to the altar, and I and some of our staff men prayed for each family. It was such a sweet time to come together and pray for one another. We had 115 people come that night.
A week later, January 5-8, we had our Teen Camp. The camp was held at a place called Highlands. It’s a beautiful location right at the foothills of the mountains, and they have plenty of space and activities to have a great camp. Our theme this year was “The Image of God.” I was praying for 150-200 teens to come, and the Lord truly built my faith. We had over 530 teens come. What a blessing it was, and the Lord even provided the extra money that I needed to pay for the teens that I didn’t budget for. We used soccer/netball as a way of outreach to bring the teens in. We had over 13 teams, and 229 of those teens trusted Christ. Please pray as we do follow-up.
Many of our church members are new to Christianity. We had one gentleman named Samuel. His family was Seventh-Day Adventist. He was invited by one of our staff men, and he came for a while. He was asking questions, and I could see God slowly softening his heart. Well, the entire family eventually trusted Christ as their Saviour. They joined the church and now are inviting others. William and his fiancée Stella and Wycliffe and his fiancée Loveness were all saved and baptized and joined the church because they were invited by Samuel. It’s exciting to see new growth. Please pray for them, as they are new Christians. Pray that they will continue to come and become grounded.
Mr. and Mrs. Ansigali were Roman Catholic for years. They, too, were invited by another one of our church members, and they were saved and baptized. Through preaching, they got convicted about not being married for all these years, and they are now planning on getting married next month. We pray that many stories like these will continue to come as God gets the glory.
We hosted our first-ever Valentine’s Day Banquet. We had 30 couples attend. We used this time together to have some split sessions and a group session to preach on marriage. We also incorporated group games and ended the night with a nice meal. It was a special time with just the couples from our church.
We are starting a Bible college this Saturday, February 27, 2016. We currently have 13 students enrolled. We ask that you pray as we start. Pray that this will be a tool to strengthen and train men and women for the ministry.
Thank you for your giving. We know many folks are working hard and sacrificing for us to be here. Please know that you are all welcome to come anytime and see firsthand what the Lord is doing.
Your missionaries to Tanzania,
Mshama, Martha, & Esther Kinyonga