I was sitting almost overwhelmed with the whole occasion when one of the academic staff sat down beside me.
A few minutes later he whispered into my ear, "I know you." I was very surprised with these words, and quietly I asked, "how is that?" He whispered, "14 years ago I was one of your students." I was taken aback. He said he had decided to follow the Lord all those years ago and was going on in his faith. The Lord has encouraged us much in this special ministry over the years. Thank you for your continued prayer for the work in the schools as we continue to seek to avail of every opportunity to bring the word of God into the schools around Moshi. In the last few months, I have been able to sell bibles to students at a much reduced price, enabling them to enjoy the word of God. So far in these passing months, we have sold 424 bibles, and we stand back and give all the praise to the Lord.
From the 18th - 22nd of August of this year, we had our yearly Conference at Moshi for Elders and Evangelists from the northern regions of Tanzania. The areas from which these men travelled are- Manyara, Singda, Mwanza, Kagera, Kahama, Kigoma, Rukwa, Kilimanjaro, Tabora. I know these places and have visited them often to share the gospel. There are Assemblies in all of these areas for which we would value your prayers. One of the signs of spiritual growth was evident for all to witness at the conference as our Tanzanian brethren took an active part in the ministry, teaching, discussions and gave reports of spiritual progress from some regions. We are very grateful for those who knew of those five days of the conference: and prayed for this yearly event. Some of the brothers travelled over 1,000 kilometers one way, and for some, it took several days to make the journey from distant regions.
I am pleased to say that we still can practice some clinic work. On one occasion a man developed a cancer growth in his chest and despite the doctor's work in trying to control the condition, it eventually was the cause of his death. He informed his family that he requested that Orribeni and Ron take his funeral service and nobody. else. There was a large gathering of people 400 to 500 present. Ombeni was the leader of events, and I had the privilege of preaching the Gospel on "fife's journey."' There was a reverent silence throughout the whole proceedings.
During the past few weeks, we have been able to visit the assemblies at Kahe and Mawala. It was encouraging to witness the continuance of these two assemblies which have not had a visit for some time. The assembly at Mawala was meeting under the shadow of a great tree as their assembly hall is not yet completed. It was well worth the visit. One of the brothers called Gabriel was in need of major surgery but was unable to pay for it. Before last leaving Belfast, a gift was passed to me with the message "use it as you see the need' Wonderfully, this gift covered the costs of Gabriel's surgery. He is now so much better in health. There is a third assembly about to be established at Wareta in another location, we value your prayer for the continued development of the work here.
Maria continues to enjoy her work amongst the women. This takes various forms. On some days, she leads English language Bible studies, on other days Swahili language Bible studies. Recently, I took her to girls High School to teach a Scripture class. She enjoys these opportunities very much. Her health is stable, but she needs to be careful. She is to have another check up on her pacemaker at the end of the year. Thank you for your prayers for her.
Please pray for the safety of national workers here. Recently brother Ombeni was phoned by two men and asked to meet them outside the Bethel Assembly. When they went inside the building, they pointed a gun at him and threatened to kill him if he did not hand over money. Having robbed him, they fled on a motorbike. He was badly shaken and is still impacted by the shock of having his life threatened. He needs our prayers.
Please continue to remember us in your prayers that the work of the Lord may continue with His blessing. In this year through the grace and mercy of the Lord, we have completed 50 years of missionary service. We praise and extol the Lord for His faithfulness throughout all these years. As we think about these years, we are so conscious of the need for new missionaries. Please pray that younger couples would come to this wonderful country to serve the Lord.
Spring 2016
Written by Ron and Maria Cunningham - TANZANIA