Camp
What a wonderful week of Teen Camp we had this year! We had 57 campers from our church who attended. We were especially blessed, as this was the first year to incorporate the teenagers from our English-speaking youth group as well as the Swahili teenagers. A group from First Baptist Church in Urbandale, Iowa, came over to help us run the camp. Bro. Josh Kent helped with the preaching, and their group helped us run the camp. It was a blessed week, with many decisions made.
Easter Services
We started off our Easter services with our annual English Easter service. This is a time that we look forward to each year, as the English-speaking community comes together to worship the risen Saviour! Our Swahili service followed right after, and what a warm and wonderful service it was! In total, there were nearly 700 in church on Easter Sunday! In our second service, we had the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of our Saviour.
Soul Winning
While out visiting, I began sharing the Gospel with a man right outside of his little shop. As I was in the middle of sharing the Good News with him, he had to get up to help a customer. I was surprised to see Neema ya Mungu etched in the chair that he was sitting in. This means “Grace of God” in Swahili. I was excited to use this as an illustration of relying on God’s grace solely for salvation. When he returned from helping the customer, I sat in his chair without my feet touching the ground as an illustration that we must fully trust in Jesus alone for salvation. It is the “Grace of God” alone that will save us. He was sweetly saved.
Special Sundays
The month of April saw our Spring Program. We started with “Elderly Sunday,” where we honored the elderly in our church and community. We had a special choir of elderly folks, as well as some special gifts and other things to honor them. Next, we had “Meat Sunday,” where we added meat to our regular church-wide meal of beans and rice. This was a special treat for all! I emphasized the need for both physical meat, as well as spiritual “meat” in our lives. Our “Deaf Sunday” was next, with a special service specifically for the deaf on Saturday. We were thankful to see 56 deaf attend this special day. Many of them returned for the special Deaf Day at church the following Sunday. We are thankful for one of our staff members, Ima Masebu, who has taken this ministry, learned Swahili sign language, and put his heart into serving these people.
Permits
Last year, we were granted a one-year permit, which is set to expire the end of May. Please be in prayer for the application process to renew our work permit and resident permits. Lord willing, the paperwork will be processed without any issues. This is a great prayer request, and we need to see the Lord work!
Your representatives in Tanzania,
Jerry & Rachel Wyatt