Souls Saved
The fields truly are white unto harvest here in Tanzania. Each and every week, there are many who accept Jesus as their Saviour after hearing the Gospel, whether in services, soul winning, or one of the many outreaches. The other day as I was passing by our “water wall,” where we offer free water to the community from our well, I felt led to stop and talk to a man filling his buckets. A short time later, he left with not only physical water but also the Water of Life. People here in Tanzania are extremely open to the Gospel, but many are confused. We praise the Lord for many open doors of opportunity to share with them the beautiful and simple truth of salvation.
Soccer Sunday
Our Soccer Sunday was held at the stadium this year. By 8:00 a.m., two hours before the service was supposed to start, teams were already beginning to show up. They just kept pouring in. Team after team of young men came to church as a soccer team in order to receive their soccer ball and pump. The Spirit of God was evident during the service as Pastor McCoy from the First Baptist Church of Urbandale, Iowa, preached. There were also classes going on all around the stadium, with both Swahili children and English children. The total attendance for Soccer Sunday was over 1,400, with over 40 trusting Christ as their Saviour. On days like this, it is difficult to get a count of salvations, as there are a lot of people crowded together; but even if we didn’t see every hand, God saw every heart, and each decision was written in the Lamb’s Book of Life!
Stadium Crusade
Our Stadium Crusade was not what we were humanly expecting this year. We were forced, by situations beyond our control, to move the crusade to Sunday at the last minute. Doing this caused it to fall over the exact time that the equivalent of the Super Bowl was being played by the two largest teams in the country. Because of this, the attendance at the crusade was just a fraction of what it usually is. The ones who were in attendance listened very respectfully and intently as the Gospel was preached. We are praising the Lord for the 52 who trusted Christ as their Saviour. We are praising God that, even when things do not go as we had planned for them to, He is still in control, and we give Him all the glory. We thank Marion Avenue Baptist Church for hosting this year’s crusade.
Medical Week
We just finished our second medical week of the year in partnership with Medical Missions Outreach. We were able to treat over 1,700 patients. During the clinic, we saw 573 trusted Christ as their Saviour. We had a great day in church the following Sunday, with 41 first-time adult visitors. Many people who were treated in the clinic came, and 14 more trusted Christ in the morning service.
One older gentleman, whom I baptized that Sunday morning, had been reached in the June clinic, helped volunteer during the August clinic week, and made the step of baptism that Sunday. He wore the eyeglasses that he received in the clinic to the baptistry and removed them to be submerged. We are so happy that not only are we able to help them with their physical health and sight, but we are also able to open their eyes to the good news of salvation. That is what it is all about!
Montana’s Visa
After a long eight months of back and forth and many prayers by God’s people, we are so happy that Montana and Kellie Morrows’ visa and resident permits have finally been approved! They are busy finalizing their container for shipment, working on getting their permanent home ready, and preparing for language school. Please keep them in your prayers!
Your missionaries to Tanzania,
Jerry & Rachel Wyatt