The beginning of March started out as a busy time, as Montana Morrow came for a quick visit to finalize paperwork for reapplying for his visa. Lord willing, he and his wife Kellie, along with their son Landon, will be moving to Tanzania in the late summer. Montana and Kellie have answered the call of God to be missionaries to Tanzania and feel God calling them to work with us here in Morogoro. We ask that you be in prayer that their visa will be approved without issue. The government has been causing some issues with missionary visas lately, and we really covet your prayers on this matter.
So far, Tanzania hasn’t experienced too much of an interruption due to the virus. There are some cases, but the spread has been slow. The government is still allowing churches to meet. As a matter of fact, they are encouraging it. They are asking churches to meet each week to pray for the safety of Tanzania and that the virus will stop spreading throughout the world. All places of business (and even transportation!) are required to have handwashing stations. We are so thankful that we are still able to hold services. We are taking extra precautions by spreading people out and testing for fevers using an infrared thermometer. Please continue to pray that things will hold steady here until this crisis is over.
The week before Easter, Rachel was contacted by John King with CNN’s Inside Politics. He asked her if she would be willing to do an interview concerning faith and the pandemic. He said that he was reaching out to her because he thought it would be an interesting perspective to hear from an American who was overseas during this time. We were very thankful at the respect that they showed her during the interview and the fact that they let the true spirit of what she was saying shine through. We are humbled that God would allow us to be a part of the awesome things that He is doing during this time.
Construction is moving ahead full force at our Imani Village property. At the beginning of April, we dug a well on the property. We had to go a full 90 meters down but were able to get good water, so we are thankful for that. We have built a small storeroom and guard building and have started construction on the feeding-center home. We are making use of the property that is not currently involved in the construction by planting corn and sunflowers on it. Our church people have volunteered their time on several different days to come and farm the land. We will be using the corn to make cornmeal and the sunflowers for sunflower oil for our church meals on Sundays.
We covet your prayers as we continue to move forward, trusting God’s hand of protection on us during this period. All commercial air travel to and from Tanzania has stopped until further notice. We are planning on staying here and “weathering out the storm” as long as possible. It goes without saying that we are thankful for your faithful prayers and financial support. We have felt so loved and cared for by the many of you who have reached out to us to let us know that you are standing with us during this time. Please know that we are praying for YOU and YOUR CHURCHES as well.
Your missionaries to Tanzania,
Jerry & Rachel Wyatt
