He decided to schedule himself in.
"Just checking in too see if our meeting scheduled for Thursday April 17 was still on....it is? Good! See you at Ci Ci's Pizza!"
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He decided to schedule himself in.
"Just checking in too see if our meeting scheduled for Thursday April 17 was still on....it is? Good! See you at Ci Ci's Pizza!"
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Itineration has provided us with many different and exciting stories to blog. In fact, there have been so many, that we haven’t had time to blog! After several comments, and a few chastising remarks, I have decided to get this show on the road. Month after long hot month during the Texas fall was beginning to get Lexxi down. Knowing that we were going to Iowa for Christmas, and hearing all of my stories about snow, Lexxi to started praying for that fluffy white stuff. Her prayers were answered on multiple days, as the Midwest was hit by several storms during the holidays. Now we can safely say that snowballs, sledding and snow forts are a part of Lexxi and Ethan’s Christmas memories.
Our time in the states has been very good. God has proven himself over and over and we are trusting that our funds will quickly come in. It has been our joy to travel the country, share our hearts for transforming lives and to invite individuals and congregations to join us in life changing ministry.
Being a missionary on itineration means that you get do to strange things...very strange things. Now, most people would think that living in Africa and sleeping in tents with lions around would be strange. That pretty much comes with the job when you sign on the dotted line. However, spending a week in Mississippi with teenagers, playing in mud, throwing water balloons and participating in all around tom foolery is not what I had in mind when when I signed up for missions. God does work in strange ways, even in the back country of Mississippi. It turned out to be an awesome and powerful experience and I thank God for the opportunity to share the word, worship and praise with the youth of the Magnolia State. If ever you get invited to Indian Hills Youth Camp...take the chance. It beats lions in your tent any day.
Pastor Mkuyu had literally taken back the land, but the success of his gardens was small in comparison to the other projects that he had going on. On a Tuesday afternoon we peeked in the back door of His church. It was full of men, women, Muslims and Christians a like. He was holding a parenting seminar, teaching mothers and fathers about proper nutrition, malaria and AIDS. His church was full of life. In every direction you looked you could see Jesus living and breathing his life into the desert of Dodoma, touching and giving people life in abundance. Our prayer to see churches like Pastor Mkuyu's all over Tanzania. We long to take the example that God has given us through Pastor Mkuyu and multiply it as many times as possible.
After 2 hours of waiting, I resigned myself to sitting on top of my car and looking at the stars in the African night sky and thanking God for the blessings that He provides. Until then, it had been a whirlwind trip up to Arusha and Moshi. Several things required my attention and I was able to squeeze a last minute trip into the schedule. 8 hours before my rooftop experience, I faced an intense decision: Find a guest house at 2 in the afternoon then drive to Dar the next day, or push hard and get into Dar a Salaam little after dark. The thought of seeing my sleeping children and holding my wife compel me to throw a prayer of protection towards God and head home. Things went fast and smooth until 10km outside of Chalinze, the main junction for all roads in Tanzania. All the lights on my dash started flashing and thoughts of having to repair an alternator after dark started flashing in my head. God provided an opportunity for me to experience the gracious hospitality of Tanzanians one more time. I pulled into a gas station and in a matter of minutes I had a mechanic removing my alternator, my phone in a shop getting charged and bowl full of rice and beans. I was then able to sit beside the road, talk politics, religion and even the plight of American Indians with a few folks who had gathered around my car. (Tanzanians are usually very interested in knowing what happened to the native tribes of North America and it is truly a sad story to try and tell.) Back on the roof again with large trucks of produce, gas and wood passing by and music booming out of the local barber shop; I sat and soaked all of this in, and thanked God for the opportunity to experience all of it first hand. 
It seems as though traveling is just part of our job description lately. Two weeks ago we were in Iringa, this week we were in Zanzibar. Being on the Island of Spice was fun and exciting, especially when we saw the great work that is going on there for Jesus. Kimbra and I held a small meeting to encourage and set in place systems for transformational development. No place is there a greater need for Gods transforming work than Zanzibar. The island is completely dependant upon the mainland of Tanzania for vegetables, rice and even electricity. Drug abuse, HIV/AIDS and unemployment are all just visible signs of the crippling power of Islam. Please join us in prayer as we seek out diverse ways to show the Muslims of Zanzibar the love of Jesus Christ.
Last weekend we decided to break free of the Dar es Salaam heat, and head for the cooler highlands of Iringa. 
Over the past few months, we have been working and gathering ideas for transformational development. While in Iringa, we visited and spent the day with our good friend Pastor Luwago. Pastor Luwago has been key to seeing and implementing different ways of sharing the love of Jesus Christ. While we were there, we took the time to encourage him and set in place systems for reporting and evaluating projects that we hope to be starting soon. Pastor Luwago let me preach for Him on Sunday morning. It was the first time that I spoke for more than 20 min in Swahili. Afterwards, we explored the hills around his house, the kids watched a chicken get plucked and Kimbra learned a few Tanzanian cooking techniques. It was a blessed time, and we rather much needed strength for the coming weeks. 
I am sure we all have seen pictures of the crazy things that people carry on their small motor bikes or bicycles. We had an old stove sitting in our store room that we wanted to get rid of. We found a man interested, and when he showed up with just a bike, I thought that he had just come to take a look. It turned out that he bought the stove and with a little help, got the stove on to his bike and drove away. Who needs a truck when you have a pikipiki!