"The things which you have heard from me...entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" II Tim. 2:2.
We hope you will HAVE as good a Sunday as we have HAD (the U.S. is eight hours behind our time). Cy and Jimmy have returned from two weeks of teaching at the Kenya School of Preaching.
Friday evening all the missionaries, Randy Pyle and Tom Brandon, Tizo, Beth and Jackson Joseph plus a friend of Stephanie's, enjoyed a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at the Stafford's house!
Saturday, the graduation ceremony for the Andrew Connally School of Preaching (ACSOP) and the Arusha Bible School (ABS) were held. After studying for two years, the fourteen graduates will go out into East Africa to spread the Word. Three students graduated from the ABS. Over 200 people attended this event where Randy Pyle and Tom Brandon were the two keynote speakers. Today, in Bible class, Jimmy began teaching a lesson series on I, II, and III John at Kisongo. Our guests, Randy and Tom, spoke at the Arusha congregation. Afterwards, we all enjoyed lunch with them and Nathan and Jessica McVeigh. Both Randy and Tom are scheduled to leave this week. We are appreciative of their teaching at the ACSOP and speaking at graduation.
A marriage seminar will be held at the Arusha congregation next Saturday. Speakers will include Tanzanian evangelists plus American missionaries. Jimmy's lesson will focus on following God's instructions.
Two new souls been added to the church! An interesting conversion story follows one named Lordrick. Last June , a short-term worker (Brian Covalt, from Oklahoma) was jogging one morning and met Lordrick riding his bike. Unfortunately, Brian was scheduled to return to the states before he could study with him. However, when Brian got home he called Ahimidiwe requesting that he find and study with Lordrick. Ahimidiwe began studying, and two weeks ago, Lordrick was baptized...and brought a friend to worship today.
"A Day in the Life." While out grocery shopping, Trina was pulled over by a traffic cop (you don't have to commit an offense to be pulled over here). The police woman declared that the road license decal was "finished" (expired). After asking several times what the expiration date was and only getting the answer, "it's finished and you owe a fine," Abigail got out to check it and noticed the ink was so faded it was illegible. Realizing she had no case, the police woman asked to see Trina's license. Then she simply walked away from the car without bothering to dismiss her.
Stuck in traffic (two minutes later the same day) behind a huge truck, Trina watched a man cross between it and our car (people cross the road EVERYWHERE). When the man laid his forehead on the front of the vehicle, Trina thought he was either tired, sick or mentally ill. When he began tapping his head on the car, Trina suspected he might be pretending she had hit him. After blowing the horn, he went to the passenger's side where Abigail was. Thankfully, the locks had been repaired a few weeks earlier. (THANK YOU!) As Trina began to drive around the truck (to get away from the man) she realized she has been sitting behind a stalled vehicle for 5 minutes!
Some very sad news came from a congregation in Mbeya (southern Tanzania near Chimala). It seems that the preacher's house boy arrived late one night. The boy and the preachers' wife argued and he went to his room (lived with them). Later that night, he killed her in her bedroom. How tragic!
We are eagerly anticipating the arrival of John, Denise and John-Tyler Rice this Friday. They, along with Ben Thompson and others, will conduct Tanzania Christian Camp (TCC). This is a "much-looked-forward-to" yearly event where young folks are saturated with Bible teaching, inspired by spiritual songs and greatly encouraged by the fellowship of other Christians.
Future Preachers' Training Camp begins immediately after TCC ends. One reason for putting TCC ahead of FPTC is to increase the number of young men attending this second camp. When TCC is over, the young men can stay at the school (without going home for the weekend, since many come from far away) and have another great week of "spiritual training." Thanks for making all this possible!
We wish you a wonderful holiday season in which to relax (not shop 'til you drop) and enjoy the company of family and friends. Time spent with family is worth more than all the gifts money can buy.
With Love From Africa,
The Jimmy Gee family