The second week into the new school year the students and I are growing more comfortable with each other. The language barrier is a perpetual challenge as even the English speaking students struggle a little with my southern accent. Those who speak English still do so with heavy Swahili pronunciations. For example, a Tanzanian friend recently expressed that he thought that “bird," “bed," and "beard" were all pronounced the same. I can't imagine how laughable my efforts at Swahili must seem! But we are making progress with each session. I look forward to continuing to walk with these men along their path to becoming preachers. I hope that God has great things in store for them.
Devo
We enjoyed the privilege of hosting the missionaries' weekly devo at our house again this week. One of the visiting campaigners, Nathan Bailey, was gracious enough to provide the lesson for us continuing this month's theme of Love.
Njiro Update
We continued to do Bible studies this week in the Njiro Chini area where a new church has been planted. The baby congregation has had it's first baptism and is gaining more visitors each week. Gasper Maurice, one of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching graduates from this past November, has been working tirelessly in the new church plant by setting up, conducting, and translating for Bible studies. He is a great example of what we hope for from our graduates, and I expect him to continue serving well as the evangelist for the new church.
Eva Teaching Sunday School
Part of the goal of a missionary is to replace themselves. With that in mind, Tiffany has been working with a couple of the ladies at Ilkuirei to teach them how to teach children's Bible class. Eva has been translating for Tiffany, thereby observing how she teaches. Next Sunday, Eva is planning to teach by herself for the first time. We are excited about this step for her, and for the future of the congregation's children's class.
Daniel Gaines
To see Daniel’s report with pictures, please click here.