WEEKLY QUOTE: “When you are the right kind of person, doing the right thing, help and encouragement come from all directions.”
We apologize that we were unable to send the report last week. Our internet has been very unreliable and that was the case on Sunday. Also, Jimmy was in Nairobi for a few days and couldn’t send it from there. Below is last week’s report.
BIBLE STUDIES:
After several studies with Abigail, fifteen-year-old Grace desired to be baptized. However, she felt it necessary (and in this culture it is) to ask her fathers’ permission. After several days, Ahimidiwe (preacher at Kisongo) called the father who said that Grace wasn’t old enough to make that kind of decision and he would not allow it. However, he agreed to a study with Ahimidiwe. Sadly, Grace’s conversion depends on her father’s.
Jimmy’s study (almost a year long) with Lembris and Rosemary has come to an end since they will soon be attending Kisongo Bible School. One of the most active and faithful ladies (Janet Deo) set up a study for Jimmy with Ammon (mid 20’s) and his wife. They have 2 small children and live in a mud hut (with 2 or 3 rooms). Ammon asked, “How do you prove what you are saying is true? There are many religious groups claiming to be right.” After the second study yesterday (Jan. 14), Ammon and his wife attended services today. Please pray for this family as they learn more about God's word.
Yesterday, Trina was privileged to study with Lucy, a beautiful lady aged 30. She is the cousin of my translator, Paulina, and works at the mosquito net factory (6-7 days a week). Lucy was raised by Roman Catholic parents and was baptized as a teenager. Lucy says she is searching for the Truth and said that the Catholic religion did not always agree with the Bible. In the past, Paulina had asked her to study on several occasions but Lucy was not interested. We were very happy to hear that Lucy had requested this study.
Lindsey was not able to study with Theresia because she was in Arusha working. Because her fatherless family could not come up with 6 months of rent money in advance (normal procedure here) they were forced to move to a mud hut.
DEMON POSSESSION:
After arriving at Paulina’s house to study with Lucy, Paulina told Trina about a problem her neighbor was having. It seems that her neighbor’s daughter, Rita, was suffering from “demon possession,” according to her family. Friday, after a group from their Lutheran church came over to pray, Rita began crying uncontrollably and was not responding to her own name but saying, “we are many…” She was begging for prayers from others and saying she had no energy. Later, the Lutheran church came over again to pray for her but to no avail.
Paulina was very perplexed about it, saying that this girl (a recent high school graduate) was a very normal and upstanding person and had never acted this way. My only suggestions were that maybe someone had slipped some kind of drug into her drink, she was just having a mental breakdown or just needing attention. The neighbors interrupted our study a few times asking if we could help. After finishing the study, we agreed to take her to the hospital in town but later they said that a friend was already on their way. When the neighbors first asked if there was anything Trina could do, all she could think of were the words of the little servant girl on the movie “Gone with the Wind:” “But Miss Scarlet, I don’t know nothin’ about birthin’ no babies…” except it was “casting out demons.” That was out of my league. :)
AN ENGAGEMENT PARTY! Any visitor who has come to TZ will recognize the names Kambarage and Agnes. Agnes’ father was taught by Andrew Connelly many years ago. Saturday, we were invited to celebrate the engagement of their daughter, Naomi (a third generation Christian…such a rare thing in TZ) to a young medical student who is also a Christian (and his father is a Christian).
Due to the large amount of time that it takes to write and send this report, we will try to write and send it on Saturdays. After 3 hours of Bible study and worship on Sunday, lunch, then an hour to write it, choosing pictures and then another hour spent sending it, there is not much time to rest and refresh ourselves.
Friday, we received one of the biggest rains/thunderstorms we have ever witnessed in TZ. Thunderstorms are rare (including this one, we remember 4 in these 7 years we’ve been here). The lightening was awful and it poured down rain in “sheets” for the longest time and all the mud ran down our driveway. This morning in some places the mud was so thick, it looked like swirls of chocolate…looking good enough to eat.
Thank you for your continued love and support! A special “Hello” is extended toward the youth group at West Side Church in Yorktown, Indiana! Thanks for the beautiful picture.
Today’s News:
TIME TO CELEBRATE! Abbas and his wife became Christians last year. Their interest in the church began when the church at Kisongo showed so much love and concern when their son (Rubin) committed suicide a few years ago. Today Abbas invited eight non-Christians to the church services and to the celebration at his house afterwards (to celebrate the circumcision of his teen-age son, Samson…a Maasi tradition). Jimmy preached an EXCELLENT sermon concerning the inspiration of the Bible and how we need to follow it and not man. Abbas’s son, Samson, decided to be baptized! So this family had two events to celebrate. If you will remember from another report, Abbas said he hoped to convert his whole family. One down….many to go.
SPEAKING OF DEMON POSSESSION:
Rita, above, was supposedly cured sometime this week by the Lutheran church after more prayer. But we’re thinking that this “demon possession” thing may be a contagious virus. Yesterday Elijah woke up before everyone did in order to go to the bathroom. After taking off his soaked Pull-Up, he proceeded to beat it against the walls until a million little pellets of silicon (parents know what I’m talking about) covered the floor like a layer of snow.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR LOVE AND INTEREST IN THE TZ 2000 MISSION WORK!
Serving Him Together,
The Jimmy Gee family