"Has the rain a father? Or who has begotten the drops of dew?" (Job 38:28)
Dear Co-Laborers:
Rain has poured down for the past few days. Much of Kisongo looks like Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory...wish it were edible and sweet. However, the mud here is very sticky. Arriving at services, Trina jumped down out of our van (it's a little high) only to sink into the gooey mess, almost covering the top of her open-toed shoes (the parking area is neither paved nor graveled). Her shoes looked worse than those of the people who walked!
Heather looks at the bright side: the environment around us is now a beautiful green!
As usual, Jimmy taught the New Converts' class, Trina continued Genesis (ch. 40) with the ladies and Abigail taught the children (Judah being led into captivity). Jimmy continued his series on "Worship" focusing on the proper motive. The Moshi congregation just hosted several congregations for their Ladies' Seminar yesterday and the Arusha congregation is planning a Ladies' Seminar on April 13th.
"Thou shall not steal." While Trina and the kids were waiting in slow traffic one morning, a man reached in on the passengers' side trying to steal Abigail's phone she was holding. While it seemed like several minutes, they wrestled over the phone for "a very scary" 2-4 seconds. At first, Trina didn't know what he was doing and was basically just "frozen" with the shock of it. Being strapped in by the seat belt she didn't think about unbuckling but was just scrambling to get her purse that had fallen (afraid the thief would grab IT). After being here eight years, we have let down our guard some and made the mistake of holding a phone near an open window (no air-conditioning in our van). The man began to slowly walk away from the van into a crowd. Not willing to let him get away, Trina began to yell "mwizi" (thief) and blew the horn to get attention. Thinking it would help identify the thief, she called Abigail's phone. Thankfully, during the earlier struggle, it had dropped to the floor of the car and landed under a bag. If only Jimmy's Aunt Edith had been there, we are certain that her "Annie Oakley" skills would have made us feel more secure. Guess what happened that very evening? Trina's phone was somehow stolen and she doesn't know when or where.
Teach, baptize, teach: Grace is home from boarding school so Abigail is studying with her tomorrow. Both Grace and Rachel visited us this weekend while on break (Easter holidays). Lindsey is planning on giving Rachel a "Searching for Truth" booklet (although Rachel is a Christian, this Swahili-translated book can help ground her in the truth plus she could share it with school-mates). Speaking of education, the ACSOP students just completed a one-week course on "Bible Geography" taught by Emmanuel Peter. Beginning tomorrow, the students will study "Personal Evangelism" with Isaac Mwangonde... who made the long 16-hour journey via bus from Mbeya.
Prayers are needed for a Christian lady and student of KBS who has had marriage problems for several years now. Her husband recently refused to support her, made her move and is keeping her away from her little girls (ages 4 and 2). Please pray that mother and children will be reunited soon.
"I am writing these things to you, hoping to come to you before long..." (I Tim. 3:14). Not counting today, we have 28-days left in Tanzania. The furlough funds still lacking are only $2000. If this final amount could be received by April 10th, it would help tremendously. We thank you for your kindness and generosity! Please pray that the Immigration Visas for the TZ children will arrive very soon!
With Love from Africa,
The Jimmy Gee family
To see the Gee report with pictures, please click here.