Events in Tanzania

As winter encroaches for most of you in the US, summer heat is arriving with a vengence here. The most refreshing part of the day is my evening shower which finally cools my forehead's dripping sweat and the permeating feeling of being hot. :-) I did find out a bit of very exciting news this week when it was decided and reserved that 5 other HOPAC teachers and I will be going to Lushoto for a week over the Christmas holiday. The most exciting part of this venture is that Lushoto is 6-7 hours away from here in an area of Tanzania very unlike the hot tropical beaches of Dar es Salaam. In Lushoto, there are pine trees, mountain ranges, and the temperatures are cool enough that you actually need blankets and sweaters! It's hard to remember what it is like to feel cool, but I am excited to be reminded!

In other related news, let us just say that God is extremely good and He is working amazing things here! The most important and awesome part of the last two weeks is that just yesterday my Nepali student Shaun accepted Christ!!! This is an incredible answer to prayer as I have been spending the last 3 weeks sharing the Gospel with him and praying that God would dispel the confusion that he has felt about Hinduism (his father's religion), Christianity, and which, if either, is right. Some cute comments along the road to yesterday:

"Sometimes I'm afraid of God. Like when I jump on my bed even though I know I'm not supposed to, I'm afraid that God will throw me into the sea."

"What does it mean to have faith in Jesus?"

"Do you mean that in the Garden of Eden, I could have petted a lion? That's what I've always wanted to do!"

Please pray that he would grow quickly in the Lord (in his last 2 weeks here) and that God would place strong Christians in his life to encourage the seed that He has planted after Shaun leaves HOPAC.

Community service continues to go well. After the first week, we have only had 60-70 children, but logistically speaking, this works out much better for the number of children that we bring with us from HOPAC. It has been a blessing to see the way that the HOPAC children are enjoying this ministry and the way that their eyes are being opened to a world outside of upper-class Tanzanian society. Please continue to pray that the Lord would bring children that need to hear His truth and experience His love!!

Other than these things, life continues to go by way too fast! My days are filled with school work, tons of very necessary alone time that has resulted in tremendous growth in my relationship with the Lord, and quite a bit of hours letting iron sharpen iron and hearts be refreshed by the Lord through interactions with my compoundmates. Please continue to pray for all of us as we struggle through our own weaknesses and the way that they affect our relationships with one another. Please pray that God would burn away selfishness, envy, and old ways and help us to live in new life and the power of the Holy Spirit!