Anna's FirstServe Prayer Letter - February 3rd - 16th

Karibu sana! (Welcome!)

It’s hard to believe we are already halfway through our time in Tanzania! My experience so far has been an amazing opportunity to learn and rely on the Lord, through all of the ups and downs. I have truly experienced the blessing of your loving support in prayer and there are many reasons to be thankful to Him, which I'll tell you all about below.

Devotions

One of the most important lessons God has taught me in the last few months is the power of prayer. As I don’t have the same access to friends and family in Tanzania as I do at home to turn to when challenges arise (and as patient as Rachel has been with me!), I have often found that I have no choice but to pray. It has been a hard lesson, but an important one, and I have quickly seen the benefits of having God as my first point of contact in a situation, instead of turning to other people.

Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18 about a widow who persistently asked a judge for justice from her adversary. The judge in the parable was an ungodly man, he only answered the woman’s request because she wouldn’t stop bothering him. On the contrary, we have a God who loves to listen to and answer our prayers. It can seem at times that God is reluctant to answer us, and sometimes He asks us to wait for an answer. Yet, the delays in answering prayer are needed to change us. Persistence in prayer brings a transforming element into our lives, building into us the character of God Himself. It is a way that He creates in us a heart that cares about things the same way that He does.

It is easy to lose heart when we pray because the devil hates prayer. If prayer were powerless, it would be easy. Too often it becomes our last resort when it should be our first. If you’ve been persistently praying about something or someone and God hasn’t given you a clear answer, continue to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5 v 17), don’t lose heart (Luke 18 v 1) and trust Him and His timing (Psalm 18 v 30).

He will provide the right answer at the right time.

Food and culture - part 3!

And just when I thought the food couldn’t get much more appetizing…we were introduced to ugali, dagaa (sardines) and ‘veg’, which looks like seaweed or soggy party popper streamers, depending on which way you look at it! It’s fair to say I’m not a massive fan…

We ended up doing another hike with some of the church members after church last Sunday…I really thought it couldn’t get much more interesting than last month’s but this definitely topped it. This time the walking route was through a jungle, and it ended up pouring with rain for most of the walk, making already muddy areas impossible to walk in, so we often had to accept defeat and slide down! To make it even better, this time we didn’t have to worry about any ‘bridges’ as we didn’t even have that option…why build bridges when everyone can just swim across the river instead? Needless to say, we came back very wet and very muddy. It was not a glamorous afternoon.

Working at LCK

I have certainly found my responsibility and workload increasing at the kindergarten as the weeks go by. I have shown up a few times in the mornings to be told that I would be leading assembly, taking the English class and planning the craft that day without any prior knowledge, which has been interesting!

Kindergarten Assembly

Rachel and I also had the fun of doing the bus ride home with the kids after school…I never get car sick but this experience had even me feeling nauseous. Between the scorching heat, terrible road surfaces and singing ‘Here we go round the Mulberry Bush’ over and over, I’ve never been so glad to get off a bus at the end!

There are a few kids who continue to keep us on our toes, one in particular who has autism, and I’ve definitely found it a challenge to understand how to communicate with him, especially during class time. Please continue to pray for each child in the kindergarten, but specifically for those who struggle a bit more.

MCCC Kids

The kids at the centre to continue to be a real blessing. Rachel and I continue our valiant efforts to improve at football and play with the kids a few times a week, but Rachel’s new favourite habit has become cheering on the wrong team.

We continue to go to Sala and have started to learn bible verses alongside the kids, usually taking a Psalm to learn each week. We are also helping the younger ones as well as the older ones with homework now, so our day to day routine has become a lot busier!

Tomorrow we are helping one of the workers at the centre with a day camp, which will involve around 80 kids, both from the centre as well as kids from the surrounding areas. This will include games, a football tournament (much to our delight…), a bible story and a quiz. Rachel and I will be leading groups of roughly 20 kids each, and all the activities and talk will be in Swahili, so please pray that we would be a help even with the language barrier and that the kids would come to know Christ as their Saviour through what they hear.

Baking

Another thing God has taught me since arriving here is how we can use everyday activities like playing football, helping with homework or even baking to witness to and encourage others.

We hosted a ‘Galentines Night’ at our house on the 9th for the vijana (older youth) which went really well! We had 10 teens in altogether, and also ended up inviting one of the centre mamas who was a bit curious! We taught them how to bake brownies and cookies, played some card games and watched a Christian movie. This has definitely helped us to get to know the vijana better, and are planning God willing to do a second night with them in the next few weeks.

Galentines Night

Our neighbour Elizabeth has also asked Rachel and I to teach her how to bake while we’re here. We had her over to our house on Tuesday to bake cookies, which was a great opportunity to get to know her, and will hopefully be having her over once a week to teach her new recipes in the coming weeks. We would like to make a recipe book to give her when we leave so that she can continue to bake and share her new skills with the girls and mamas at the centre.

Church

We have really settled into the church we’ve been attending, and everyone has been so welcoming! I have started getting involved in music at the church and will be regularly playing on Sundays for the rest of our time here, which I’m very excited about as playing piano has been something I have really missed since arriving in Tanzania.

The church has been facing some challenges. Their minister has had to leave suddenly due to visa issues, leaving the future very uncertain. Please pray for wisdom for those in leadership with these difficult circumstances in the coming months.

Safari

Rachel and I took a sneaky two days off on Wednesday and Thursday to do a two day safari, which was an amazing experience and definitely something you should add to your bucket list!

We went to two different national parks, Tarangire and the Ngorongoro Crater. Between the beautiful landscape around us and the wild animals and plants, it has been a great reminder of the wonderful Creator we have, who simply spoke and the beauty of creation surrounding us came into being!

Prayer points

Please pray…

• For the day camp tomorrow and all the kids that will attend, that they would come to know Jesus as their Saviour through what they see and hear.

• As we continue to build friendships with the vijana.

• As we continue to work with the kids in kindergarten and at the centre.

• That we would look to find our strength for all of these things from the Lord.

Thank you once again for your much needed prayers and encouraging messages. While I’m really enjoying my time here, life has started to become very busy and I am beginning to find exhaustion is kicking in. God has definitely been my strength in the last few weeks, but please pray for continued strength and wisdom to know when to take time to rest.

God Bless,

Anna x

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‘May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had.’

Romans 15 v 5