Anna's FirstServe Prayer Letter March 16th - 29th
A very teary eyed but happy hello to you all!
Our time in Tanzania has officially come to an end. How do I even begin to describe all that God has done both in my heart and in the hearts of those around us over the past three months! Looking back I feel so humbled at all that God has taught me and the amazing friends He has blessed Rachel and I with during our time here.
Devotional
Easter as we know is the time of year when those of us who are Christians reflect on the work that Jesus accomplished on the cross for our sin and what that means for us today. Jesus suffered so much during the 12 hours between His arrest at the Garden of Gethsemane and declaring ‘It is finished’- emotionally, physically and spiritually. Emotionally, He suffered the stress of abandonment by His disciples, a sleepless night and the knowledge of all the suffering that was to come. Physically, He suffered a severe physical beating, mocking and was forced to walk for miles carrying a cross, all of which made Him especially vulnerable to the effects of scourging. Spiritually, He suffered separation from His Heavenly Father, while bearing all of the Father’s wrath and judgement for sin on Himself. We must realise that Jesus let go of absolutely everything - even His clothes - becoming completely poor for us, so that we could become completely rich in Him. People mocked Jesus telling Him to save Himself if He really was the Christ, yet it was because He didn’t save Himself that He can save others. Love kept Him on that cross, not the nails.
However, we know that Jesus did not stay dead. He was raised back to life three days later and lives triumphant over death today.
In raising Jesus from the dead, God…
gave us forgiveness and glorified Jesus as the all-sufficient forgiver;
gave us a friend to count on and glorified Jesus as utterly reliable;
gave us guidance and unchanging truth and glorified Jesus as the absolute foundation for truth and righteousness;
gave us a life that is not pitiable but enviable, a ministry that is not in vain but fruitful, and glorified Jesus as the source and goal of all life and all ministry;
gave us everlasting joy that will not be ended by death, and glorified Jesus as the author of life and the victor over death.
Church hike No. 3…
After church two weeks ago, our friend Laurie asked Rachel and I if we would like to go for lunch and go on one last church hike together. We had such a lovely day with her and have been so thankful for her friendship over the past months.
That being said, I should have learned my lesson by now about these ‘hikes’ from past experiences. At the start of the hike we were warned that this particular hike had 5 makeshift ‘bridges’ and one was over a river with crocodiles. It was all fun and games until we came across our third ‘bridge’ crossing (literally a large tree branch) and saw a crocodile poking its head out of the water beside us. Me being me just went for it and thought if it’s my time for glory, so be it.
Church
We had our last church service on Sunday which was lovely! I had the opportunity to play piano again, and near the end of the service the pastor and his wife called Rachel and I to the front to pray for us. It has been such a privilege to be able to serve in the church over the last few months through my love of music and I feel so blessed to have been a part of an amazing church family and for all the friendships we have made there!
Our friendship with James and Elizabeth
I have mentioned Elizabeth quite a few times in previous prayer letters, and all I can say is James and Elizabeth have been such an answer to prayer during my time here. To be able to share skills in cooking and baking and create special memories together, I am so thankful to the Lord for them. Last Tuesday, as we were waiting for a cake to bake, Elizabeth, Rachel and I sat in our living room and she saw a Mission Praise songbook sitting on our table. She started looking through the book and we talked about our favourite songs. The song ‘Because He lives’ came up as having a special meaning for all three of us, so we sang it together, and after that we just kept singing until the cake was ready! While it seems like such a simple thing, I was so moved by our common love for the Lord and the joy found in worshipping Him!
On Wednesday for our last evening together, James and Elizabeth taught Rachel and I to make chapati. We had decided quite early on into our time here to buy a weighing scales to encourage her to keep baking and a couple of other things as a goodbye present for her, which we gave her on Wednesday evening. As a gift for us, Elizabeth very kindly gave us an entire roll of kitenge material, which we can use to make clothes or bags. They have certainly been friends that I already miss dearly.
MCCC Saturday Night
Last Saturday James and Kelvin ran the MCCC Saturday night for the kids, and we decided as it was our last Saturday night with them that Rachel and I would go, which turned out to be great fun! We started with some dancing which, I thought at least, we became quite good at!
We then played some team games which ended up becoming very competitive, especially as the two teams were called Team Anna and Team Rachel (I put my name first there just to remind Rachel again that our team won) and did various different races and games like trying to hit water bottles with sliders and sing the lyrics.
At the end of the night, Jonny and Lynsey presented Rachel and I with a beautiful Swahili-English Bible each and we had some time to officially say goodbye, although we saw most of the kids again during the week for football matches, water fights and Sala.
MCCC Kids
Lynsey had told Rachel and I a few weeks ago that when it is someone’s birthday at the centre, it is tradition to throw water over the person. I thought it would be a real shame with Rachel’s birthday being in April that she would miss out, so I may have lied and said that her birthday was last Friday. Kelvin (one of the centre kids) and I teamed up and celebrated Rachel’s ‘birthday’ the traditional way, which she did not thank me for. This ended in a week long water fight war, and I ended up getting drenched four days in a row.
I must also confess that, despite my best efforts, I have not improved at football. Rachel managed to strategically place herself in goals the last few times to avoid any embarrassing mishaps, but I was not so lucky. However, after kicking the ball the wrong way, to the wrong person, and on one occasion into the wrong goal, I did manage to score one goal for our team, which is good enough for me.
Working at LCK
The last couple of weeks at LCK have been very busy, especially with the Easter holidays coming up. Last week I was asked to help with the language class, which, when we are not learning letters or spelling, usually involves reading the children a book or telling them a story. I decided to cover the story of George Muller, a thief who later became a missionary and built several orphanages, relying on God alone to provide, and this came with opportunities to share the Gospel once again with the children.
The last week was particularly busy. We took a small section of the Easter story to cover each day with the children and planned activities around the section for that day. This involved acting out the Last Supper, which was chaos when your actors for the twelve disciples are all under 5, and getting the children to try and move a small stone using different junk modelling materials. Other activities this week have included baking, dancing, an egg hunt and bug catching with the children.
What’s next?
I arrived back to Northern Ireland on Saturday and will be leaving to begin my journey to France tomorrow morning. We will be helping at Centre des Jeunes for the next three months. CDJ is an activity centre used for church retreats and various camps throughout the year, and our role will be focused more on the practical side, helping in the kitchen, cleaning rooms, painting and doing odd jobs around the centre.
Prayer points
Giving thanks for the opportunities and experiences we’ve had in Tanzania and the friends we’ve made.
Giving thanks for a safe and straightforward journey home and time to rest for a few days as well as catch up with friends and family.
Pray for the journey to France and as we begin to settle in, and that we would continue to trust Him in every situation.
Pray for those who we will have opportunities to share the Gospel with in France, that God would begin to prepare their hearts and minds to hear His voice.
Thank you once again genuinely for your interest and prayers. Tanzania has been amazing experience, and God has worked so much in my life and given me a new appreciation and love for His Word especially during our time there. Please continue to pray for Rachel and I as we travel to France and begin to settle into yet another new country and environment. Please keep in touch and let me know if I can be praying for you in any way!
God Bless,
Anna x
‘And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.’ 1 Corinthians 6 v 14
It's lovely to hear all your news and I wish you well in your new placement, our thoughts and prayers go with you.
Glad to have you home for 4 days before you start your next adventure. Blessed to see how God continues to guide.