Today is Sunday, January 17th, and we had 19 present for our worship time. We had pr-yed this week for adults to come and we had three, not counting Terry, Nan and one of our peace corp volunteers. We praise G for those who came and heard G's word. Terry presented the plan of salvation in a very clear way. Many Tanzanians feel that church membership is the way to heaven, or they were born Ch or if they follow the "laws" of the church they will go to heaven. We are very thankful for those that heard and we hold fast to the scripture that says, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it". Isaiah 55:11 Keep pr-ying for more adults to come, men and women, and that G would build His ch--ch.

A Visitor

See the older man on the front left, he stop on the road at the corner of your yard, (top left) and watched us for awhile, then he walked down to our gate and stood. Nan motioned for him to come in and he came in and sat down. He seemed to enjoy the music very much, but when Terry took out his Bible and began to teach, he had to leave! By meeting in our front yard, this was an open invitation for people to come and join us. We also meet outside so our house doesn't overwhelm the neighbors. Continue to pr-y for us and for opportunities to share with those we come in contact with each day.

Sunday Worship

This is our second Sunday of house worship, January 10th. This Sunday we met outside. We had 14 children and youth. Terry continued to teach about Peter, in John 21. The Lord held off the rain for our entire service. We are thankful for those 14 who came to worship with us. Pr-y for this "little" congregation as we study God's word each week. We invited the children to come again on Tuesday for our storying time with the children.

Growing Season

The rains have come and it is so good to see people planting. They are planting corn, beans, peanuts, other grains, tomatoes, okra and many other things. This is our small garden. We have corn, okra, broccoli, onions, carrots, lettuce, cucumbers, bell peppers and strawberries. This gives us many opportunities to greet our neighbors and people who pass by our house on the road.

Yesterday, January 3rd, we had our first house fellowship with people other than Terry & Nan. Our neighbor and her two granddaughters came to worship with us. Terry has been teaching now for several weeks about Peter and after Jesus had risen from the dead, he told the women to go tell the disciples and Peter. It was so good as we studied, go tell all and then ... we listed each of our names. We want to make Jesus personal to all who come to hear about him so they know he died for each of us.

Thank you for your continued pr-yers.

Children's Storying

Children's Storying began on Tuesday after the living Nativity.

We played drop the hankie while we waited for the children to come on Tuesday, after the living Nativity. On this Tuesday,we began with the lesson of the Creation. The children on the far left are coloring pictures of the seven days of creation. We plan to story with the children every
Tuesday and do a drama each quarter.
The Living Nativity was a success although we only had five parents/neighbors come. Mary and Joseph came to the stable just at the right time, the shepherds were "greatly amazed" when the angels appeared and the wise men placed their gifts so gently in the manager.
Nan's Christmas Tea with the women went well. There were seven women who came and had cookies, candies and tea and heard the story of Christ's birth. Then they all got to choose a gift from under the Christmas tree.
We had seven peace corp volunteers with us for Christmas. We all had a great time playing board games, basketball, watching movies, sharing the Christmas story, and eating lots of goodies.

A Living Nativity

This was our first practice for the Living Nativity that we will be doing on Sunday evening, December 20th, in front of our house. It will be at 5:00 pm our time, and about 8:00 am Central time. These are all children from our neighborhood. We are still short a wise man, and would like a few more angels and shepherds, and we would like to have a Caesar Augustus and we are expecting more children to come to the next practice this Friday afternoon. Pr-y for the message to be clear and many of our neighbors to come to see the drama.

Nan will also be having her annual Christmas tea on Saturday morning, December 19th. There are 10 women invited to come to our home. Besides tea and cookies, Nan will share the Christmas story with the women. In Isaiah 55:11 it says, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to me void, but is shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." That is our pr-yer that His word is accomplished.

Short Rainy Season

Every month we say we are going to do a better job of updating our blog, but before we know it that month is gone. Please forgive us for our delays.

The short rainy season has begun. The very day that I sent out our last newsletter and ask you to pr-y for the rains, we had a very good rain. It is very encouraging to see people begin to prepare their fields and even begin to plant. The rainy seasons usually run in a succession of rains very good, then slacking off each year for four to five years and then the cycle begins again. The government is prediciting that there will be good rains this year. Please continue to pr-y that G will send the necessary rains. This picture shows some of the early planting in the Kondoa region.

We recently took a week vacation to Rwanda to visit other M's. We enjoyed our time with them and came back much refreshed.

Pr-y for upcoming activities: Nan will have a Christmas tea for women in our neighborhood on Saturday, December 19th. Pr-y for clearness in sharing the Christmas story. We will also have some of the Peace Corp workers in our home during the holidays, again pr-y for us as we share C with these young people and provide an oasis from their village life. Terry will begin a new AI class in January, pr-y for those students and also new opportunities to go into villages to teach.

Have a Very Merry Christmas. Terry & Nan