Peeking in on Choir Practice

Thought you might enjoy a little video of a Katesh Lutheran Church choir practice. They meet each day in the afternoon; and with the use of keyboards and speakers, they have a pretty "modern" Tanzanian choir. Enjoy! (Oh, and make sure your speakers are on! You don't want to miss this!)

Friends & Fellow-Disciples of Christ

What a privilege it was to work with the ministry leaders (4 women and 8 men) of our second Discipleship Training who gained an abiding love for the power of the Word of God, a bond of unity with their brothers and sisters in ministry, and a deeper understanding of BEING a true follower of Jesus. Each departed with a stronger commitment to follow Christ through the process of learning, understanding, doing, and teaching. Yes, the groundwork is laid for the indigenous leadership movement! This has been one of the goals of our work here in Tanzania!

SISTERS?  Susan developed a strong friendship with one dear lady, Neema, a Barabaig evangelist and the chairman of her village. "Neema" is the Swahili word meaning Grace, the name of Susan’s mother, and it truly was a good description of this lovely Christian woman. Though Neema speaks no English, and though Susan speaks no Swahili or Barabaig, they seemed to find ways to communicate. Through a bit of translation help, they laughed together as Neema suggested that she would be Susan’s Tanzanian Mama. . .until Susan explained that she was the elder one, and thus would have to be Neema’s big sister, instead!

Digging for Truth. . .and Lovin' It!

Between sessions their excitement was obvious in broad smiles and animated conversations, as they began to make plans to put into practice what they were learning. They began to organize and discuss their thoughts about simple Bible Study methods in small discipleship groups in their communities and in their churches, and even among other pastors.

Open Bibles and pens in hands! 

Yes, this is a working class, and each of the participants are digging for discernment and understanding. 

This culture lives all of life in community, so working together in small groups was a very productive approach to such an activity. At one of the tables, three men and three women shared equal roles, using tools and easy questions to dig deep for truth.

Opportunity for Creativity

Discipleship Training is a much smaller, more casual atmosphere; and the AIM teaching team utilized the opportunity to be a bit creative.

Our teaching style was much more personal. We were blessed not only to share Biblical truths, but also to share our lives! We all toiled with deep, difficult concepts. We shared life's struggles and prayed together. We united ourselves together to seek God's face. . .and He was found of us!

In the absence of classroom tools like electronics, whiteboards, or even blackboards, we creatively used printed papers (in Ki-Swahili) and tape directly on the wall, creating visual charts that they could recreate in their notes.

These ministry leaders really learned a lot while having fun working in teams, studying the Word, and using new methods to learn to discern the interpretation for themselves. They discovered that they are indeed able to glean deep truth from the Word of God by the Holy Spirit, even though they are usually auditory learners. It was gratifying to see them uncover Biblical treasures.  

2nd Module - Discipleship Training

We were rather concerned when the 2nd module of our Discipleship Training Class was fast approaching, but the class material was just not "coming together." When the day arrived, our team prayed together one more time. . .and we just did not seem to have an answer from God. So, Bob decided to go outside and walk around.

Bob walked several buildings away to the classroom, and to his surprise found several NEW attendees already waiting--very un-Tanzanian to be early. Bob returned to the house to tell us, and then we understood--God was not working with us on new material particularly because He had a different plan!

We came to understand that there were several pastors at the large Ministers Conference the week previous who "heard through the grapevine" that we were having another class. Although they knew the Discipleship Training was meant to be for a small group, by special invitation, they were desperate and bold enough to "crash the training." Surprise!

Though this wasn't what we had planned, God knew what He was doing. Since one of the key concepts of discipleship is about making more disciples, our class had the wonderful opportunity to begin doing that now. And so, we enlisted members of the first class to help us teach the new class members. They got hands-on experience, and they did it! What a blessing!

Clothing Vendors on Market Day

We observed the clothing market, which sported everything from used Western-style clothing from abroad to the tribal cloth wraps folded neatly in stacks of various colors for the local tribes--red for the Maasai, blue for the Iraqw, and brown & black for the Barabaig!

By far, my favorite site was the shoe market area. I think tire shoes are pretty cool. In fact, I own a pair! But I never considered the "manufacturing process." 

We stopped for a few minutes and watched as the young men struggled to cut apart a large tire, preparing it to be fashioned into these sturdy black sandals that can put on quite a few miles!

Back to Katesh...on market day

After our day-safari to Lake Manyara, we headed straight back to the village of Katesh, at the foot of Mount Hanang. As we neared our destination, we noticed a large number of people travelling to the outskirts of the village. Bayo explained that it was the Market Day. Only one day each month does this village have an open-air market. So we thought we would drive through to see what wares were for sale this day.

We were fascinated to see the convergence of cultures--the old, traditionally-dressed tribesmen next to the young men taxi-ing shoppers back home on their motorcycles (called "pikipiki"). . .and then, of course, the strange Americans driving through the market as if it were another safari trek.