Tanzania Pic

Tanzania Thursday - Jeff

Heading home. Enjoyed spending time in class with the seminary students again today before heading back home to relax before the trip.  Robert and I got a final picture before leaving. I have appreciated getting to know him.  He is the one in black.  

Pastor Naumann and I met up with Elisha (other photo) at the airport.  We started to discuss long range plans for the property at the seminary. So thankful for the leadership and work of these men in Tanzania.

Rapping up the blog now from the airport. So much more could be said that we will leave to future Bible Class presentations. For now, if you are even remotely considering a mission helper trip you should do it. If you have any questions about it reach out to myself or someone you know that has participated; it is such a blessing. 

July 23rd Zambia- Lauren

Today was a recreation and rest day for us. We started the morning with a game drive where we saw elephants, buffalos, warthogs, impala, giraffes, zebras, baboons, and rhinos. We actually got to walk very close to the rhinos, which was awesome!

Afterwards, we all rested for a while and soaked up some sun. Then we headed out for our Zambezi River cruise. The weather was nice and the sunset was beautiful. They served us chicken, sausage, and coleslaw for dinner. Along the river we saw elephants, hippos, crocodiles, and lots of birds. 

We all appreciated the opportunity to witness God's amazing creation in this way. It was a great experience! 

Last Day -Tanzania - Amy

Today was the last day of spreading the Word to the wonderful children of Tanzania. We visited a small nursery school in the morning and enjoyed presenting to the young students there. 

We went back to Naumann's for a delicious spaghetti lunch made by Paula. She has made sure we have been fed very well during this trip and we have all appreciated it very much! 

Tomorrow we start the long journey back home. I have so enjoyed the time here in Tanzania. The people are warm and welcoming and it has been an honor to share God's Word with the many congregations/schools we have visited.

Amy Tester

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Tanzania Wednesday - Jeff

Bittersweet that tomorrow we make our way home.  This has been such a great trip.  We had one final stop today at a nursery school in town. Then we spent the day finalizing for the trip home.  As a team we took the time to summarize all our learning in anticipation for presenting at Bible classes in the fall. It was a great opportunity to gather all of our perspectives and fondly remember all that we did.  It feels like we have been here forever and just got here all at the same time.  

After wrapping up final packing we played some cards and went out to a lake for a final dinner.  Was another beautiful evening. Even saw some monkeys. I'm looking forward to one more morning tomorrow studying with the seminary students before heading too the airport. 

Tanzania July 22&23 - Nicole

Monday morning we split up the team. Pastor Jeremiah, Pastor Naumann, Gary, and I left to visit a congregation south of Karatu near where the Hadzabe tribes live.

We picked up Pastor Bayo in Mbulumbulu and he was able to show us where to go from there. We arrived later than anticipated due to some non-roads. My complements to Bruce for his driving skills! After arriving, lunch was served. White rice, rice pilau, and goat. 

The program began with introductions. The group gathered there was made up of three different tribes. Gary and I presented our lessons. Pastor Naumann led songs before and after each lesson. The congregations choir then sang a couple of songs as well. More and more people kept arriving during the program. My best estimate would be about 90 people with 25 of them children.

We knew we wouldn't make it home until late, so the decision was made to stay the night in Karatu.

This morning we left Karatu and were in time to meet the rest of the group at the seminary. We presented at a public school. The lessons were very well-received. It was great to see so many kids participating in the program!

Nicole Hansen

Tanzania Tuesday- Jeff

What an awesome opportunity. We were able to get some things done in the morning while we waited for the rest of our team to come back to town.  Then we headed to the seminary to pick up Pastor Robert and seminary student Dennis.  We all drove up to a nearby public school.  The school had 691 kids. It was by far our largest group. This was the public school Pastor Jeremiah and his children went too.  The principal was so appreciative of us coming that he asked that the seminary students come every Friday to teach Bible studies. What an awesome opportunity and great training for the seminary students to practice their Christian Education Methods coursework. 

What is eye opening is the fact that even in the public schools most of the children know the Bible lessons and the songs we are singing. We have noted how encouraging it is for the children to be so respectful of adults and thankful for what the Lord has done for them.  Such a contrast to what we see at home in the general community. 

We are looking forward to hopefully getting to do another large school close by tomorrow. Hard to believe it's almost time to head home. We have been very thankful for this trip.

Tanzania Monday - Jeff

On Monday we were planning on splitting the team up.  One was to stay in town and the other to go into the country to visit one of the congregations. Amy and I were to stay. We were not able to do a presentation, but I was able to meet a few contacts locally for lunch while Amy and Paula headed into town to check things out. Has been fun driving around getting to know the area.  The rest of the day was prepping for the week.  We ended the day with a nice dinner.  One of the benefits of being in Safari country is that there are a lot of accommodations set up for the tourists.  We checked out one that was pretty impressive. A beautiful setting on USA River. That's pronounced oo-sa. Was a beautiful evening.  

We have been spoiled with the weather.  Dry, mid to high 70s and lows in the high 50s or low 60s.  

Zambia Sunday in Livingstone - Ulrika

This Sunday we spent the morning at church.  Pastor Ibrahim's service at the CLC church in Livingstone, Zambia, included hymns, Bible readings, and a  sermon from Pastor Tom.  We had many things to thank God for and spent some time thanking Him for our fruitful time here in Zambia. We also made some more requests for the current congregation, the children, and the other people that we met and who heard God's Word through our gatherings.  

We enjoyed fellowship after church, having met many of the children on Saturday.  There are too many great photos and moments to post and recount them all, but let it suffice to say that it was a beautiful and rejuvenating morning.

After returning to the hostel we rested before enjoying an evening meal out at team favourite, the Hungry Lion 🦁 .  For those who are not familiar with the Hungry Lion chain, it is sort of like KFC, with variants of fried chicken as the basis for various fast food meals.  The coating on the chicken is not very thick or greasy, and it is all quite affordable.  We have eaten there a few times on this trip in different locations and the consistency is quite good. It is a winner for this team.  

Thank you all for your ongoing prayers as we near the end of this trip.  The CLC locations/partners and church members in Zambia all need prayers; each for their own reasons, but all to better serve the Lord.

Teaching at clc Zambia and visiting Victoria falls Saturday - Fletcher

Greetings from Livingston 

Today we visited the clc church in Livingstone where pastor Ibrahim preaches. We taught 107 kids from the neighborhood! afterwards we played with the kids and gave them a new soccer ball.

We then traveled to Victoria falls. The best word to describe them is "wow". Being able to witness such a beautiful part of gods creation was such a huge blessing… even the baboons that were on the bridges were amazing to see in person.

We ended the night eating at the Zambezi cafe where we tried crocodile bites! 

In Christ, Fletcher Hughes

Tanzania Sunday - Jeff

We had a great service at Pastor Robert's home congregation. Pastor Robert teaches during the week at the seminary and travels out on the weekends to his congregation. It was great to see his family as well as many of his brothers and sisters and parents who live in the village.

In the evening, I had a nice walk and ride with Pastor Naumann to pick up some supplies and prep the car for a few long days of travel. The team has a drive out to a nomadic congregation and the following two days we are traveling south 10 hours to meet a more remote congregation. Is the Lord has truly blessed this trip.  It's hard to believe we head back Thursday. 

Iganga, Uganda -Kaylee Koenig

We spent a nice couple of days in Iganga with Pastor Daniel and his congregation. A group, from the church, came with us to all the schools we taught there. We were able to get to know them better and all of us sitting up front were able to hear the boys in the back being loud, as usual, which gave us some good laughs. We all had a lot of fun and were very thankful for the amount of time we were able to spend with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, but we all wish the time wasn't so short.

Saturday morning we were able to visit the source of the Nile in Jinja, Uganda. We went on a boat tour which was in a wooden boat very close to the water. When we would hit the waves, I would always think the water would come in and flood the boat because of how close we were. The boat tour took us to see the point that they say is the start of the Nile. We were able to see lots of birds and one very big lizard. After the tour, we were able to do some souvenir shopping at the shops there and also back in the city before heading back to Iganga.

When we got back to Iganga, we stopped at the orphanage that is run by Pastor Daniel and his wife. We were given a tour and the children sang us a song. I am so glad that Pastor Daniel and his wife were able to create that place for the kids to call their home and I know they are all thankful to be there as well. 

Sunday morning we were able to attend a short service in Iganga before leaving. They welcomed us with their singing. Pastor Daniel thanked us for coming and Pastor Gurath did the sermon. We all were able to thank the congregation for having us and then said our goodbyes.

Only a couple days left before we head back to the US. We are going back to Kenya tomorrow evening and start our journey back to Nairobi before our flight Thursday night. We will be arriving back in the States Friday afternoon where we all will be going our separate ways. I thank God everyday that I am able to go on these trips to meet our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in Africa and share the good news with them. I hope this is not my last trip. Please continue to keep us in your prayers as we travel these next couple of days and finish up.

"And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature."

‭‭Mark‬ ‭16‬:‭15‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The kids at the orphanage 

Starting point of the Nile

Adventures in Uganda - Sam Radermacher

Yes, Team Kenya/Uganda is, in fact, still alive. Due to slow internet since we've entered Uganda, our blog posts have been rather limited. That being said, there are so many stories to tell!

The largest difference I've noticed between Kenya and Uganda is how much more densely populated Uganda is, while back in Kenya, things seemed more spread out overall. They no longer speak Swahili very much here, but have two local dialects (besides English).

Upon first arriving, we quickly met up with Pastor Daniel, who has since been traveling with us to all the schools and churches in the Iganga area. We typically have been teaching at 2-3 schools per day, with anywhere from 50 to about 100 children each. At one particular public school, Pastor Gurath estimates that our lessons reached the ears of over 500 children at once!

Several of the adult and young men and women from Pastor Daniel's congregation, Grace Harvest Church, rode with us to assist translating, and to simply hear the Gospel message again and again. It has been such a joy to get to know them, we've shared many laughs and memories in our short days together. Whenever we'd hit a large bump or pothole in the road while driving, a young man named Brian would promptly say, "We are in Uganda now!"

Our sightseeing day (Saturday) took us on a riverboat cruise on Lake Victoria all the way down to the source of the Nile River. Elinor and Catherine in particular enjoyed seeing all the exotic birds on the river bank, while Kaylee was fascinated by a big lizard swimming in the water.

We also had the opportunity to visit the orphanage run by Pastor Daniel and his wife. This visit deserves a blog post to itself. The children sang a beautiful song for us and gave us a tour. One of the boys even made an amazingly accurate scale model of the facilities. It was so humbling to see how the LORD has used Daniel's family and the support from the CLC's Kinship program to provide such a sustainable home for all those sweet, orphaned children.

It was tough to say goodbye to everyone as we make our way back to Kenya tomorrow evening (after teaching one more time in Uganda). We are so thankful to our gracious LORD who has given us this time here, and we pray that He continue to bless and keep the Ugandan Christians safe, healthy, and faithful. Until next time!

The wonderful children living at the orphanage.

On the Nile River!

Tanzania Saturday - Jeff

Saturday was a full day.  Two churches, one half way up Kilimanjaro.  Lunch at Pastor Mtika's. A drive up to the entrance of Kilimanjaro National Park, and a stop in at an engagement party.  I was also able to drive back from Moshi. First time driving in Africa.  Reminded me of driving in Scotland with a lot less rules. lol

Today's two churches had great singing. The congratulations really poor their hearts into the music of worshipping their Savior. Its hard to believe the trip is entering its final week. It goes so fast.  The Lord has really blessed the time.

Busy Day - Tanzania

Just got back from a very busy day. We started out from an overnight stay at the YMCA in Moshi and made our way to a local congregation in Himo. They had a nice altar set up with flowers and everyone was waiting for us. There were 24 kids and about 14 adults. We presented two stories and sang some songs. I always enjoy giving them their necklaces and helping them put them on and seeing the joy it brings them. 

Between our two congregation visits we were taken to the pastor's home and served a meal of fresh fruit, eggs and soda/water. 

The second congregation was in Mrungu where there were about 30 children. These children sang so beautifully, it made my heart happy.  We gave two presentations and joined in songs and had fun taking pictures. 

It's been wonderful worshipping with our like-minded fellow Christians. Their enthusiasm for the Word is contagious. I want to bottle it and bring it home with me.

We had a long drive back to Naumann's home with a traffic jam near their home that delayed us. 

Amy Tester

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Tanzania Friday - Jeff

Friday was a later start for us.  A few of us went to a local hotel where I met with a local Tanzanian businessman who knows a number of our CLC members. Hours flew by as I got insight into how things are done in East Africa. Culture, politics, business, were some od the topics. It was an eye-opening conversation.  

Later that afternoon we made our way toward Mount Kilimanjaro to stay at the local YMCA in Moshi. We were able to visit a congregation that some of the CLC members helped build their church.  Ended the night at the YMCA with some great discussions. Was another good day.