The Eads to Tanzania

Driver's License

Yesterday, I (Jana) got my very own Tanzanian driver's license and drove through town all by myself! :) Very basic thing, but it was a milestone for me. The car is still in one piece and nobody has yet suffered any trauma (that I'm aware of).

Monday Last Week, Monday This Week

Since I was gone for the last week in Nyakaliro, this week my posts will include reflections on what happened over these last seven days. There will be two segments to each post, one journaling the activities of that day last week and the other updating you on what the events of the day this week.

Monday Last Week:

I headed out from home with Rob at about 1:30 PM, after eating lunch at home and grabbing my bag. Rob dropped me off in town at the ferry dock, and I caught the 2:30 ferry across the inlet. It is about a 40 minute ride. The ferry is usually crammed full with a couple buses, four or five small cars, and 200-300 people. Most are carrying their traveling bags, and the ferry is a bussle of activity. This trip was no exception. Upon arrival on the other side, there is a lot of crowding, pushing and shoving as the people make their way through the small gaps in between the vehicles and as vehicle begin to move. Everyone is headed toward a gate in the fence that surrounds the loading and unloading area. On the other side of the fence, there is a unorganized gathering of sedans and SUV’s that show the wear and tear of African roads. An assortment of young men compete with one another for the newly arrived customers, shouting out the names of different locations and seeking to guide their would-be customers to a vehicle by grabbing their arm or taking their bag. The competition continues as the vehicles fill, and drivers begin to jockey for a position. Dust litters the air as cars scrabble along the bumpy dirt-pack road, passing one another at high speed.

After a rather intense 1 ½ hour ride, I arrived in Sengerema. I bought a ticket to ride a daladala from Segerema to Nyakaliro, to wait as the conductor sought customers for the trip. After nearly two hours, we had filled the vehicle beyond capacity, and began making the trip. I sat up front on the bench seat of the small van with the driver and two other adults, one of whom was strattling the shifter of the manual transmission.

I was thankful to arrive in Nyakaliro around 7:00 PM and made the walk from the market center to Pastor Elias’ house, where I was kindly welcomed to a meal of ugali and fish, some warm fellowship, and a place to rest for the night. I would begin the hard work of language and culture study on Tuesday morning.

Monday This Week:

I took the same route to come home today as I did to go to Nyakaliro. I left Pastor Elias’ home at about 5:45 AM and made it to our house about 10:45 AM. I was happy with 5 hours. We took the day as a family and rested at home. Jana and the kids were very excited to have me home, and we were thankful that the time apart had come to a close. After 7 days of total Swahili language immersion, a lot of research, and time away from one another, today was a well-needed rest for everyone.

For Perspective

Since this message was typed before today and scheduled to post today, I thought that I would just put a note here that is disconnected to any events but is a part of everyday life.

We often share with you here our thankfulness for being here, our joy in preparing for (and even beginning) ministry here. But, we should share that learning to live in a new "world" is full of frustrations, disappointments, confusion, miscommunication, and exhaustion. And these come with a level of frequency like we never knew in our home culture. 

Yet, we are learning that joy and thankfulness can exist in the midst of all of these, because the joy and thankfulness of a Christian are not grounded in the condition of our environment, our circumstances, or the events of the day. We can have joy and be thankful simply in who God is. And since He is the same everyday, no matter what may come, we can have a true and enduring source of gratitude and joy.

So, we don't always share about all of the frustrations, disappointments, confusions, miscommunications, or exhaustion of the day, but it is a part of our life here that God is using to shape us.

There Your Heart Will Be Also

On Sunday, I did my morning Bible reading from Matthew. Jesus, in the Sermon on the Mount says, "Maana pale ilipo hazina yako, ndipo pia utakapokuwa moyo wako." Translated into English it reads, "For that place where your treasure is, is the very place also where your heart will be."

Jesus spoke these words to remind his readers there are only two options: live with your mind and heart directed toward this world, or live with your mind and heart directed toward the next world. We cannot misunderstand Jesus' words. I do not believe that he is saying, possessions are a bad thing. Such a conclusion would contradict the fact that "everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving" (1 Tim. 4:4). Sometimes the things that can be destroyed by moth and rust or stolen by thieves are good things. I believe that Jesus is saying, anything we make as a pursuit in itself, a goal toward which we turn our lives, an object that we use to judge the value of our lives, no matter how good it is, has suddenly become a bad thing. Not in itself, but because of what we have made it: an idol.

I was struck with the thought that as we live and work here, we have two options. We can live in Tanzania with our thoughts always directed to America, and demonstrate that our heart is not in what we have been called to. Or we can be thankful for all that God has given us, and even though we have had to leave much that we love back in the States, we can invest our hearts in Tanzania, serving the people we have been called to, laying up treasures in heaven.

Pray with us that our hearts will, everyday, be found more and more to be here in Tanzania.

Headed to Nyakaliro

Today, I headed to Nyakaliro. I started off the morning by making the six kilometer drive to Tumaini to pick up four children, two caretakers, Odilia (the nurse), and Happiness (Ferdinand's wife) at 7:30 AM. We drove into Mwanza, dropped Happiness off at the market to do the weekly purchasing for Tumaini and brought the children, caretakers and nurse to the regional hospital for their monthly checkups.

I did a whole assortment of errands for the morning and returned home to grab lunch and get my bag.

I am going into town with Rob to check the ferry across the inlet and head to Nyakaliro for a seven-night stay with Pastor Elias and his family. I will be doing more language and culture study. I will fill you in on what the specific topics were that I studied when I get back.

I will have no internet access out there, but I will still be blogging. I have scheduled some posts to  throughout the week that will automatically update while I am gone.

Please pray that my time in Nyakaliro will be a profitable one. I am doing research to write a major paper about Sukuma culture (the Sukuma are the people that we are working with), and I will share more about this with you in the future. Pray for safety in my travel (transportation and road conditions can be crazy) and endurance and energy throughout the week (I will be speaking Swahili for seven days straight with no more than a couple of hours of English). Ask God to help me be an encouragement to the believers in Nyakaliro.

Big Day

Today's service was great. We will try to post some pictures of it as we are able to get them from Rob. Thanks for your prayers.

Holding Firm to the Trustworthy Word

You may remember that it was a little over 8 months ago that my church, Parkers Lake Baptist Church, requested a group of pastors and seminary professors to examine my beliefs and calling to the ministry in order to give the church a recommendation about ordaining me. You can read about it here and here. Today, I was able to participate in a similar examination, or ordination council, only this time I was asking questions instead of answering them.

Samsoni Madoshi was called by the church in Shadi to be their pastor. Kanisa la Kibaptisti la Neema la Shadi (Grace Baptist Church of Shadi) called a council together to examine Samsoni's doctrine and calling to the ministry. I joined Pastor Elias (of the church in Nyakaliro) and Pastor Paulo (of the church in Shadi, who was able to be in attendance, looking much better today and thankful for your prayers), along with Rob, Dr. Dawson, and Pastor Doran in asking various theological questions to Samsoni to determine his understanding of biblical truth and evaluate his testimony.

The title to this post is taking from Titus 1:9- Paul's instruction to Titus about the kind of man who is qualified to be an elder in the church. "He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also rebuke those who contradict it." The reason for an ordination council is to examine a man's understanding of the Word, to see if he is fit to fulfill this qualification. Samsoni did an excellent job at answering the questions clearly and confidently.

I used my Swahili to ask a couple of questions and to get clarification on a couple of answers, and I was understood. I was happy. It appears that Samsoni, with his growing knowledge of God's word is the kind of man who will "hold firm." We gave a hearty recommendation to the church that they ordain Samsoni, and the church happily accepted our recommendation. 

Tomorrow, we will attend a combined service of the Shadi and Sweya churches in Shadi. The worship service will include Samsoni's ordination, his installation as the pastor of the church, well as the formal turn-over of the work to the church.

As a side-note, this was the first council that Pastors Elias and Paulo have participated in since their own ordination. They took the council very seriously, and I was excited to hear the thoughtfulness of their questions. They have understood that their important role in safeguarding the doctrine of the church.

Thank the Lord for the things he has done!

P.S. New pictures in the Family Album.

In a Nutshell

This morning, I was in the office reading a third year history book in Swahili. Lunch with the Howells and Eads', Beth, Dr. Dawson and Pastor Doran. More reading and translating in the afternoon. Spaghetti for supper. Kicked around a soccer ball with some boys from the Sweya church. Time with the kids.

I am going to bed.

Guests and Graduates

Yesterday, Pastor David Doran arrived to Mwanza here. He is the senior pastor of Inter-City Baptist Church, in Allen Park, MI. Inter-City is a supporting church of ours, and it is the church that sent Rob Howell and his family here to initiate the work we are a part of. Inter-City partnered with our church, Parkers Lake Baptist Church, and is facilitating our being here through their ministry, Grace Baptist Mission. Our family has really enjoyed getting to spend some time with Pastor Doran while he is here. This morning, Jana, the kids, and I went to town with him to town to eat breakfast and get to talk. It was an encouraging time.

I had already mentioned that Dr. Sam Dawson has also been here visiting for the past week. He has been teaching through the book of Romans in a block class for the Bible Institute. They finished their study of that book today. Our kids have really enjoyed this "grandpa-in-training" (Dr. Dawson is expecting his first grandchild in April) and so have we.

Today was the graduation of four Bible Institute students: Ferdinand, Paulo, Elias, and Samsoni. They have labored for four long years to complete the program, making many sacrifices to become better ministers of the gospel. Ferdinand is the director of Tumaini Children's Home. Paulo is the pastor of the Sweya church. Elias pastors the Nyakaliro church. Samsoni is the intern at the Shadi church, but on Saturday, he will have his ordination council. Sunday, he will be installed as pastor of the Shadi church, and the church will officially be handed over to the believers there. (Elias and Paulo were ordained last year.)

What an exciting week to see the work of God move forward in Mwanza region! Rejoice with us in the great things that God has done (and is doing).

Just a note: It was -30 degrees (real temp, not wind-chill) in my home state of Minnesota, USA today. It was nearly 110 warmer here in Mwanza!

Hospital Visit

Pastor Paulo, the pastor of the church in Sweya, has a very bad case of malaria. He has been admitted to the hospital and, with the medication, we are praying that he begins improving soon. However, he is in a lot of pain and is rather lethargic when we went to see him at the hospital today. I would ask that you all pray for him, as he was admitted just the day before he was to graduate from the Bible Institute (Graduation for four of the students is tomorrow). More on graduation tomorrow.