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Monday, March 17, 2008

Building People at the TRUTH Center

Building Families and Children through the Truth Learning Center.

As a child, I (Natalie) always looked forward to the beginning of a new school year. Meeting my teacher and my classmates, buying new supplies, anticipating all of the exciting things I would learn --these are some of my favorite memories. However, I never could have dreamed that I would find myself on this end of the school system--as a teacher and manager of the Truth Learning Center! God blessed all the months of preparation as we opened our school on January 7th. We now have 24 children, ranging in age from 3 to 7. I have 3 assistants, and the day goes by quickly as we have Bible class, English, Math, Social Studies, and several activity centers. Tears come to my eyes as I listen to the children quote their Bible verses in English, some of whom knew nothing about Jesus before coming to our school. Please pray that we are able to lead these children to Christ, as well as impact their homes for God's glory.

Each week we have a different theme for the school, such as "I am Special" or "I Can Be Healthy" or "Farmers Help Us." All of our activities and lessons, and even the Bible story for the week, reflect these themes. The children have learned so much, even difficult concepts, from recycling and conserving, to the food pyramid and oxygen. During activity center time, they rotate to different activity centers every 15 minutes to put together puzzles, make a craft, learn vocabulary words, or memorize a poem. Nearly everything we do at our school is a completely foreign concept here in Katesh, where at most preschools there are over 100 children crammed into a room with no chairs, no visuals, no hands-on learning. We are gaining a positive reputation in the community, and our hope and prayer is that it will draw people to the church.

Several people have asked how they can contribute to the needs for the school. I very much appreciate the offers, and have compiled a list of some specific things that we need. Please contact us if you would like a copy of the list.

Building Future Leaders

We are blessed to be working with a fellowship of independent Baptist missionaries and national pastors/missionaries here in Tanzania. Several times throughout the year we all get together for fellowship, teaching, and prayer. We were privileged in February to have this meeting at the TRUTH Center with Truth Baptist Church hosting the meeting. Our local church people did a great job preparing and serving meals to the missionaries and pastors.


Building the local church--It is one thing to lead people to Christ, and it is an entirely different thing to disciple them and bring them to maturity in Christ so that they can lead others to the Savior. We are thankful for the 7 Bible Institute students who are actively involved in our ministries on a weekly basis. We are preparing a series of teaching on spiritual gifts to help people identify how God can use them to serve in the local church. Please do pray for the members of our church, that they will truly know what it means to live in Christ.
TRUTH Center DVD--A new DVD documenting the construction and dedication of the Truth Center is now complete and available at no cost. Please contact us if you would like a copy of this DVD.