Pressing On!

What about the unreached Datooga tribe? Our burden and vision for the Datooga tribe is still the heartbeat of our ministry. Living in the small town of Katesh, we are surrounded by several people groups, including the Datooga (Barabaig), Iraqw, Wanyaturu, and several other smaller groups. While most of the Datooga still live in the villages surrounding Katesh, we have been able to minister to those who do live in or near town. We praise the Lord that two Datooga men were recently saved and baptized in the Katesh church. We also praise the Lord that there is one Datooga man who has recently joined our Bible Institute program. Please pray that the TRUTH Center and the Katesh church will have the opportunity to reach the thousands of people in the surrounding villages as our vision continues to grow.

Truth Center Progress! The TRUTH Center is now in the final stages of construction. The walls are being plastered, windows and doors are going in, and soon the construction will be completed. Although construction is not finished, we have already seen the Lord blessing at the property. In June we had open air evangelistic meetings in the field next to the TRUTH Center. Praise the Lord for 15 souls who made professions of faith. We also used the newly-built baptismal to baptize 5 believers. Please pray for the completion of the construction and the needed funds to reach our goal.

Missions Giving Started! God is continuing to build and strengthen the local church in Katesh. We have just finished almost three months of teaching on tithing, offerings, and missions giving. We praise the Lord for an increase in the offerings over the last few months and especially for the commitment to give towards missions. Praise the Lord that this young church not only pays its own bills each month, but will soon begin supporting national missionaries. Please pray for the church as it also begins to support Assistant Pastor Eliya full-time in the months to come.

Day Off and Daddy Time. Steve has enjoyed spending time with Hannah and Caleb on his day off each week. They enjoy dirtbike rides to the amazing crater and climbing "Hannah's Hill" with a picnic lunch.

A Busy June

It is hard to believe that 2007 is already half over, and that we've been back in Tanzania for nearly 4 months now! And the month of June has flown by for us as well, as we've been incredibly busy and blessed in our lives and ministry.

Revival Services/Youth Rally
The Wolfs came back just in time for our special revival meetings, which were held June 22-24. Five young men came from the Baptist church in Arusha to assist us with outreach, and we had a Tanzanian man named John come from the Mwanza area, where he serves as a missionary. After the morning services, we had a meal together, and then spent the afternoon canvassing the town, passing out tracts and invitations to the other activities. In the evenings, we met down at the TRUTH Center, where we played volleyball, big ball, and soccer. Following the games, there was special music and then a gospel message given by John, while the children were taken aside by the youth and taught a separate lesson. We praise the Lord that we were able to lead 15 people to a saving knowledge of Jesus, and this week we have been eagerly visiting them and following up on their decisions. Please pray that those who attended the revival services will become faithful members of our church family.

The TRUTH Center
This week the roofs are being built at the TRUTH Center. We know it won't be long and all of the buildings will be complete--isn't that exciting? Since we had the evening sessions of the rally at the TRUTH Center, we were able to get a picture of what it will be like when we are using that facility every day of the week, for God's glory--the future is bright! We praise the Lord that funds continue to come in for the furnishings, but please do pray about the remaining $10,000 that is needed to reach our goal.

Kenya

The first week of June, we went to Kenya for 3 main reasons. First of all, to see the Wolfs (our partners here in Katesh) who had been in Nairobi for 2 months for the birth of their first child. We were so thrilled to meet little Hayden Nathaniel, who was born on May 15th. What a beautiful baby, and what content parents! Our second reason for going to Kenya was to have a little fun (fun for us is going out to restaurants, shopping malls, and playgrounds!), and we spent two days doing that. Our third reason was to visit the ministry of Jerry Daniels in Nanyuki. When we have shared our vision for Katesh and the Hanang District, many people have told us, "That sounds just like what the Daniels are doing in Kenya!" So for many years we have wanted to see their work first-hand, to get ideas and advice, and mainly just to be encouraged that this vision can, in fact, be accomplished. It was an incredibly profitable time, and we are so thankful that the Wolfs were able to go as well, so that as a team we could see what God has done in Nanyuki. Steve and Nate enjoyed talking to Jerry and the Kenyan pastor, and I (Natalie) spent two days at their preschool, trying to form a model in my mind of what our school should be like. While in Nanyuki, which is located on the Equator, we were also able to go on a safari, where our favorite animals were the chimpanzees and "Morani", a "tame" rhino.

Happy Birthday, Caleb!

On Monday, June 25th, we were thrilled to celebrate our son Caleb's 3rd birthday! He has been looking forward to his Spider-man birthday party for several months now, and was not disappointed. Our good friends, Rodney and Lynn Myers, along with their children, Shawn, Jamison, Moriah, and Cherith, drove an hour and a half from Babati to join us for this special day. The Wolfs were there as well, along with Heather's parents visiting from Michigan. Caleb is such a joy to our family, and we can't imagine our lives without him.

Did You Know?

Many times people ask what we do during the week. Sometimes we get so busy in our routine that we forget to mention the ministries that occur on a weekly basis. On Wednesday afternoons we visit those who have visited our church. On Wednesday evenings we have Bible study at church, which is a special and informal time when everyone sits in a circle and listens to teaching from God's Word, and then the floor is open for questions and discussion. On Thursdays we have a Bible club in the field behind our house. On Fridays we teach a Bible class at the secondary school. On Saturdays we have church cleaning in the morning, followed by a meeting to plan the service for the following day. Everyone who comes for church cleaning is given some sort of job in Sunday's service, whether it be welcoming guests, praying for the offering, or sweeping the floor before church. On any given Saturday, we also have discipleship classes, Bible school classes, or a ladies meeting. On Saturday afternoons, we teach another Bible club at the local government orphanage. On Sunday mornings, we have Sunday school at 9am for the children, and then the service at 10am for the adults. On Sunday afternoons at 4pm, we have a youth service where we play volleyball and other games, sing songs, and have a challenge from the Bible. There are so many more ministries that we would like to start once we have the facilities of the TRUTH Center at our disposal. Please begin now to pray with us that God would burden specific people in our church to oversee new ministries.

On a Personal Note...

Thankfully we are all healthy at the moment, for the most part. This time of year is very chilly and windy (in the low 50's) so we have colds and coughs from time to time (even in Africa!). Hannah and Caleb are doing well with homeschooling. We will try to finish Hannah's K-4 year by December 1st, and she and Caleb will attend the school that we will be starting at the TRUTH Center in January (although I will continue supplementing their studies at home). My father will be arriving on July 1st for 5 weeks to continue with his water projects. Please pray for good success in those efforts. All in all, we are so thankful for our life here in Tanzania, and for the ministry of which we are privileged to be a part. We so appreciate your prayers and correspondence. May God bless each of you in the place where He has you!

Teaching All Things

Matthew 28:20 "Teaching them to observe all things." An important part of the Great Commission is not only to preach the gospel, but to teach and train believers in the faith. We praise the Lord for 6 souls recently saved, and also for the opportunity to teach and train believers thus fulfilling the second half of the Great Commission.

The Katesh church had its first two graduates of the Bible Institute. Eliya and Ester are a husband and wife team who have been actively involved and instrumental in the church. Eliya has served as assistant pastor and Ester is now scheduling all the children's ministries and is an excellent Sunday School teacher. This month 7 new students will start the Bible Institute program which requires them to be actively involved in the ministries of the church.

Recently we had an Evangelism seminar where 15 people learned about the importance of personal evangelism and also techniques to use while sharing their faith. Those who attended are using what they learned to share God's Word with lost family, friends, and neighbors.

The TRUTH Center construction continues and the walls for all the buildings are now complete. Excitement is growing in the church and community. Lord-willing, the roofs will be going up soon and the grand opening and dedication is still planned for late October. Please continue to pray for the $10,000 still needed for the furniture, supplies, and equipment for this ministry center.

Water, Weddings, and Walls

Water: Praise the Lord water was found in the village of Simbay! This village is where we started our first church in 2002. At that time we began working with the village leadership in trying to solve the water crisis there. Lance Whyle, Natalie's father, led the project and after two attempts at drilling over the last two years water came rushing out of the ground. The villagers were excited to say the least. We were able to hand out hundreds of gospel tracts and share the hope of the "Living Water", Jesus Christ, with the crowd who had gathered. Drilling will continue in three other villages in the weeks to come. In July, hand pumps will be installed and these new wells will be dedicated to the Lord.

Weddings: On Sunday May 6 we were able to see two young couples unite in marriage during a special church service. These young couples were already living together for some time but felt the Lord convicting them about not being married. Please pray for these couples and for others like them as they grow in the Lord.

Walls: The walls are now going up on the TRUTH Center buildings. It is exciting to see things starting to take shape. It is also exciting to "need" these new buildings as we are growing out of our current rented one. For the past several weeks we have had full services and some standing in the back for lack of seating. Please continue to pray for the construction of the TRUTH Center and the ministry it will have. Please continue to pray for the needed $14,000 to complete the project with furniture, equipment, and start-up supplies.

No Other Foundation

"For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 1 Cor 3:11

I was told by the building contractor that laying the foundation is the most important and also the hardest part of building. The foundation's quality will determine the strength of the building which is built upon it.

The foundation for all that we do in ministry here in Tanzania is the Lord Jesus Christ. For two years now we have been preaching salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ and building a local church on this truth. Upon this foundation we are seeing people make spiritual decisions that are changing their lives. We had "standing room only" attendance for our Easter service and celebrated the resurrection of our Lord with believers baptism. (Picture: Assistant Pastor Eliya baptizing a new believer.)

Speaking of foundations, the foundations for the TRUTH Center buildings are now completed. All of the work is being done by hand, including making cement blocks on the building site, and the digging of a 15-foot deep septic tank. Construction will continue with the walls going up in the weeks ahead.

Please continue to pray for the spiritual foundation that we are laying here in Katesh, Tanzania. Pray also for the contruction of the TRUTH Center which will be built on the spiritual foundation of the way, the TRUTH, and the life, Jesus Christ.

Services on Sunday, April 1st

We were once again so pleased to have such great attendance at church! We had 51 adults in the morning service, and since we only have about 45 seats, some folks had to stand, but our church people were thrilled to be faced with such a "problem"! We plan to buy 10 more chairs this week. Praise the Lord, Mama Ema was able to lead one woman to the Lord following the service. In the evening youth service, we had about 40 young people there to play volleyball and we also introduced them to UNO. They loved it! It was funny to hear them shout, "UNO!", no doubt the first Spanish word they've ever spoken. We were also glad that many of those who accepted Christ last week came to church again this week. Now we are trying to get them to commit to going through our discipleship lessons. Please pray for these new believers.

Progress on the TRUTH Center

These days we have a hard time keeping ourselves away from the land in the middle of town where the TRUTH Center is being built! We have been so pleased with our contractor to this point. Steve is thrilled that he has not personally been bothered with the details of the project. Our initial fear was that he would constantly be hounded anytime they ran out of nails or someone showed up late for work! But once we signed that contract and paid him half his money, the contractor has just taken over and run the whole show. Last week they laid the foundations for the two main buildings, and this week they are making the cement blocks to begin building the walls. Steve told the contractor he just wants to be able to see a little progress each day, and we haven't been disappointed. Please continue to pray for our church people as they raise the $500 to bring water to the site. They have quite a ways to go, but are excited about the challenge.