Hi friends!
I love this time of year when the days get warmer and last a little longer, and I can enjoy being outside without getting carried off by mosquitos! I put in my vegetable garden about a month ago. Usually by now I’m getting excited about picking early peas and seeing summer vegetable seedlings changing to mature plants with blooms and promise of a coming harvest. This year I’m having an unexpected garden disaster! Nothing is really growing and a variety of critters are having their way with everything I’ve planted. Rabbits have eaten my baby beans and cucumbers. I replanted seeds again last week, but there’s evidence something has already dug them up before they’ve even sprouted. I noticed yesterday some “deer” friends have also enjoyed munching on my tomato plants. Oh, the joys of urban gardening!
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In Tanzania it’s the end of the rainy season. Each year Martin, one of our key national leaders, takes advantage of the rains by planting rice to help provide for his family. This year he planted 7 hectares (17.2 acres) of rice on a farm he rents. He and his wife are busy gathering the harvest this week. Martin always offers to share from his crop with me for my family. It’s such a generous gesture, I’m just not sure how that would go in US Customs if I try to bring a 50lb bag of rice back from Tanzania!
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Martin’s rice farm is in a village about 3 hours from his home. This week, each night after he finished working in his fields, he showed the Jesus film. Over 800 came to watch and 140 people prayed to received Jesus! He has connected these new believers with the local church to be discipled.
In addition to this, since I was last in Tanzania in February, Martin has started 3 new churches, showed the Jesus Film in 4 new areas where over 2000 people have come to watch and 350 people received Jesus! The new church in Nyasenga village baptized 17 people the very first Sunday they met together! Somehow Martin also found time to conduct Community Transformation training in 2 villages where he had previously planted churches. All of these places are where the true harvest is taking place!
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Martin praying with new believers
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Baptisms in Nyasenga
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The rest of our Tanzania team has been just as busy!
One of the most amazing updates from the past month is the formation of our first Digo church in a very remote village. For security reasons, I won’t mention the name of the village. Martin and a key national leader from the Digo area (I’ll refer to as IK) did Community Transformation training in this village a year ago.
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From that training, 4 groups started to meet regularly for prayer. These prayer groups began to have more interest in the Scriptures, so IK began to visit and share Bible stories with them. They organically grew into discipleship groups.
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Since January, these 4 discipleship groups began coming together for worship. Under the guidance of IK, they became a church!
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This is the first Digo church established entirely by insiders (Digo people), with no outsider (US team) presence!
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Since March, IK has been visiting weekly and leading the church each Sunday. There are now 40 Digo believers who are worshipping together each week and growing in their faith! 10 of these believers are ready to be baptized, but the challenge is that there is not an adequate place for baptism nearby and the cost of transportation to an area where they feel they can baptize properly is a hardship. Of course, we will not let transportation be a barrier to baptism and have arranged to cover this cost for any believers in the area that desire to make this public declaration of their faith.
We’ve been working by faith for 5 years in this hard Digo soil. The first few years we could not even say the name of Jesus. The seeds of Community Transformation have taken root and we are now seeing the fruit! The Lord has blessed this fruit and we know there will be an even greater harvest to come!
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I began working full-time with e3 Partners on May 1, 2014. I am so grateful for each of you who have partnered with me over the past 8 years in this journey. This truly is a partnership and you are an invaluable part of the ministry in Tanzania. Your faithful prayers have carried me through, as well as your financial support.
As you know, I am 100% donor supported as a full-time missionary. Many of you are monthly or annual supporters - THANK YOU! Your support to my personal missions account allows me to focus on leading our Tanzania and US teams to reach the lost and transform communities. My support situation has changed the past year due to losing a few supporters during Covid and an increase in personal and ministry expenses. I have a deficit in my monthly support and need to raise an additional $2,000 per month.
This is an urgent ministry need! If you are currently a monthly supporter, would you consider increasing your monthly giving? If you give annually, would you consider giving your annual gift now? If you love what God is doing in Tanzania but are not an active giver, would you prayerfully consider partnering financially?
If you would like to partner with me by giving monthly or a one-time gift to continue following God’s call to reach the unreached in Tanzania, just click the green button below to give online. If you would prefer to give by check, please contact me directly for information on how to do that. All gifts are 100% tax deductible!
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Join us in Tanzania!
There is still some crazy international travel stuff going on which has caused us to reschedule our June trip to September. The good thing about this delay is that now we are able to offer 2 trips, back-to-back.
I would love for you to join us on one or both trips! The cost of the second trip would be reduced if doing both back to back.
Trip 1: TZ22D - Sept. 7 - 17
Location: Tanga region, serving unreached Digo people group
Purpose: Entry phase in new unreached Digo village using Community Transformation to build relationships, open doors for spiritual conversations
Registration link: TZ22D
Trip 2: TZ22E - Sept. 15 - 26
Location: Bagamoyo (Pwani region) serving the unreached Zaramo people group
Purpose: Strengthen 3 local churches we have trained who are now doing outreach and evangelism with unreached Zaramo in their villages, then watch and assist them as they begin equipping and training believers in a new Zaramo area.
Registration link: TZ22E
Perhaps God is calling you to go with us? Contact me if you’re interested or would like to know more about these trips.
Together, we can continue transforming lives for God’s glory!
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- Pray for the faithful workers who are committed to sharing the Good News and loving their neighbors in ways that bear the fruit of sustainable transformation.
- Pray about partnering with me financially in personal ministry support, that my trust in God as our provider will increase during this time of growth.
- Pray for our Sept. trips, that God will bring the perfect teams together and as we make our plans and commit them to the Lord, He will guide our steps.
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I’ve been walking this journey in Tanzania for many years now, and it isn’t always easy. I give all glory to God for sustaining me, providing and continually lifting my head when I’ve been discouraged.
I love that God chooses to use ordinary people to accomplish His extraordinary mission, and I give God thanks every day for your willingness to partner with me in this mission work through prayer and financial support. Thank you for walking with me.
❤️ Susan
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Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6
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