March marks ten months of life in Tanzania. In these ten months, I have learned that living in Tanzania as a teenager and as an adult are two completely different experiences. There was a lot going on behind the scenes in Chimala that I was simply unaware of as a child. Some days, it seems that all a missionary has time to do is put out fires! Certain challenges have not changed over the years, either. Patience is a virtue forced upon those living in Africa. Running a simple errand can take half the day. Waiting for a response to documents or applications can take months. Life moves at a slower pace, so a person has to adapt.
In our team's evangelism efforts here in Moshi, progress has been made. We go out several times a week to study God's word with interested Tanzanians. We visit door-to-door as well as pass out tracts on the street. Bible studies are held in homes as well as at the Kilimanjaro Bible School. It has been very encouraging to see members of the church become more involved in these efforts. There is truly a heart for evangelism in this congregation.
The last Saturday in March was our monthly Evangelism Day. We had another great turnout from local brethren and many people in Moshi were introduced to the church of Christ. Because this generates new Bible studies, the Moshi congregation stays busy following up with all the contacts.
One of my family's personal goals is to visit one area congregation per month. We want to meet the local Christians and establish a working relationship with as many congregations as possible. In March, we visited the Usa River congregation. Fariji Paul, the minister, and the entire congregation were so welcoming. Brother Fariji is a very hard worker who is always busy for the Lord. He and his wife have both participated in Moshi's evangelism efforts. We hope to reciprocate by helping that congregation with evangelism in the future.
Our congregation rejoiced this month over the baptism of a young Moshi man named Tumaini. He has been worshiping with the Kilimanjaro church for some time. Several members studied with him, and he finally decided to put on Christ in baptism. The congregation grew in another way, this month. Tumaini Mwanga (from Morombo) has moved to Moshi to work with the Bible School and to aid in evangelism efforts. It is very exciting to see this team grow! God is putting His plans in motion; we are honored to be part of what is coming.
The Moshi brethren are very enthusiastic about the upcoming events on our schedule. There will be a women's seminar at the end of April. Kristi Ferguson (from Chimala, Tanzania) will be a guest speaker. In May, we will host a 3-day campaign involving a group from Hattiesburg, MS. We have several small groups coming over this year, and each will be contributing in some way to local efforts.
Please pray that God's will be done in all places, and specifically in Moshi. Pray for wisdom on our part and the strength to do each task. Pray for an overwhelming response to the Gospel. Thank you for your continued support, for your prayers, for your visits, for your encouragement and your counsel. You make this possible!
In Christ,
Noel, Jessica, Lorelai, Claude, Arabella, & Juliette Stafford
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FROM JESSICA
Greetings from Tanzania! Time has flown by, once again, and we are celebrating another month of work here.
We stay busy with school and Swahili lessons, adventures in shopping, trips to the dentist/orthodontist (the glue here is apparently not strong enough for the Stafford chompers!), and various other bits of life.
I got to speak with Brother Keith Hovis and the Ladies Bible Class from the Lebanon church of Christ in Lebanon, VA. We did a Zoom call and I tried to give them a peek into our daily lives. You cannot know what it means to a missionary to know that our supporting congregations want to see our faces and hear our voices! The ladies asked about sending us care packages in the mail. We have had no luck receiving anything mailed to us so far (and that includes things that were mailed right after we landed 10 months ago). Currently, the only way we can reliably receive things is for visitors to offer us space in their extra suitcases. It means the world to us when visitors offer us that space!! Mr. Gary Fallis taught a short course in Arusha this month, and he was so kind as to bring us some goodies from the States. We cannot say enough about such kindness!
Our son Claude continues his unofficial "preacher training" by speaking sometimes on Wednesday nights. He is definitely overcoming his fear of public speaking, and we are working with him at home on his writing skills. My heart is just full when I see him making this effort!
Noel & Juliette celebrated their double birthday this month. Juliette was so proud to bake her own "Coca-Cola Cake" complete with homemade icing! Meanwhile, I am so happy to have found "the good flour" here. It has elevated our baking from tears-in-my-biscuits to smiles all around!
The Kisongo Bible School staff asked me to teach a 10-week physical education course for their newly-launched women's program. I teach on Monday afternoons, and it has been so much fun to put together these classes! We discuss a body system, hygiene for that system, common problems and their solutions, and we finish with exercises specific to that system. We focus on realistic, doable practices which are suitable for the life of a Tanzanian woman. I look forward to spending time with my students each week.
Our family is ever-grateful for the unique opportunity we have been granted. Living here is certainly challenging, but we are happy to be in this place, at this time, doing God's work. We are such imperfect people, yet God has seen fit to use us. We pray God's blessings upon you, our supporters, and we thank you for being senders!
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