Happy Independence Day!

First of all, we'd like to wish all of you a Happy Independence Day! In the midst of the troublesome times looming in America, it is easy to focus on the negative; however, as Christians, we can always be thankful for the country we live in, and the freedoms that we enjoy. God has blessed each one of us in so many ways, and it would be appropriate to give God thanks.

We are finally past one of the busiest times of the year for us here in Tanzania. Campaign time is a wonderful time of year. We have the opportunity to enjoy fellowship and work side by side with visitors from the states. We get to participate in Bible seminars, with lessons for men and women. We get to have guests in our homes, share the gospel with others, teach children, and the list could go on. We would be untruthful, however, if we did not admit that it wears us out! This is a good thing, though, and we are so thankful to God for allowing us to be involved in this work. We are also thankful for the good health and safety with which we have been blessed.

In the midst of campaign time, Luke took his SAT test. We were thankful that he was able to take it at a location in Moshi, instead of having to make a special trip to Dar es Salaam. He's glad to have that behind him.

Since we live so close to the Samfords, I've started teaching a Bible class every Friday morning for Aubrie and Ayden. This gives us a good excuse to have them come over.

Today the missionaries got together to celebrate Independence Day. We all enjoyed a little respite from our daily responsibilities. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a picnic outdoors.

We hope you enjoy the pictures, which are a sampling of our activities of the past month. Hopefully it won't be so long until our next blog post!

In Him,
Joy

---

---