Shades of Mission Work

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If We Faint Not….

Consider the ever changing faces of the harvest fields, how the seasons determine the farmer’s plans, the time for planting and the time for sowing, for reaping and the work and the effort put into each crop that can vary from place to place. How life changes so drastically between the dry and rainy season here in Tanzania! How the lack of harvesters may actually hinder the yield.

Luke 10:2 “Therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”

And in that, you see the reason and need for our family and our fellow missionaries being here, serving in the mission field of East Africa and the great need for missionaries all across the world!

There are so many great mission works across the brotherhood, so many people in need of the gospel, so many areas unreached by the word! Some fields are soft and easily broken up, others have to be rid of the rocks and thorns, and in each area a different level and method of farming has to be used to fit the field. No two villages or cities are the same! No two harvesters will swing every seed in the same manor, at the same speed, or the same fashion. Then there’s the rotation of the crops, the trials and use of various different fertilizers and tools. The different uncontrollable variables, in God’s hands that affect the harvest as well as the harvesters, that are just out of our control.

Amos 4:7 “And also I have withheld the rain from you, when there were yet three months to the harvest: and I caused it to rain upon one city, and caused it not to rain upon another city: one piece was rained upon, and the piece whereupon it rained not withered.”
He sends the needed rains, and it’s in His time and in His season and not our own. It’s in His appointed time that the blessing will flow. Jeremiah 5:24 “… Let us now fear the LORD our God, that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season: he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.” And the fact that over all, it is God who gives the increase, but it is also how we have worked together and prepared that field that will ultimately also play a role in the reaping of its harvest! Are we prepared for the blessing that he has laid up in store?

1 Corinthians 3:6 “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.”

My time spent here in the mission field will forever bring up memories of great reward, emotionally and spiritually, lasting friendships and people who have forever changed my life for the good. These are people who are more like family, than I have ever realized in so many ways. The individuals who have come and gone through our home working side by side with in short term works as well as those who have been here time and time again, and can’t seem to get the love of Africa out of their system! There are the challenges that have been faced together and met in the midst of everything going on around us. There are sometimes differences in opinions coming from, individuals and families from all walks of life, where our strengths and abilities vary in all areas, yet everyone working together for a common goal. This is what makes it all worthwhile! Today as I was sitting in Bible Class listening to Josephat Massawe teach the Adults Bible class at Moshi, and I began listening closer to the words in Swahili than I had ever found myself before. You see at times when you are waiting with the delay in translation you find yourself searching for what you expect to come next. What pieces of words you can translate on your own and wait with anticipation to make sure that what you’re thinking you hear is correct as they come from the lips of the translator. But this morning, and old familiar passage became more real than I had ever seen it before. Looking at Luke Chapter 5 and thinking about writing this article at the same time and how the two became entwined in my head, well... that's just the way, my brain works. I knew I wanted to write to you about the variables and many different shades of Mission work, and here's what began to stand out in the text.

Verse 4 "Put out into the Deep!"
Verse 5 "At thy word, I WILL!"
Verse 8 "Fall down before Jesus"
Verse 10 "Fear Not! For now you will be Fishers of Men!"
Verse 11 "They left all and followed Him!"
Verse 12 "Fall on your face, and seek God! And say, Lord if Thou Will"
Verse 15 "Gather together to learn!"
Verse 16 "Jesus withdrew himself and prayed"
Verse 22 "Why reason in your hearts?"
Verse 26 "Be amazed and glorify God, but with fear!"
Verse 27 "Jesus said, FOLLOW ME!"
Verse 31 "It's those who are sick who are in need of a physician"
Verse 32 "Call the sinners to repentance, not the righteous"
Verse 34 "Rejoice, Jesus is with you"
Verse 35 "Pray & Fast in those days to come!"

The picture was so clear, it said exactly what I was trying to find the words to express! There’s no way to truly explain what you face in the mission field, it changes from day to day, but the basics stay the same. When you work as a team of Missionaries as we do here in Tanzania, you have many families all focused on the work at hand, who have all selflessly given up their safe lives at home in the States, to answer the call to “go” to be here for a greater good, in a foreign land, to work for the cause of Christ and taking the Gospel to a lost and dying world, teaching them to obey all that the Lord has commanded, a daily routine in their lives. Mark 16:15 “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” And then again here in Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen”. And that is our goal! To continue each and every day, to reach just one more! We all have so many amazing days and even a few rough days along the way, but we all have to learn to let God’s love and the example of Christ grow within us and let our own will and desires decrease and God’s will prevail and increase. John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease” Where ever the gospel seed is planted, in time it shall be reaped, if we faint not… under the trials and rocks that must be lifted, all of the hard work prevails, when it’s being blessed by God.

Galatians 6:9 “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

God’s will being for the harvest to continue to grow, for the fields to be prepared with tenderness and love, nourished and plowed, and for His fruits to become ripe, for the seeds to continue to be planted time and time again, for a time of reaping to come and then for His threshing floor to be what separates the good from the bad grains in the end. We are all just commanded to press on and answer that calling to “Go” and bring forth good fruits, sowing the seeds of the Kingdom where ever we may go.

We all learn so much along the way, in the area of working together side by side. We grow as we learn and from there, we are blessed to serve such a mighty and gracious God, who sees our weaknesses and in those times allows us to be made strong! “And he said unto me, my grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

This week, this whole month actually we've been trying to slow things down a bit to get a breath of fresh air before the campaign season begins to get underway! But it seems the more we try to rest, the more things just pile on top! Brent taught Classes earlier this week in Arusha at ACSOP and then the Samford’s Container arrived which we had put some things on while we were home in the states. Brent’s tools being one of the most important items, so we went up to help unload and let the kids play together with their friends! Little Aubrey ran up to me and said, “Miss Julie I got toys!” with that sweet little grin! Then she and Gracie ended up playing with the boxes in the driveway more than anything else while their daddies worked together to get their refrigerator connected. So we made the girls a little cardboard playhouse from the large box and they just loved it!

Brent was so excited to get a hold of his tools that he began working at the house right away, to get a few things scratched off the “hunny-do” list that we’ve been putting together for him. After a long hunt for dry wood in the middle of the rainy season, and then settling for some kind of dry wood, He built a much needed shelf for the pantry and hung my kitchen cabinet doors up. The house is a work in progress! But I do love how cozy it all is! It’s much smaller than where we were, but also so much more like home! The big dilemma has been its African construction, it has no closets or storage space. We have to get creative with ways places to store things. If you have any ideas, send them our way! One of my favorites so far has been to store your extra sheets between the mattresses on your beds in each room! But tucking away suitcases, blankets, towels, sheets, and hanging clothes has been the major problem area. It’s all concrete walls and floors, which reminds me of something else Nanny will love to hear from this week’s events!

~ Garrett was mopping his bedroom, and slipped and busted out his front 4 teeth on that concrete floor. He broke one in half and chipped the other three! I know it had to hurt, poor thing but he scraped the paint off the floor with his teeth, leaving a constant reminder mark of the incident! And now we’ll be making an unexpected trip to the dentist in Arusha ASAP when they have an appointment available, to see if they can somehow fix them! (Tonight at Church Abigail was telling Garrett that if he was a Tanzanian girl that broken jagged teeth are a sign of beauty! Garrett didn’t laugh, but she sure thought it was funny!)It will be funny after we get them fixed!

But the house is something we’ve been trying to get in order. It seemed like we moved in and the guests began to arrive, and seminars just followed one right after the next! Since the pipes busted about a month ago we’ve been without hot water all throughout the house and I guess I had just gotten used to it until Gracie mentioned it the other night at the Dinner table to Callie she asked, “Do you have hot water at your home in America?” ~ We all had to laugh! We’ll get it fixed, it’s just a matter of getting a plumber out when we’re here to stand around watching him get it done! We’ve been trying to get an electrician here all week to get the washing machine and generator connected, but they will say they’ll be here on Thursday at noon and then arrive sometime around Saturday at 10:00, so you just have a hard time catching them at the gate! We have ceiling fans bought, to try to battle the Moshi humidity, here in the rainy season, without air-conditioners we are fan dependant! So you can see all of the things that are looming in the air to get done! I did find my paints in one of the boxes off the container and found time to paint Garrett a giraffe on his bedroom wall and begin decorating the living room with little touches of creativity! (Something I’ve wanted to do, ever since we made the move!)

We returned to the Nursery school this week to begin teaching once again, on Tuesdays. The children had been out this month on their "Spring Break" which I think is more of a farming community break during the beginning of the rains! The whole village is just flooded out, and the children arrive covered in mud, but smiles from ear to ear and ready to learn! I had one of the Christians from the Moshi congregation to tell me what a blessing she thought this school was to the children of Boma Ngombe and how she wished there had been a Christian school available for her children to attend as they were growing up. Most schools here, are privatly run and are mostly Catholic and Muslim based, so just having the freedom and the choice to send your child to a Christian school is so rare and unique of an oppertunity in this country! I am reminded of that daily as I see these children praying before classes begin and before returning home at the end of the day and having Bible Class taught in their school, which will certainly strengthen the future of the Lord's church in this region as these children grow and mature in the faith! It's just a great blessing to be involved with!

The kids are working hard at their school work trying to finish out the year in the next 5 weeks! This means grading, grading and more grading for mom! I tell you though, honestly, the more time we’re here around the house the more I find that needs to be done, and it makes it hard to just find time to sit and relax!

Brent preached this evening at Moshi, while the Jensen’s were in Arusha for the final day with their visiting family! George’s brother Ronald and his wife Jennifer Jensen have been here with us for the past week and a half. Our time with short term guests goes by way too fast it seems! We just wish we had more time to spend together with them all! Cy & Stephanie are just about to begin their journey back this way, and we’ll have some special guests arriving from Alabama, from the Cottondale & Mayfield Congregations. Cotton Box and Dupree Galloway are more like adopted Grandpaws to the kids than guests! Keep their safe travels in your prayers! We are anxiously awaiting the sweet hugs from familiar faces! Thank you all so much for every encouraging word and email you send our way! I can’t even begin to tell you how much they mean to us all! We love you!

May God Continue to bless you in every Good effort you are sowing!
Love in Christ,
Julie Richardson

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Photos

The lives we touch
You never know who you're going to meet and what needs you will find.

Mt Kilimanjaro on a clear cloudless day
on the road to kibosho

LOVE
Vanesssa telling Emily she loves her!

House to House
Homes just outside the city limits of Moshi

Emily & Julie at Moshi Sunday Morning
She's growing up so fast!

The Church & School building in Soweto
The Kilimanjaro Church of Christ

The kids playing in the boxes
Aubrie & Gracie making the most of the mess! enjoying the boxes!

Over an open flame
Cooking with a friend...

Bonnie peeking in at her STUFF
The Container finally arrived