Our Sunday in Magadini

The church in Tanzania has grown tremendously over the past few years. Many congregations have been initially established, but one of the greatest needs in the mission work here has been a plan for follow-up teaching to ground new Christians in the faith. One of the goals that George and Christopher Mwakabanje have for this year is to visit some of the outlying congregations in our general area, and offer to come and teach some special classes to help them grown in Bible knowledge.

The first visit of the year was planned for Magadini, which is located about an hour out of Moshi, in barren bush country. George and Christopher wisely chose not to tell them we were coming. It is frequently the case that when congregations in Africa know ahead of time that a visitor is coming, they will persuade many to attend, in order to give the appearance of a larger group.

We picked up Christopher, along with two of his children Sunday morning, and made our way to Magadini. We had a little trouble finding the exact location. Christopher knew where it was located, but we got off on a wrong trail, and had to backtrack just a bit. We finally found our location, and pulled up under a tree, to find a woman sweeping the ground where they meet for services.

At the present time, there are two families who make up the congregation, and upon our arrival, we found that there had been some division, and even though the families live near one another, one family has been choosing to worship by themselves, in their home. The other family, who was present for worship, has many obstacles yet to overcome. Before learning the gospel, the man took a second wife, since his first wife was only able to bear one child. He now has one child by the first wife, and six by the second. When this man learned the gospel, he came to the knowledge that he does not have the right to the second wife, who lives a short walk away from him and his first wife. It seems he has made an attempt to separate himself from the second wife, but she continues to pursue him. This is very difficult, because while he does not have the right to be with the second wife, he still has the obligation to care for his children.

Several children carried benches from the house nearby, to our spot under the tree. One of the little girls started crying when she saw us. Previously, some white folks had come in the same kind of vehicle that we have, and tested them for malaria, so naturally, the child thought that we had come to prick her finger, and she didn’t like that one bit! One of the little boys was quite friendly, and after sitting with his baba (father), who was next to Jacob, he made his way to Jacob’s lap and took a nap during services.

George taught a Bible class on the “Joy of Worship”, and then a sermon on “Developing a Spiritual Life”, with Christopher translating. When it came time to have the Lord’s Supper, we discovered that no plans had been made to have that part of worship. This is not an uncommon occurrence in many places here, and knowing that this might be the case, we came prepared with unleavened bread and grape juice. This is another reason not to give advanced notice of our coming. We can better assess the current practices of the congregation, so that we can teach them more accurately.

After services, we were invited to the home of the family, and so we made our way there through the hot sand, and sat under the shade. They provided sodas for our refreshment. George and Christopher walked to the nearby home of the other family, and persuaded the husband and wife to come and talk together, which they did. We sat for some time, while Christopher provided some mediation, and at the conclusion, the two men hugged one another, and it appeared that some unity had been restored. George and Christopher offered to return at a later date and hold a seminar. They will reply later.

We share the details of our day, not to merely show the weaknesses of these individuals, but to give you a realistic picture of the work that is before us, and some insight into the challenges that many African people must face when they learn the gospel. The price of sin is steep. We know that obedience to the gospel can not only save one’s soul for eternity, but the practice of biblical principles can help people avoid the costly consequences of sin in this life. This is why we feel compelled to work in Africa.

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