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Published: March 20th 2011
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Visit with Sara
Left to right: Sara's neighbor - Rose, Sara, Rose's daughter and Sara's father, all standing in front of Sara's home. Business is picking up in Iringa! This past week has been filled with various activities, including new opportunities for teaching the gospel. Here is an overview of last week: Sunday was covered in our last blog, so I won't repeat those details.
Monday is our "day off". That means George tries to use that day to take care of household repairs (they never go away), as well as other miscellaneous activities. George and I ran some errands in town, and after we returned home George then took Lindsey out to lunch for a little father/daughter time. We were supposed to have language class in the afternoon, but our teacher had car trouble, so our class was postponed until Tuesday. We also received a package from my parents, which was a very nice treat!
Tuesday George finished taxes. It's an extra troublesome task since many figures have to be gathered from U.S. sources, but with the help of Turbo Tax, he's got them done! Yay! Normally we would have a class Tuesday afternoon, but since Zawadi was still sick with malaria, that class was postponed. Since Tuesday evening was open, we were able to have Swahili class which is
Iringa Town
In town doing errands normally on Monday evenings.
Wednesday George, Jacob, Lindsey and our translator Charles went to continue a Bible class they have been having with some ladies who live not too far away. This study is going very well. Wednesday evening we had a devotional with the Samfords and Charles at our house, which is our custom every Wednesday. Charles' wife, Editha, was not feeling well.
Thursday we went to visit Sara, one of the ladies of our congregation. We made arrangements to visit her and she had invited people to come to her home to have a Bible class. Her father was there, along with another lady, Rose, who is a neighbor. Sara said that some others wanted to come, but there was a funeral which a number of people were attending. That is such a common occurrence here; death is a very frequent reminder of the frailty of life, much more so than in the U.S. We had a class with those present, and we hope to set up a weekly study.
Almost every member of the church that we've met has an interesting and often sad history. In Sara's case, she used to live in Dar
Coke Stand
Coke is the universal beverage - it's not very good for you, but it's nice to have for a treat sometimes. :) es Salaam. As it was related to us, she came to pay a visit to her father, and while she was gone, her husband took another wife. Upon hearing that, Sara stayed here. She told us she was not able to attend worship for a year, as she had not yet found the Lord's church. She finally found the Lord's church in Iringa (the building is about 25 kilometers from her home). You might wonder why it would take so long to find the Lord's people. Sara lives out in a rural village. There's no such thing as a phone book with yellow pages or a quick search on the internet. Sara is the only Christian in her village. Though money does not come easy for her, she does what she can to make the trip alone, every Sunday, to worship with the saints. Sara seemed very happy that we took the time to visit her home.
Thursday evening George and I had another 2 hour Swahili class.
Friday morning I worked on some sewing and George made a quick trip to town to take care of paying some bills. There's no such thing as writing a check and sending a payment. One must go to town and stand in line to pay. (We have recently learned from Carey that it's possible to use our cell phones and send payments. Who knew? We just might have to look into that!) George and I went to lunch together. We both have felt like our time alone with one another has been put on the back burner way too much, and so we are trying to at least go out for a meal together every other week or so.
Saturday George, Jacob, Lindsey and our translator Charles had another study with generally the same group they studied with Wednesday. There is a new lady who was very interested in studying, but these days are not good for her schedule, so they have one scheduled with her this coming Tuesday. Many times, studying with one or two individuals opens up additional opportunities to study with other family members, friends and neighbors; such is the case here.
You may recall reading previous blogs in which we've requested prayers on behalf of Shauna Heck, a friend of our family; a young wife, as well as mother to two young children. Word was received Saturday that her almost two year battle with cancer has ended. Her pain and suffering have ceased, but not her influence. She was a wonderful example of Christian character and will be greatly missed by her family and friends. Her suffering has ended, but her family left behind has some huge adjustments to make. Would you please pray for the Morton and Heck families?
Thank you for your continued prayers and your financial support for our family and the work we are involved in here in Tanzania. We couldn't do it without you!
In Him,
Joy
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