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| Gloria and Lydia Mbeba outside the Mbeba home in Magu |
Monday morning, the
first week of February (February 2-6), we drove the three and a half hours to
Mwanza, to join Bishop Albert Randa for a week-long training for 5 candidates
for ordination.
On the way, we
stopped in the town of Magu to see Lydia Mbeba, whose husband, retired Bishop
Joram Mbeba, recently died. She told us how on that day, he wanted to sing the
hymn, “Thou my everlasting portion” (Bwana, u sehemu yangu). In the evening he
looked up (he has been blind the last few years) and his spirit soon left his
body peacefully. |
| Pastoral candidates and their wives at the seminar in Mwanza, |
In Mwanza, we met
the pastoral candidates. Four of them came with their wives. This is a new
development in two ways. First, a lengthy training for pastoral candidates is
not usually held. Second, inviting the spouse to attend is also new. But as we
worked with the group, we sensed how much the spouses gained through the
training, and how much strength that will bring to the ministry of the new
pastor. Only one of the candidates is from a church family. The others are all
from villages in outlying areas. Two of them said they came to faith through evangelism
efforts in the diocese a few years ago. One of the wives is from a Muslim
family. Bishop Randa taught them church polity and practices, we focused on broader
leadership issues, such as working together in ministry as husband and wife.
Mwanza Diocese takes
seriously the needs of rural villages. Many of the villages in rural Tanzania
have little, if any, church presence. But the people are hungry for teaching
and worship. These new pastors will be working in those areas. They also face
the challenge of constructing church buildings. Two of the new pastors have
started building and are working to gather funds to complete them.
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| Group of leaders and church members gathered "under the trees" in Turugeta village to hear about Bible training. |
The week of February
16-19, we joined Pastor Eliud Munanka in Tarime Diocese in visiting new
churches that have been started in the past year. Last July, a team of
evangelists visited 3 rural communities west of Tarime with the Jesus film. The
communities were chosen because of their location in an area with few churches.
In each of the communities, a group of 30 to 50 people responded with
commitment to form a new church. In August, the team visited another village
with similar results. They expressed their desire for teaching, and the diocese
will be providing the TEE program (extension Bible studies) to them. Since they
do not have church buildings, the groups meet in local primary school
classrooms. |
| Pastor Munanka and church elder Aidan Mwita looking at the plot purchased for a church building in Korotambe village. |
The news we hear in
developing countries is not always positive, including the church. But in these
two areas, the church is growing and people are finding hope in their new-found
faith.
