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| Pastor Ibrahim giving words of encouragement. |
Sunday, May 10, we worshiped in Kapozwa, a village about 60
miles southwest of Sumbawanga, only a couple miles from the Zambia border. The
first Mennonite church in this part of Tanzania was in Kapozwa, started in the
late 1970’s by John Sikazwe and several Moravian friends, after they read about
Mennonites in a church history book. They contacted the Mennonite church office
Musoma, and with their encouragement, soon after organized themselves as
Mennonites. Sikazwe was ordained later as the first pastor of the church.
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Following the worship service, believers gathered to
choose their leaders. |
Pastor Sikazwe moved to Sumbawanga town in 1983 to start a
new Mennonite congregation. The church in Kapozwe continued for another 10
years, but eventually closed due to lack of leadership. Pastor Sikazwe retired
in 2012.
The new pastor, Ibrahim Samuel, came to Sumbawanga in 2014
with new energy and vision. One of his dreams was to revive the church in
Kapozwa, along with starting new churches in several rural villages. The first part of that dream
was realized Sunday with the worship service held under a large mango tree,
followed by a meeting of local believers to organize the congregation. They
selected an evangelist/church leader, secretary, and treasurer by consensus
from among their group.
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Left side, Pastor Jakob Tanganyika,Treasurer Edod
Simkanya, Secretary Gines Mumbeya, Evangelist
Yeremiah Ntokwa, and Pastor Ibrahim Samuel. |
Ten families have been identified as participants in the new
congregation. We pray that the leaders will build unity and vision among the
participants. We also planning with Pastor Ibrahim to return to Kapozwa for teaching about Mennonite faith and church leadership.
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Kalambo Falls, on the border between
Tanzania and Zambia. |
The church acquired land for a church building years ago, but a building was not built. Pastor Ibrahim advised them to begin building the church this year, because that will give credibility in the village and will be a place to begin community ministries, such as a kindergarten.
After the worship service, our hosts took us to
see the Kalambo Falls, about 2 miles away, one of the highest waterfalls in
Africa, over 700 feet high. The Kalambo River flows into the south end of Lake
Tanganyika, about 6 miles downstream from the falls.
