In the countryside, the church is growing.

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.

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.