Dear Co-Workers:
Quote of the Week: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, SO THAT you may PROCLAIM the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light..." I Peter 2:9
The verse above was used in Cy Stafford's closing remarks which brought our 12th annual Leadership Seminar to a end. Cy spoke of how Christians must work together for the good of the nation...having one voice, one mind and one heart. The theme of the seminar was "Shaping a Nation for Service to God" and all the lessons were taken from 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. What a wonderful spiritual feast it was and a great time of fellowship with evangelists and their wives, good old regular members, and past students, guests from the states, etc.
Trina loved "re-connecting" with her good long-time friend, Neema, who only lives across town but due to their busy lives, had not had much time to get together to talk. Sean Hochdorf was tasked with organizing the entire event and did a great job. God's Word does not return to him void and it is our belief that the church grew in their knowledge, trust and dependence upon God this week. We appreciate all the people who worked to make this seminar a success.
Although our girls attended most of the classes, they also enjoyed helping out in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and washing dishes. Heather and Candace also helped to care for some of the younger children while their mothers attended a session.
We apologize for not continuing to include an ACSOP biography for the last three weeks. We hope to get back on track with that next week.
We wish you all a wonderful week and wish YOU could have been here this week! What a day it will be when we are all together for ONE ETERNAL DAY. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again.
In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family
Part 2
Dear Supporters, Family, and Friends,
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them." Proverbs 28:4
ADDICTIVE: That's what the book of Proverbs is...start reading it and it's difficult to stop. The wisdom contained in it is so applicable to every day life and very useful for so many situations. The above verse reminds me of the present day political situation in America (and in most, if not all, other countries also).
"HE WHO GIVES ATTENTION TO THE WORD WILL FIND GOOD" (Pro. 16:20). For several weeks, due to visitors teaching and preaching, Jimmy has not taught the New Converts' class nor Trina the Ladies' class. The congregation, along with us, enjoyed listening to new voices proclaiming God's word. The guests' lessons were refreshing and their efforts and work appreciated. Since all of our male guests are gone (except for Tom Watkins and Bruce Hatcher working in Longido), Jimmy resumed teaching the new christians on the subject of Bible Intake (Hearing, Reading, Studying, Meditating, Memorizing, and Applying). The ladies studied the first half of Genesis 30, focusing on Rachel and her sorrow at being barren (learning that all will have some sorrow but should not dwell on it nor let it hinder service to God). Abigail taught the childrens' class on Samson. Jimmy preached an excellent sermon on "Grace: Let God Define it." Stuart counted 113 outside in our hand-shaking line.
..."WHERE THIEVES DO NOT BREAK IN AND STEAL..." Announced this morning was that all the benches in the congregation of Lukondo were stolen. Most wooden pews in the churches here are not made of quality wood and one must be careful not to exceed the unspecified "weigh limit." We have personally witnessed a bench falling to the floor, spilling a group of teenage girls who crowded onto on. In America, the stealing of church pews would probably be the last thing on any thief's mind but it's always a possibility here.
ACSOP STUDENT SPOT-LIGHT is on Edwin Kashumba. Thirty-seven years of age, married with four children, he became a Christian in 1994, converting from Catholicism. Edwin was taught by a missionary (Dale Dennis) in Dar Es Salaam, Edwin's hometown. Two of his children have become Christians.
SPEAKING OF GUESTS EARLIER...we welcomed Janet and her daughter, Allie from Elk City, OK. Janet has worked in short-term campaigns with the Oklahoma group for several years but this is the first trip for Allie. However, Allie plans to stay for 6 months and really "soak up" Tanzania!
"HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A 'TEACHER?'" The new quarter started at the ACSOP this past Monday. Jimmy is teaching the book of Isaiah, Sean Hochdorf is teaching Minor Prophets II and Cy Stafford is teaching Missions and Church Growth.
"...THAT WHICH IS KNOWN ABOUT GOD IS EVIDENT..." (Rom. 1:19) Lindsey showed us a comic strip about an African fable in the local newspaper. It reads as follows: One day a hummingbird met a honeybee collecting nectar......the humming bird says to the bee "You work so hard to make honey but people and honey badger's steal it. Don't you feel sad when this happens?" "No,” says the honeybee, "because they will never steal my God given knowledge of making honey."
Our appreciation is extended to all of you for your kindnesses and concerns. Please pray for the political situation here in Tanzania due to problems between Christians and Muslims, especially in Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar.
In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family