Dar es Salaam
We had two people from the LST (Let’s Start Talking) team that was scheduled to leave. So, we loaded up and drove for two days to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean so that they could catch their flight. Well, the drive there was nice until two glow plugs decided to go bad on the engine. One began knocking very loudly and we pulled over. We didn't have another part so we made due with what we had. We started driving again and not even 5 kilometers down the road another glow plug went bad. We pulled over to repair that one as well.
Where we were stopped had no cell phone service, but the view was fantastic!
While we were there at Dar es Salaam, we attended Sunday morning worship at the Mbagala church of Christ in Dar. This is the second time I had worshipped there. The building was full of adults and children and the service was very encouraging. Also, while we were there, they had two baptisms. It took 2 hours to fill the baptistry but we stayed and visited with the brethren there.
While I was in Dar es Salaam, I took the opportunity to learn more about the city. It is a quite large city which is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Since I have 5 girls back home, I wanted to find something that would be a taste of home for them. Well, I did at the Milmani City mall. It doesn't have all of the name stores we have in the states, but it does have shopping, eating, a cinema, etc. I'm going to bring the family to DAR soon so that they can visit this place and do some shopping.
Quick Updates
- The Hospital is undergoing some renovations. The central gazebo has a wooden pillar which supports the thatch roofing. The pillar was rotten and was about to fall. We are in the process of tearing down the old and putting up the new.
- We went to the Kibaoni church of Christ on Wednesday. The congregation was strong several years ago, but today it is very small. We attended the congregation to visit with them and encourage them.
Funeral for a CBI Bible Teacher's Daughter
On Friday of this week, Xavery Ngullo's 2 1/2 year old daughter died of kidney failure. She was laid to rest today (Saturday). There were two car loads of people from the Chimala Mission to go to Xavery's home village for the funeral. The whole of the village as well as many others attended the funeral -- some 200-300 people.
Residence Permits
While I am working on the resident permit for Cheryl Body, our new missionary, I received an email from the US embassy in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government has cancelled all current resident permits. We have until December 31 to file for a new resident permit.
When we arrived in Tanzania, we were forced to pay $700 for 'visitor's visa' to enter the country. We didn't need thembut were forced to pay them. That was a very unexpected expense. We had already paid $550 for our famiy's resident permit. Now, we will have to pay another $250 for another resident permit.
While there are challenges to the work in Chimala, we are ready to meet those challenges with the Lord's help.
Chad, Rena, Anna, Laura, Micah, Chandra, and Jonah.
To see Chad’s full report, along with the pictures, click here.