Uvinza salt

“Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again?  Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”  
                                 Mark 9:50


Historically, known for its salt flats and salt production, Uvinza, today, is just a medium-sized rural town.

While salt continues to be produced here, it is not the big enterprise of long ago.

Centuries ago, these salt and mineral deposits were very valuable resources, especially for the tribes living in the middle of Africa so far away from the salt and minerals that the oceans afford.

The road to Uvinza has been paved and it is a lovely drive from Kigoma east and south as we head out toward Nairobi.
We will stop in Uvinza as we travel today and look at the engagement status of the Vinza people.




As we reach Uvinza the nice tar road ends, leaving Uvinza town with rough dirt roads and tracks through town and the surrounding area.


The Vinza people are predominately a Muslim people group. 

While there is a church presence in Uvinza and some of the villages where the Vinza people live, because they are a Muslim group, evangelical Christians live beside the Vinza without ever testifying to them about the awesome grace of God’s salvation through His Son Jesus Christ.

The above is a section of the Injili.  This is the New Testament translated into Arabic. The left side is Swahili and the right portion is Arabic.  While most Muslims in Tanzania cannot read Arabic, if they can read at all, they can read Swahili.  This portion is John 3:16-17.  God’s promise of a Savior and Redeemer fulfilled.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.  For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.”     John 3:16-17

An amazing statement of God’s love to us – a fact that the whole world needs to hear;
God loves us.
God made a plan for our salvation.
God does not condemn us.
God wants to save us.
Amazing isn’t it?

*Pray that the churches among the Vinza people of Western Tanzania would be salt and light to the Vinza people; sharing with them, the Gospel of truth.

*Pray for dreams and visions among the Vinza leading them to search for spiritual truth.

*Pray for an opening within Vinza communities enabling churches to reach out ministering in love and power.

…here in Your presence…

So you shall keep the commandments of the LORD your God by walking in His ways and by fearing Him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in valleys and hills…                         Deuteronomy 8:6-7

Recently a wonderful opportunity was presented to Debbie to join women from all over the continent for a three-day conference called Joy in the Journey.
This opportunity does not come often.  The last meeting like this was in 2007 – so you can understand the wonderful refreshment this affords.

The meeting was paid for through special gifts – especially from women and we want to thank each one for their sacrificial giving to make this meeting possible.


A few well-known Christian women were invited to lead the conference, but those plans fell through enabling some of our own ladies to lead out in the conference, adding a level of understanding that would not have been present otherwise.

Sisters from our Zimbabwe days.

While much learning is being obtained, joyful fellowship is also being experienced, and it is so good to catch up with friends and co-laborers from years back, as well as making new friends from those who have recently come to the field.



God is good – His love endures forever.  Providing us with times of fellowship and refreshment, He supplies our needs – my cup overflows.




Pray that missionaries across the globe, who, living in a culture not their own, and perhaps living in areas of danger and unrest will be refreshed today either through God’s word, a colleague or co-worker; a refreshing that will renew their strength and commitment to be obedient to God.

Will the Wagoma seek His face?

You have said, “Seek my face.” 
My heart says to You, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”      Psalm 27:8

A mosque designated specifically for the Wagoma people

Living in and around Kigoma in the western part of Tanzania, the Wagoma people are not seeking the face of Christ.
They do not realize that Christ is the living God who came down to live on the earth so that humanity could know how to have relationship with God.






As we search for information on the various people groups in and around Kigoma, we are introduced to a believer who is also Wagoma.  We will call him “Paul”. (This is not his real name, but, as he is a Muslim background believer, we do not want to put him in any danger of persecution by revealing his true name.) I choose the name Paul because he is bold in his witness; however, he is careful as he witnesses within the Islamic community.

Paul leads us to several villages containing Wagoma people. There are no villages with only Wagoma people; they live intermingled with other people groups.  Therefore, while there may be churches in villages where the Wagoma live, the Wagoma do not attend.

As we travel together, he relates to us his understanding of the history of the Wagoma people.


 

Historically, coming from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Zoba people crossed Lake Tanganyika and settled in and around the Kigoma area becoming known as the Wagoma people.

The Wagoma are a Muslim people group.

Today, those living in the urban areas surrounding Kigoma are businessmen, while the Wagoma living along the shores of Lake Tanganyika are fishermen.

While friendly, the Wagoma are not open to Christianity nor to the witness of truth.  It will take strong committed believers with the knowledge of Muslim evangelism to make inroads into the Wagoma community.




*Pray that God would visit the Wagoma people in dreams and visions sparking spiritual questions and discussions.

*Pray that God would orchestrate the coming of strong believers into the Wagoma community bringing answers to those spiritual questions.

*Pray that as individuals in the Wagoma community witness the love of Christ, they will open their ears to the truth of the Gospel message -- that they would SEEK HIS FACE.