Tanzania 2019: Tuesday 22nd October
From the 20th to the 29th October, two teams -- one from Churches Inc, and one from Wheels for the World -- will be hard at work in Tanzania. We'll be bringing you all the stories and details of what they're up, the people they're meeting, and the lives they're changing just as often as the internet connection allows. Please keep praying for the team and for all the local people they're meeting, who often travel long distances with the hope of receiving a wheelchair.
Churches Inc.
At the Churches Inc Leaders' Event today, God seemed to be bringing the message that any one of us can be a leader for God, from the youngest to the oldest regardless of ability or perceived disability.
We were blessed by the testimony of Michael who has albinism. He shared that even in dark times we can find light and hope in Jesus. Michael received an audio Bible during last year's Churches Inc trip, and shared how it has helped him to encourage others in his community.
Wheels for the World
Jacobo is 23. He arrived crawling. His knees were very bent with a lot of muscle wastage. Receiving a wheelchair will mean he can get water and use public transport. He lives with his mother and hopes he will be able to get a job making shoes. I told him about Pastor Shadrack‘s vision for a training workshop. Pastor heard me say his name, he came over and said he knows Jacobo and he will be involved in making shoes in the future.
Mkama asked Jesus into his life today at the Churches Ink meeting.He said, ‘I want a Bible, I don’t want money, I want a Bible.
Pastor said, ‘You will get a Bible’.
Mkama added, ‘You talk so much you may forget’.
Mkama has a stroke 13 years ago, today he received a wheelchair and a Bible in Swahili. He gratefully received a pair of reading glasses. As we went through scriptures to encourage him, he asked to read proverbs 3 v 5-6. It was a blessing to see his grandson who cares for him.
A family was registered to receive mobility equipment. Their children were aged 14, 9, 6, 5 and 9 months old. The oldest 4 are all disabled, so 2 adult wheelchairs were adapted to seat 2 children each with baby on mummy, the parents could transport their family. The Dad received a Bible and was encouraged to read 2 verses a day at mealtime to the family. The mum is illiterate and the couple who got them to the centre requested she also have an audio Bible in case her husband could get work and would not be around to read to them all. We gave them oat bars, coloured ribbon streamer, sanitary towels and knickers for the mum and an information sheet about stretching the legs of the 5 year and reducing the tension in the muscles.
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