"If the teaching we have received was placed on a balance for weight, there would be no stone that could equal it's measure." (quote from a Bishop that attended the Mbeya meetings - this Bishop has churches in Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burundi)

Going overseas to teach pastors and leaders is a daunting task. Pastor Ken Souers and I were given this task and the opportunity to communicate biblical principles for church health and impact in the community. It was my task to focus on moving the church outside of it's four walls and Ken had the task of developing church health. As you might determine from the quote, the teaching was well received and we were blessed to witness a beautiful part of the church universal.

Our trip was full of teaching and preaching. We team- taught two seminars in Kigamboni (2 days) and Mbeya (3 days), shared at Mzumbe University with the Student Union, spoke in six churches each, and had many private meetings. It was an extremely busy and fruitful trip. The photo above is from our seminar in Mbeya.

The organization that we taught for is International Christian Ministries (ICM). The mission of ICM is "equipping thousands to disciple millions." We, with your help, fulfilled the mission on our trip by equipping hundreds to disciple thousands. Together, we have made a difference and extended the reach of Covenant to Africa! Thanks for your generosity, prayer and support.

On our last day of teaching in Kigamboni we were paid a surprise visit by orphans from "Dorcas Ministries". One of the purposes of my trip was to connect with local orphan ministries. I had planned on meeting with pastors later that day to discuss orphan ministries so I was quite shocked when 5 orphans walked into the church, began to sing, and shared their stories! It was a true gift from God and designed by His hand not mans!

The children shared songs they had written about their lives as orphans in Tanzania. It was heartbreaking yet inspiring to hear the children sing about hope from hopelessness. Their stories came out in song and the impact of individuals that have helped them was all to obvious. It is amazing that no matter where you are in the world it will always take people, people just like you, to help children and make a difference in their lives and for generations.

The rest of the story on the orphan visit is that it engaged the local pastors and leaders on exactly the topic I shared. I don't think there could have been a better illustration on "having a high impact church" then witnessing one church's efforts to reach orphans in their community. The last song the children sang had the following lyrics, "Because my mother is a prostitute, because my father died of AIDS, because there are no jobs in the Land, I am an orphan. Won't you please value me as God values me." The church was silent with conviction and challenged by the message.

The visit by the orphans surprised me and renewed my purpose to engage individuals and organizations to serve the orphans among us. The visit by the orphans pierced the hearts of pastors and leaders and compelled them to make a difference. One surprise visit was no surprise to God and its impact will touch generations.

There are 2.3 million orphans in Tanzania. 1.8 million of the children are AIDS orphans. This is in a country of 70% unemployment and where only 10% of the country has electricity. Additionally, 1 of every 10 people has HIV/AIDS. These are alarming statistics and although they seem to breed hopelessness there remains great hope.

I was privileged to meet Margaret. Margaret is in the picture to the left. She is a living saint. For the past 9 years Margaret has served as the director of Tanzania's only government orphanage. Margaret oversees the care and lives of 100 orphans that live in the Kurasini Orphanage. Margaret has a staff of 10 people that split shifts to provide supervision 24 hours a day. The orphanage is serving .00004% of the orphan population in Tanzania. The official capacity for the Kurasini orphanage is 75 children.

Most of the orphans in Tanzania are served by extended family, live in the streets, or reside in private orphanages funded by individuals and religious organizations from outside of the country. The Kurasini Orphanage is the government's only supported service to orphans for residential care. In my tour of Kurasini it was very apparent that this orphanage needs our help.

I asked Margaret how we could help and she began a long list of needs from medical care for the children to simple needs like books and clothing. As she shared the needs, I watched two young boys about 8 years old vomit violently. Their faces will be forever etched in my mind as they looked up with such despair and hopelessness. These boys did not have any ordinary flu but were probably suffering the effects of HIV/AIDS. Margaret could not confirm my speculation with words but her look noted confirmation. The needs are so great. We have so much! "To whom much is given much will be required".

In the weeks to come, I'll be sharing more about the needs in Tanzania and how we are going to respond. If you have any ideas or suggestions please call or email. This will require a "team" effort and involve short term mission trips, staff on the ground in Tanzania, and God's direction. Together, we can make a difference! Lastly, I was encouraged by my visit with government officials who welcome our assistance and the expansion of Covenant to Tanzania. More to come about this in future communications. If you have an immediate need to know more simply call or write Covenant.

Thanks for sending us to the Nations! Thanks for touching Tanzania with your love and prayer!

email: randy@covenantcs.net

phone: 661-326-8304

web: http://www.covenantcs.net