Our new bus ministry kicks off a very busy Sunday

This Sunday we had quite an exciting day. We officially began our ‘bus ministry’ with one 14 passenger mini van. These vans are called “dala dala” in Swahili. I think that there are more dala dalas on the road than any other type of vehicle. They are used for mass transit. A typical ride from one major town to the next would cost $0.40 – $0.80 (about the same price as a bottle of Coke). It is very common to see the dala dala so full of people that there are literally 3-4 people hanging out of the door as the van travels down the road. We had 18 people ride our van making it about half full by Tanzanian standards. Most of the riders were our regular church members who were very grateful to ride rather than walk the 2+ km to our church.

A man named Paulo has been a tremendous help to me. He was saved several years ago in another town under the ministry of some fellow missionaries. They did a wonderful job teaching and discipling him. Because Paulo moved to our area, I get the benefit of their hard work by having him in our church. It is an encouragement to me to see the difference we can make in this country by discipling just one person.

Paulo preached about tithing Sunday. This is always a very difficult subject to preach. In this culture, everyone puts something in the offering if they have it. I think it is done more out of superstition than worship. On average people will give $0.15 not because it is 10% of their income but because it is customary. Paulo’s sermon laid out the Biblical command, blessing, and reasons for tithing pretty clearly.

Afterward, we had a baby dedication. One precious couple in our church (Mandara and Anna) just had their second baby and wanted to give a special offering to the Lord to thank Him for his wonder gift.

I then dismissed the children and non-members so that we could have a brief church meeting. The subject was Filimoni. He was recently discovered to be involved in sin. After counseling with him he decided he would come before the church to seek their forgiveness. I explained public sin requires public confession. The truth is that everyone was aware of his situation anyway. The church quite vocally expressed their forgiveness to him restoring him to fellowship again.

Finally on the trip home I picked up a hitchhiker. His name is Good Luck. Seriously. Paulo and I talked to him while driving to the bus stand. When we arrived he had decided to get saved. I explained it again to him and he was certain that he wanted to be forgiven. We prayed together and he received Christ as his Savior! Amen! Pray for Good Luck (the person) that he will grow in his knowledge of the Lord and His word.

Please pray:

For our bus ministry to continually grow.

For Filimoni to follow the Lord and do right.

For Good Luck to grow spiritually.

For our Thanksgiving celebration next Sunday.

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