Greetings from Waama!! I wish I had time to write a personal note to each one of you with regards to all that has been happening. As anticipated, however, our opportunities to receive, much less write, emails have been very limited. We are very grateful for your prayers as we have made this transition to life here in Mbulu. It is amazing how the time goes by.Since my last update, we have moved into our new house, received our teaching assignments, begun to get to know the students and faculty here, worked with the students to get the harvest in before the rainy season, participated in a local high school graduation, and showed the Jesus film and spoke at a village crusade. We are thankful for each opportunity.
One thing we have definitely been learning over the last several weeks is flexibility. As you may recall, we were anticipating that classes would begin in the second week of this month. As it turned out, many students were delayed in arriving here due to a late harvest, etc. and once they did begin to arrive, the first order of business was to get the school’s harvest in. This was a big learning experience for Ben and I as we participated with students and other teachers for several days doing with our hands what a combine would have accomplished in a matter of a couple hours. The positive result of this work, however, was the ample opportunity it provided for us to get to know the other people on this campus. We will teach our first official class period tonight.
On the days when we were not working with the harvest, Ben and I have been doing a lot of studying. Much of this has been Swahili but it has also included class preparation. We have been assigned to teach English, computer, and the book of Philippians. As you can imagine, computer and English don’t require nearly as much Swahili as the Philippians course. As a result, we have been putting a lot of time into studying this book and outlining our entire semester schedule including assignments, what we will be writing on the board, etc.
In the middle of this past week, Ben and I were invited to participate in a local high school graduation. It was a little awkward and even frustrating to show up and receive almost more attention than the graduates themselves, but they would have it no other way. It was not a Christian school but as we participated in this Baccalaureate-type service, it was very encouraging to see the number of Christian students present. Ben was able to share a very clear gospel message, as well. As a result of that interaction, we received an invitation to show the Jesus film in a local church this next weekend. Pray that many unsaved would be able to attend this event.
We had another very positive opportunity this past weekend. On Friday afternoon, we were invited by the Mbulu Diocese Evangelism director (Pastor Zak Malekwa) to participate in a crusade in a village about 30 kilometers from here. It all happened very fast and we ended up leaving within a couple hours of receiving the invitation. We took one set of video equipment (which we left with him for his regular use in the future) and showed the Jesus film to about 250 people that night. Saturday was a full day of sessions. Ben and I both participated. The primary theme of the day was prayer. On Sunday, we were both again asked to speak in the closing service. Being Reformation Sunday, Ben spoke on Ephesians 2:1-10 and “What is required for salvation.” I followed him speaking on the topic of dealing with trials in the Christian life.Before leaving on Sunday evening, we had received several more invitations to visit other village churches, speak at an upcoming youth camp, etc. Pray that we have wisdom to know what opportunities to accept. It is amazing how fast a schedule can fill up.
For our first couple weeks here, we were very grateful for our relatively open schedule which allowed much needed study time. It appears as though those days are over. Continue to pray for our language abilities. Each of the opportunities we had to speak this past weekend, we were blessed with a translator; however, this will not always be the case.
Also, continue to pray for a vehicle. We have discussed several possibilities with a number of additional people here but still need wisdom with regards to what would be the best for us and the people we are serving. So far, we have been able to either accompany other people or rent the school’s Land Cruiser but these options are not always available and our transportation needs are only going to increase.
Attached is a picture of our house as well as one of me with some of the evangelists at this past weekend’s crusade. More pictures have been posted to our blog. Be sure to check them out at www.benandjesse.blogspot.com.
I hope that this update continues to be a blessing to you all. We pray for you often and do not take your thoughts and prayers for granted. Thanks so much to those of you who have taken the time to write. As always, feel free to write (or call) to ask any question you might have that I do not answer in these updates.
Until next time, God’s richest blessing to each one of you.
In Him,
Jesse Long
