I hope I am not the only one getting blessed these days! Clearly, life is not without its challenges but God’s faithfulness and continual blessings always seem to out-shine any frustrations.
First, I want to thank each of you for your thoughts and prayers as I went to Dubai. The trip was not only a success but an enjoyable experience as well. I ended up needing to extend my stay by one day simply due to the amount of work that needed to be done but God worked out all the details of my return flight to Nairobi, return ground transportation from Nairobi to Tanzania, and even the class schedule at Waama (which also needed to be delayed one day).
We are again in awe at how fast the time goes. Following this week, we will only have two more before the end of this second term. Actually, the students who are taking the “Christian Education” track are leaving tomorrow morning to spend these final weeks of the term doing the ‘hands-on’ portion of their course at various elementary and high schools throughout the region. As a result, Ben and I had a party for these students on Saturday night. We will have another one toward the end of the month for all the rest.
This weekend also included a visit to the village of Tsaayo on Sunday to preach and show the Jesus film. It was another memorable experience. We left home shortly after 7:30am assuming it would give us plenty of time to make the 10:00am service. Well, after digging the car out about six times, we arrived at our destination around 12:30pm. The whole congregation was still there, though, so Ben was able to preach his sermon and then we showed the Jesus Film as planned. The way home was much less eventful and only took 1 ½ as the roads had dried out significantly. Despite the difficulties, these trips continue to be some of our favorite times. Showing the Jesus film is a wonderful way of presenting the Gospel and we have also (as we are able) begun taking Bibles and tracts as well. We have been very surprised to find that many people in the villages do not have Bibles, despite availability, simply because of price. Pray for us as we consider invitations, plan these trips, and interact with the people in various places. We see plenty of needs and need wisdom in where we should put our priority as even the simple expense of a trip and the cost of Bibles can be a significant expenditure. We are now trying, whenever possible, to schedule more than one place per weekend simply to try to be as efficient as possible with our time and money.
As for the near future, each of the weekends leading up to Easter are booked. We will go home with one of the students on the 30th to participate at his church and then have been asked to participate in a large youth convention during the following week (the first week of our 2-week Easter break). So far, we have managed to keep the following week free, however, so that we will have a little time to recharge before diving into the third and final term for the year.
Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, and support for the work here. We continue to learn lots and enjoy the privilege of being with these people. Please continue to pray for our vehicle needs, the planning of our June/July Jesus film showing campaign in Uganda, and our day-to-day and week-to-week work here in the Mbulu region. I would also like to ask your prayers for my sister Anna and her fiancé who was severely injured this past week while serving with the Army in Afghanistan. His condition has improved slightly from critical and he is now at Walter Reed Hospital in Washington, DC. The last I heard, he was finally able to move both feet but feeling had not completely returned. Please pray for his complete recovery and wisdom and comfort for all involved.
Thank you so much. May God richly bless each one of you and – in case our schedule prevents another update before Easter – have a blessed Easter!! ☺
In His service,
Jesse Long
