Water of Life

On our way to Mugumu, we stopped by the town of Bunda where we caught up with Charles and Nancy Wiggins, independent Methodist missionaries who teach water hygiene and who have brought a very useful invention to Tanzania.

They call their mission “Maisha ya Maji” or loosely translated “living water” and what they are producing will bring fresh water to thousands of Tanzanians. It’s a filter that can be made with readily available and natural materials-a little copper tubing, concrete, gravel and sand. The cost for the filter runs about $50. U.S., which is far too expensive for most individual households in Tanzania, but very affordable for schools and orphanages and the like.


It stands about 3 ½ feet high, 1 foot square and the walls are 1 inch thick. Without the sand it weighs about 160 lbs. The filter is a completely natural process, using common washed sand that develops bacteria suitable for purifying the water. The bacteria comes from the water itself and develops enough after about 3 weeks to purify the water to 98% which is very drinkable for Tanzanians. Another few drops of bleach and the water is 100% clean.

It is so useful here because water-borne diseases are so common. One is being purchased for Fonelisco and will be delivered shortly.

Our stop in Bunda lasted an hour or so and then we were off to Mugumu. More on the conference next post.

For the Harvest,
Phil

The Trip to Mugumu

The drive to Mugumu was about 2 hours on a paved road, and another 5 hours off-road, and I do mean off road! Hopefully tomorrow I will share some pictures of some mud-holes.

But all in all the trip was an adventure. We saw a lot of villages along the way and the weather was good for most of it, but it did rain a little during the journey. Rainy season is like that. It rains every day, but usually no more than an hour. But when it rains, it creates big streams in the country-side that washes out roads and bridges. (See a previous post)


Our main rest stop in the middle of our off-road adventure was in a village called Ikizu, where we sat on the porch of the Urafiki guest house and shared cokes and stories. What a time!

When we arrived at the Giraffe Garden Hotel the fun was only beginning. Did I mention they had no air conditioning and no hot water? I know for you hard-core guys it might sound like a sissy complaint, but no air conditioning means you sleep under mosquito nets and they should be in good condition. Were ours in good condition? Hardly. I'll let you know if I get Malaria. Pray for me:-)

More fun when we took showers in the morning. But is was refreshing. I'll wait till next blog to tell you about the actual conference. Thanks again for your prayers.

For the Harvest,
Phil

Back to Mwanza

Lord willing, this blog will be replaced in the next few hours. I don't have pictures or time, but I wanted to post to say we are back from Mugumu and it was incredible. The conference was great and the travel was challenging at times.

Check back again for some pictures and a story or two from our trip.

I love you, Donna!

For the Harvest,
Phil

The First Conference

Saturday we finished the first conference with nearly 70 pastors from the Mwanza area. They were very engaged and asked a lot of questions. Some of the pasters were among those we have already worked with and could give testimony to what God has done in their ministry because of our work together.

At the end of the evangelism training, we went out into the nearby neighborhoods and saw more than 40 people pray to recieve Christ. Some of the pastors had never done this and were very excited to see God use them like that. We pray that will translate to their churches.


One of the greatest blessings of working with these guys is meeting the next generation of leaders. Among them is Billy Brown and James Kulokea. We call Billy "Billy Graham" He is probably one of the best interpreters I have ever used. Tanzania has a bright future with young men like him. He is pictured above on the left.

Thanks for your prayers. They mean more than anything. Pray for safety as we travel to Mugumu. I do not know what we will find there as I have never been. But there is another group of pastors waiting to be trained, so we go.

For the Harvest,
Phil

FONELISCO

Fonelisco is an orphanage founded by Joseph Mabinga in 1997, pictured here with his fiancée Maria. He was a Catholic seminary student with a heart to help children.

Without waiting, he began to minister to street kids while he was still in school. He also worked part-time as an interpreter for some exchange students while they were here. It would be those students who gave Joseph his first real shot at his vision by loaning him $600.

Fonelisco is almost an acronym and stands for the FOundation of NEw LIfe for Street Children and Orphans.


Since 1997, they have moved from their first location and now lease a five bedroom house with plenty of classroom space on the first floor. It also has a guest house with three additional bedrooms. They house the children, feed them, teach them basic skills such as reading and writing, and give them chores that keep up the grounds. The older children are provided a bicycle so they can ride to secondary school.

They are currently working on the purchase of 13 acres by the lake (Victoria) to develop crops and animals to sustain the orphanage and teach the children life-skills.

Joseph allows for both Christian and Islamic services to be held at the orphanage as many of the kids come from either background.

I have thought a lot about Joseph's story and how it might be duplicated, only with an emphasis on reaching those children with the gospel. Lord willing, tomorrow I will tell you of another approach to reaching homeless children being done by a group of churches on the west side of Lake Victoria.

For the Harvest,
Phil

Wednesday Evening 1-24-07

Just when I think of complaining about roads in the 'States . . . Here is a picture of a new culvert washed out by the recent rains. Last year this road was being built and the ground was not firm enough to withstand the pressure of the water during the rainy times.

I spent the day with Elias pouring over maps and visiting villiages we have worked in before, taking notes along the way. God is bringing these works along very well. The people are faithful and working hard.

Today we concieved the idea of a large conference in Dar es Salaam, which is the main city and on the coast. The idea is to bring together key leaders from each region of the country in order to train them as trainers of the Evangecube and use them as key contacts for future church-planting campaigns. Currently, we are planning to do this in January of '08.

We also met some Methodist missionaries who live a couple of hours from here who specialize in health training--particularly with water. They are also producing a natural water purifier which weighs about 200 pounds and sells for about $55 US, but can produce 60 liters of water per hour. (almost 16 gallons). This is invaluable for villages that are ravaged by water-borne diseases. In a few days I will tell you how a water well opened the door for the gospel in a village near the Serengeti.

Thanks again for your prayers.

For the Harvest,
Phil

Wednesday Morning 1-24-07

I feel MUCH better after a good night's sleep. Mwanza is a growing city and will soon have an international airport, or so they say. The air is already warm and you welcome whatever breeze comes.

Today we'll be meeting with Elias who is the former head of the Tanzania Baptist Convention. He is a nice man and very humble. We will talk strategy for the whole nation and I will pick his brain regarding his experiences in Tanzania. I'll bring maps and we'll try to get specific. More to come on that.

Mwanza is also known for good Tilapia because of it's location on the shores of Lake Victoria; which supplies Tilapia for many countries in Africa. This is a fishing town, where you find all kinds of fishermen. There were even guys fishing with poles from a rock outcropping across from a restaurant we were eating at last night. When they catch fish, they try to sell it to the restaurant.

I've never been to Galilee, but I often think of it when I come to Mwanza. Jesus' parables and word pictures fit perfectly here.

The roads are mostly horrible, unless you are on a main thoroughfare. The rains ensure that all dirt roads will have plenty of potholes and the going is slow. Foreigners from India and Europe are abundant, as well as American tourists. It is not at all uncommon to meet Americans here doing mission work.