TANZANIA

 

MISSION OUTREACH: Kigoma, Tanzania

• Tim Kelly - Sharing the Gospel, Children's Food Program, Life Skills Training School, Expansion to Next Village

Tim Kelly's ministry is located in Kigoma, Tanzania. The mission's program to Tanzania was started by a local church in Upstate New York, where Tim and his family had been attending, and where He first began to feel God's calling in His life.

In preparation he and his wife attended Elim Bible College for training in order to formally register as Missionaries from a recognized Missions School.

Their initial trips were short, bringing the Gospel to the Village of Kigoma, as well as, providing them with practical help. As Bible Studies were being offered, they were also providing "Birthing Kits" to the pregnant women in the village. There was a high infant death rate because of unsanitary birthing methods due to the absence of a nearby hospital. Simple sterile plastic sheets were offered with sterile blades for cutting the umbilical cord, as Tim's wife taught the women how to use all the implements. The birth rates went up, as well as the numbers attending Bible Studies. Conversions to Christ were many in this otherwise Muslim Country.

There were many "street children" in the village abandoned by their parents or orphaned from AIDS and other diseases. The people of the village watched over them. Tim's ministry began a feeding program for the children. At first, one meal a week, and then it expanded. Many of the village's children now go to school and refer to Tim as "Baba Tim," and they greet him with love and embraces at every visit.

Tim's background as an auto mechanic/technician, led to his teaching several men how to repair vehicles in the remote village. Eventually a building was erected to accommodate vehicles and a classroom for the mechanics-in-training.

Today, it is a full-service repair shop and the men there work for the money that keeps their families fed.

Tim identified several adult Christian couples there that carry on the work of the ministry when he is back in the US.

The Kigoma ministry recently expanded to the neighboring village of Kiseke, with the acquisition of 10 acres of land to be used to raise cattle, sheep, and crops, again in an effort to help the people sustain themselves. The land has been cleared, and the future awaits, with Christ's teachings at the core.

Slideshow:  JANUARY 2023

                                                                              

PRAYER UPDATE: 

July 2023

Good evening,

We hope you are doing well. Drop us a quick email and let us know how you are doing; we would love to hear from you. It has been almost a month since our last email, so we wanted to get a quick update out to you. The most pressing issue as of late was Brandina and her medical journey.

Brandina has been receiving treatment for about three weeks now at a treatment center on Ocean Rd in Dar Es Salaam, TZ. We are told there has been a reduction in swelling and her pain is much less. The cancer they are treating is in her right breast only. We are grateful for a good report and are hoping the treatment will eradicate all cancer in her body.

Brandina is having major back issues also, numbness and a lack of strength in her legs. Once she is strong enough, they will look into what the cause of this is. A young lady like Brandina, struggling with these issues all at once, is very unusual. Please keep praying for her, Robert and the rest of the family.

The first attached picture is of Happiness, Anna, Sifa in the front row. Violet, Japhet, Yusufu in the back row.  They were all on school break for the month of June. Last week Violet, Japhet and Yusufu returned back to their boarding schools. Happy, Anna and Sifa remain in Kigoma with Elise & Silva. All are doing very well with their studies. Hard to believe it was more than 10 years ago when we took the oldest kids in to live with us. What a blessing to have this opportunity to change the course of their lives and the lives of their family as well.

The next attachments are from our Saturday kids' program. 

Juice, cookies, encouragement and love is what they are given every Saturday. These kids all come from very poor families so this is a huge boost to their morale. Physically, spiritually, mentally and emotionally they are touched in a positive manner. We are planting seeds of hope in each one of them.

House construction for Elise and the kids. We have been doing our best to make this project a priority, but with all the other issues we were faced with, finances have been tight. This past week we were able to send over some money, $900.00 to be exact, to build more of the walls on the house. There are four more courses to go before we will need to pour the lintel. We are hoping and praying that before the rainy season starts again in September, we can get this house roofed. We thank God for what we have accomplished so far and are trusting Him for the rest.

 

We know there are many worthy causes out there. That makes us that much more grateful for you! We do not take you for granted.

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Luke 6:38

With much gratitude,


Tim & Trudy

                                                                              

About the Country:

Tanzania was formed as a sovereign state in 1964 through the union of the previously separate states of Tanganyika on the mainland of Africa, and island State of Zanzibar just off the coast. Tanganyika covers more than 99 percent of the combined territories' total area. It lays on the eastern coast of central Africa, along the Indian Ocean, and westward into the continent to the shores of Lake Tanganyika and its neighbors.
Neighboring countries are Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, and Mozambique. Lake Tanganyika forms the western border, with the Democratic Republic of the Congo across the lake.

The U.S. government estimates the total population at 58.6 million (midyear 2020 estimate). A 2020 Pew Forum survey estimates approximately 63 percent of the population identifies as Christian, including 10 percent evangelicals, 34 percent as Muslim, and 5 percent practice other religions. 99 percent of those living in the Zanzibar archipelago, along Tanzania's coast, are Muslims.

Though the Tanzanian government generally seeks to protect Christians from persecution, they still face significant opposition in Muslim-majority areas along the coast and in western regions. Tanzania is also home to many unreached tribal groups who are resistant to the gospel. Like many countries in Africa, Tanzania is being targeted by Muslim groups outside the country that work to Islamize Tanzania by establishing Muslim businesses and schools, helping Muslims get elected to office and passing laws that favor Islam. Even so, local churches in Tanzania boldly work to spread the gospel.

Christians in Tanzania:

Christians can freely practice their faith, but they are oppressed and harassed in predominantly Muslim areas. Persecution ranges from family pressure to the burning of churches and homes. On the island of Zanzibar, the local government works to quietly close churches, prevent the establishment of new ones and force pastors to leave. Persecution is more overt on the island of Pemba, where Christians are violently attacked. In the predominantly Muslim areas, Christians, especially converts from Islam, are often ostracized by their communities and prevented from obtaining jobs.