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 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: 

August 2024

Good afternoon,

Hope this email finds you doing well and enjoying the tail end of our summer season here in Upstate NY! Fall will be here before you know it, sorry to say.

We wanted to give some news on a family we have been supporting on a monthly basis. Quick backstory for those that may not know or may have forgotten about Clinton and his younger siblings. I have been involved with this family since the younger ones were born but in total, more than 15 years. These kids are all related, there has never been a father present in any of their lives and their mom whom they have in common, passed away last year. This family, as long as I have known them, have been poor, like very poor, like if they could get one good meal a day they were doing good poor.

I remember meeting the family when their mom, Patricia, was still alive. I was helping them as much as possible, but I wanted to know what their biggest need was. Patricia said her biggest challenge is providing food, having enough money to be able to eat even two meals a day was not possible. At that time all I could do was listen because I did not have the financial means to assist.

We as a team have been supporting the kids with their schooling for more than a decade, but once we heard of the mom's passing, we decided to start supporting them financially, helping them with their food and rent expenses on a monthly basis.

Clinton, being the oldest naturally and culturally assumes all the responsibility to care for the family, but he himself does not have consistent work. Clinton was not able to continue with his studies as he has to provide for the family.

We have been communicating with Clinton to stay on top of how they are all doing, and how the kids are doing in school. We found out that their living situation was not good. You will see a picture of a mud brick house with a wall missing, this is where all the family was living until that wall fell in. The room where the wall fell was one of the bedrooms. The landlord refused to repair the wall, so the family had to split up. Clinton & Frank remained at this home & the other kids went to live somewhere else, where we are told the living conditions are not good.

Trudy and I prayed about how we could help, what more could we do financially to help them out? We can't buy them a home, we can't build them a home as we are trying to finish the home for Elise and our other kids, so what could we, should we do?

We decided to ask Clinton to find a nicer home to rent, one they could never afford on their own, and we would pay the rent for them. The mud home they were renting cost them 15,000 Tanzanian shillings (tzs) per month it had no water or electricity. Clinton found a home they could rent, the white one in the pictures, for 75,000 tzs per month.  It includes water and electricity.  We told them they need to continue paying the 15,000 tzs, and we will add 60,000 tzs to the financial support we have been sending over.

[Note: Money conversion using today's rate: 15,000 tzs = $5.47; 75,000 tzs = $27.37]

Guys, for them to have a home like this is life changing! It may not seem like much to

us but to them it is huge!! They would have never been able to afford a place like this on their own. If you look at what they were living in compared to the new place, it makes you wonder how can people live like that (in a mud hut)? Great question.  The answer is, they just do. There are no other options.

Our goal is to continue supporting this family and support the kids with their schooling.  Hopefully their education will help them with future good jobs that will provide for the family. That the stronghold of poverty would be broken from these kids.

Thank you for allowing us to be agents of change. 

We will provide you with more details and some photos once they are settled in.

 

"Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me" (Matthew 25:37-40).

If you would like to financially partner with us or know more about our work let us know. This work is not possible without your financial support & prayers.

Love & blessings,
Tim & Trudy

UPDATE: AUGUST 24, 2024

This is an update regarding the Clinton family.  

Please bear with me as I try to articulate the "challenges" of working with people from a very different culture, the way we think, communicate and interact. At times it can be very frustrating.  It can even feel like somebody is doing something very wrong or inappropriate. I have learned to not assume anything, but to ask questions until I can understand what is happening.

Clinton's plan was to move into the new home we helped them acquire last Friday. It was this past Tuesday when I reached out to him to get an update, but he did not respond. I eventually reached out to a someone I know in Kigoma, who told Clinton I was looking for him. Clinton said he received my messages but was a little embarrassed and a little afraid to tell us what was going on. He told us that he and Frank moved into the new home, but Ziri, Maki & Christopher were still at the other rental and they would move in at the end of the month. I was a little perplexed!

Long story short, we send money over every month to assist with food and rent expenses. Some of that money goes to the homeowner where the other kids were living, and out of that money the homeowner provides them food. Because that money was already given to the homeowner, along with the provision for their food, Clinton felt that they should not leave.  They didn't have enough money to buy more food to sustain them until the end of the month when more money would be sent over by us.

Hmm . . . I said, "ok, I understand, but why not just communicate instead of not responding at all?"  He said he was shy, embarrassed and didn't feel right about asking for more help when we had already helped them a lot! I love that aspect of Clinton, even when he has real needs he doesn't like to beg for help, he deals with it and tries to handle things on his own. Honestly, this is pretty unique. Many people that have direct access to a missionary / money tree (or so they think so) will take the path of least resistance and ask for everything. Clinton is not that guy!

So, I asked Clinton (although I already knew the answer) how much money he needed for food so the three other kids could move? He said they would need 40,000tzs or $18.30. The money was sent over immediately, and they are now all living under the same roof, as a family, in a home they never would have imagined they would be in.

We will be getting pictures of the new place as I want you to see what they "own" and what they are "lacking" in terms of the basic things. I am thankful that my years of volunteering in East Africa has taught me how to navigate cultural differences so we can serve our friends effectively.

Thanks to you, we are able to write emails like this one. Thank you for helping us enhance the lives of so many like Clinton's family. We are blessed by you & grateful for you

                                                                              

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.