Lynda Stephenson (Director)
Two months of travelling New Zealand, catching up with family, friends and supporting churches came to an end more quickly than one could imagine! Our apologies to those we didn’t manage to connect with – our time was tight, but next time…
Following the very long flight straight back to Tanzania we have been reconnecting with our Tanzanian family and friends. We are blessed to have those we love and count as family on both ends of the world! It has been wonderful to see how well our Tanzanian managers team have handled the work and the challenges while we’ve been gone. Happy reunions!!.
L to R Eligibor – accounts; Moses – projects; Archbold – education; Skeeter – hospitality; Aloyce – maintenance
But perhaps the happiest reunions were with our house church members, especially as we were all involved with THE WEDDING. Alan officiated at this wedding four days after we got back. Two of our house church young people married on March 29th, so spirits were high when we met up for the wedding rehearsal on the Friday afternoon. Luv, the groom, is a Tanzanian born Indian, and Renee, the bride an Australian/Chinese who has been living in the USA. Can you imagine the cultural gathering? Luv’s whole family is in our house church, and Renee’s parents and family members travelled from Australia for the wedding. Then there were Chinese and American friends and family who came to celebrate with the couple.
In Tanzania we are at the start of the long rains, so many prayers went up for the rain to hold off on the wedding day. And God heard! On the day after the wedding however, we awoke to thunder and heavy rain. Wow, God truly had His stamp of approval on this couple. But back to the day… Indian weddings, we have discovered, are cause for massive celebration. There seems to be no end to the dressing up. So we joined in!.
Lynda and Skeeter dressed for the Indian wedding
The ceremony was so delightful and a huge testimony to the goodness of God in bringing two young people together from such diverse backgrounds and places of residence. It was truly a day of joy and laughter as God was honoured so openly and naturally in front of so many who don’t know Him – yet!
Alan waiting for the bridal party to arrive
The reception went on into the early hours of the morning with much singing and dancing – with a Bollywood flavour!
Luv and Renee, the happy couple
But as fabulous as all this was, the news highlight for us was that a young Indian Hindu woman, Hiral, who has been attending our house church has given her heart to the Lord. The smile on her face is evidence of the joy she is experiencing, and now her and her Sikh husband of a few months are realizing just what they have missed out on by not having a Christian wedding. They are asking for pre-marriage counselling in retrospect!! Please pray with us that as we go through that with them Tanveer too will become a Jesus-follower and a healthy family unit will be established
Tanveer and Hiral
