John Rowse – Back in Africa (Oct. 2019)

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Saturday, 12 October 2019

Dear friends,

Thank you for praying. After a wait, the new tour finally began coming together quite suddenly; a cheap flight came up and I’m in Africa again.

Family

First of all, please pray for Timothy who had three serious seizures this week. They have done a number of tests and he has now been discharged from the hospital, but they don’t know what caused it. It was very distressing for Kay and others to witness, and I feel VERY far away.

Doors of Opportunity

In the two weeks since I left home, some good opportunities have come up, so now we need to be praying for those who have just heard what is total news to them:

  1. Some students at the Anglican Bible school in Morogoro;
  2. More students at the Anglican Bible school in Berega (between Morogoro and Dodoma);
  3. A choir from the Anglican cathedral in Dodoma, who welcomed me to teach them for the first hour of their choir practice two days running, plus a second choir who asked for teaching during an all-nighter (I excused myself after 11:00 pm! );
  4. A very open and teachable b – at Msalato, last Sunday;
  5. A Moravian church in Dodoma the same morning – it was great to have a very supportive pastor;
  6. A “fellowship” group in Dodoma that afternoon – again, a good warm reception, and strategic, since some of the “heavies” from the “fellowship” movement were there;
  7. A follow-up visit to the Lutheran Bible College at Kiomboi, near Singida – this was tougher going: they need more work;
  8. The last few days I’ve been teaching pastors of the Lutheran West Central Diocese in Tabora, further west still, and a little south, where the Bishop is an old friend who first learned about justification by faith when I used to teach the “religion“ period at a teachers’ college on the slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro in 1984. When I passed through last May he asked me to explain justification to his diocesan secretary, who was shocked and delighted. Out of that has come this present seminar – and the 14 or so pastors and 30 ‘evangelists’ have been remarkably teachable. Something that helped was that a couple of them had caught the message about 15 years earlier when I taught at their Seminary in the North Pare hills SW of Mt Kilimanjaro.

This has been a great encouragement after the big disappointment with Mara Anglicans last June. BUT – do keep praying: the bishop there has agreed to dialogue with me. Please pray as I respond to his latest email.

Now please pray for the next steps. Trying to plan while waiting to hear back from church leaders is a challenge.

Coming Up

The main work coming up is with a VERY “high church” Anglican Diocese in the Ruvuma Rovuma Coffeeregion in the far south of Tanzania near Mozambique and on the east side of Lake Nyasa.

Also as I pass through Dodoma the principal of the Anglican Bible College at Msalato wants me to teach their students.

All of this will involve covering some enormous distances. So please be praying for safe driving.

Tomorrow I am with two Lutheran churches in Tabora.

Monetary Matters

Finally, please stand by for a new account to send donations to. At the end of next month, the Browns Plains account will be closed. PLEASE be praying about another solution for collecting donations for this work and reimbursing my costs. This is now a major challenge. The good friend who had been so keen to give his accounting expertise to help us has reluctantly had to pull out since he is just too busy.

Thank you for praying!

John – with love from Kay