John Rowse in Tanzania – October 2022

Dear friends,

I’m absolutely delighted to be able to tell you that I’m here, that people can still understand my Swahili, and that people are still coming to believe in Jesus.

I had a reasonably uneventful series of flights, long flights with a very long layover in Muscat, Oman.  I finally got to the hotel I thought I was booked into, only to find it was booked for October 6, which was the date, except that it was 12.20 am and that hotel starts the day at 2 pm—which I’d probably been told but … you know (derr!!!).  There was no mercy, so I had to go back and wait at the airport.  After I’d arrived in Dar es Salaam, within a day or two I was adjusted to the time change, though very sleepy.  The heat and humidity were just awful, but I was very warmly welcomed – as usual – by my good friends, David and Angela Scott.  Shabani had had the Land Rover serviced and had brought it up from Mbeya (900+km), I collected my newly–printed workbooks the next day, after doing a right turn where apparently (though there’s no sign) you’re not allowed, but after some fast talking the MXlim cop let me off. I was also lost, and the roads had changed, so it was all very sweat-inducing.

Monday of last week, I hit the road north, and after 11 hrs reached Usangi in the northern Pare Mountains. I was met by my old friend, Pastor Mmwiri, from the Bible College of the Mwanga Lutheran Diocese. From Tuesday to Friday, they squeezed me generously into their teaching programme. It was a challenge getting back into it, and the uninvited assistance from the very “holy” English and Computer teacher did not help. I later asked him privately how long it was since he’d become a child of God. He told me, “Since breakfast, this morning.” He’d been a child of God, so he told me, the day before, but had sinned and, at breakfast, repented. What a dead “life”! In spite of his condescending help – and thankfully he wasn’t there all the time – it was clear by Thursday that most of the students were now convinced by the gospel of grace. It was great to meet a gardener at the college who’d got the news well and truly when I was last around in 2008 or thereabouts and was still excited by it.

Saturday I drove down to the plain again and to Himo. I was early but it gave me time to visit the regular Lutheran church centre and speak to four ‘evangelists’. They all needed help to grasp the way to lasting peace with God, and then the pastor arrived with another who’d remembered this ‘new’ teaching and the old workbook when I taught briefly at the Mwika Lutheran Bible school, on the eastern slopes of Mt Kilimanjaro, and had gladly received it. Sunday I was free. In the morning I was on the receiving end of some fairly ordinary teaching about love, and lots of talk about giving (which I didn’t do), before visiting Moshi and sneaking into the English service at St Margaret’s, where I was pastor for a brief spell 100 years ago. The current pastor, a good Scotsman, was wonderfully clear on justification, and we had some short but precious fellowship. He has taken a few Swahili workbooks and is keen to use them with the Swahili speakers there. Do pray for this.

Today, Monday, I had the first of three days with students at St Peter’s Bible College, Himo – under the Lutheran Church of East Africa, which is a relatively recent church established by those Lutherans who don’t agree with the lucrative but costly ‘fellowship’ of some regular Lutherans which permits pulpit-sharing with American actively-homosexual pastors. One of the students had heard me preaching in Mbeya, and was firmly convinced. This morning, he stood out as the only one who was clear on justification by grace. We just had nine men today, but they were all very clear before the end.  Thank you for praying.  Their bishop has just confirmed that they will be joined by at least as many others – pastors – tomorrow and Wednesday. Pray that they join them in their new faith, too. One of today’s group took me aside this afternoon, grabbed my hand and just poured out his thanks for finally being relieved of endless worry about the uncertainty of what God might finally have in store for him. Do thank the Lord and keep praying for the larger Tues. and Wednesday group.

Then please be praying for a fuller three-day seminar with other pastors from the same church in Arusha. And after that, I have about 12 days with my old diocese, the Anglican Diocese of Mt Kilimanjaro.

I’m sorry I can’t give you more details, but please be praying for someone close to Kay and me, who is threatened with great injustice.

John,

with love from Kay.