This week's "Catch of the Week":
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Latest Scheutz Update (April 2009):
Greetings in Jesus from the Swahili Coast of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (East Africa).
At the beginning of April, we moved to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to pioneer a new work here. For a number of years, we have felt that there is a need to pioneer some new works in parts of Africa and that there needs to be new thrusts in missions in areas where we have not ventured before. Tanzania, being significantly influenced by Islam along the coastline and having unreached people groups, has been on our hearts for almost four years. We have sensed that Dar es Salaam could be a new opportunity for a pioneering work. We made an exploratory trip here almost a year ago, but did not feel released to make the transition here. However, God continued to burden our hearts for the people and needs in Tanzania and we made a decision early this year, with much consultation ad prayer, to move here in June of this year. Unfortunately, we received notification that the lease on our house in Zambia would not be renewable at the beginning of April necessitating a more rapid move than anticipated. We thank the Lord that he did allow us to delay our move until this time so as to give time to help bring some projects to completion at Heart of Africa Mission in Kitwe and the new community center in Ndola, Zambia and to see strong leadership in place before we left. We feel that the leadership at HAM is solid after being trained for eight years and that they are ready to give leadership to the work indigenously. Though things will change, we are confident that the ministry and training will continue. We praise the Lord for the amazing work that he did in Zambia. The students are church planting, pastoring and going our as missionaries - that was our dream and vision and God did it! Our vision statement has always been: "reaching and teaching the nations to reach and teach the nations". "Preaching" this vision was one ting, but we felt God calling us to reach out and "do it". We have felt God prompt us to live this vision as an example of those we have taught at Heart of Africa.
Now begins the new task of starting life all over, setting up house and office again, building new relationships with those we will be working with and seeking the Lord's guidance as to the exact work He would have us do. We will be working with a group called "Touch the Needy Ministries" whom ACOP of Canada has had an affiliation with for a number of years. Itinerant ministries from Canada have ministered among this group in recent years.
Once we are set up and established, we intend to take time to learn the Swahili culture and get a good handle of the Kiswahili language (essential in East Africa). Furthermore, we feel it is essential that we take time to build relationships with the Tanzanian people, assess the needs in Dar es Salaam specifically and Tanzania generally and pray for clear strategies and direction from the Lord as to how he would have us pioneer a work that would be effective and glorifying to Him. During this time we intend to develop and train local Christian leadership.
Our boys have been homeschooled for the past8 years. This has been a blessing, a spiritually enriching time for both mom and kids and we have all been involved in the ministry of Heart of Africa as a family. At this time, however, our children will have an opportunity to attend a school for the first time in Dar es Salaam. There is an excellent missionary school which ministers to MKs, Tanzanian children and other foreign kids. Muslims are also allowed into school as well to give opportunity for evangelism. We feel that it is crucial for our children to learn how to interact with kids from different cultures at this stage in their development. They are excellent friends with African children and can flow in the African culture wonderfully but have had little opportunity to interact with foreign children. This may affect how they are able to integrate into Canada one day. Without the benefit of Sunday School in English, boys club, youth group and other similar ministries and activities at a local church that they may enjoy in Canada, this opportunity to grow spiritually, socially and academically in the missionary school here in Dar will be a great blessing to them.
The cost would have been between $8,000 and $15,000 per year per child for school in Zambia so it wasn't even a consideration there. However, this opportunity is much more reasonable.