Jim & Julie in Africa - together at last!

Yes, Jim and I are finally together in Africa.  Jim left San Francisco on a Saturday and arrived in Kigoma on the next Tuesday, with 24 hours of actual flying time.  I was able to surprise Jim at the DAR airport, not because I planned it in advance, but because Coni needed an emergency

Ethel (Julie) & Lucy (Coni)

appendectomy.  We ended up flying to DAR for
her surgery after the doctor made a house call.
He told me I needed to get Coni to a hospital,
so two hours later we were on a plane, and by
late afternoon, she was checked into the hospital
for tests, with surgery the following morning.
Here we are laughing in the hospital bed.  The
staff had to tell us several times to be QUIET - not a word either of us know the meaning of!  We felt like we were in a MASH episode, with the rows of iron beds.  It may have looked like a WWII hospital, but the surgeon was great and the surgery was successful!

Unfortunately, Jim picked up a bug on the plane, so he was down for the first 4-5 days with a fever and a hacking cough. The cough is still lingering, but he is doing much better.  We are settling into our house, and Jim is right in the thick of "the 3 guys" (Harold, Sylvester & Jim, who have been friends for years).  He's also had a chance to begin making new friendships with staff he had not met before.  He and Shukuru will be working together on the boat as well as all of the facilities and operations of the ministry. who with me will take care all the facilities that Hope of the Nations.

Sunset over Lake Tanganyika

Yesterday he had a chance to go to the port and see the boat in the water.   He can't wait to get out and use it for ministry. Harold, Jim, Moses and some others will be going south down the lake so that Moses can do some training for Kid's Club leaders. They will also have a chance to stop by some of the smaller villages on the way back and introduce themselves and see if we can do future outreaches there that will include preaching, kid’s club, door-to-door evangelism and medical.




Last Saturday night was the third Hope of the Nations Bible College graduation.  This year there were 4 graduates, and it was exciting to hear each of them speak about what God had taught them and how they wanted to use their education to teach and preach in their home villages.  It was the first graduation Jim has been to, and it was a great celebration, with preaching, singing, fellowship and food.

Pastors & Missionaries praying over graduates!

Jim got his first indoctrination into shopping in Kigoma -- he and Shukuru went to buy some plumbing supplies.  This is not like going to Lowe's or Home Depot where you can be in and out in 10 minutes.  No, this was 10 items in 1-1/2 hours!  The pace is slow but the smiles are quick!  Plus we are finding a real hunger to know God.  At our staff meeting following graduation, the comments weren't about taking a break now that school was over - no, it was when can we head out to the villages on outreach?!

 Just to close, we're adding a couple of pictures of our house.  This is definitely not what we were anticipating here in Africa.  Yes, as you can see, we're suffering for Jesus!  Seriously though, we are blessed to have found a place at all to rent, and then to have it be such a nice place - totally unexpected. One of the great things about it is the large garden, which has already been started.  We are hoping to grow enough to share with other staff to help reduce costs.  The best thing, however, is that we have TWO guest rooms, so our door is open for visitors!  Karibu sana Kigoma!!