Dear Friends,
We have had some children’s crusades.
The last one was at Bagamoyo, which is a historic city from the time of slavery. This was the port from which slaves were shipped to America and Europe, among others. The city is 99% Muslim so there are very few Christians and very little Christian activity.
We wonder very much whether any children would come to the meetings at all. The site was in the middle of an Arabic neighborhood. According to the pastor, no Christian crusades had been held at the city. To be honest, the “faith barometer” was low. The pastor encouraged us and said the whole church prayed and fasted during the whole crusade. We really needed that for resistance was tangible.
A gospel choir participated in the meetings and attracted a lot of people. And our big puppet “Kadogo”, which is a friend of all children, had their fear go away and they came out of all their hiding places. Now we could begin telling the gospel to the children and it became a very blessed crusade in spite of struggle. All honor to Jesus. A week like that gives a lot of experiences and we become aware how dependent we are on God’s help. The church at Bagamoyo who had invited us experience growth and a good time. They recently baptized 11 new Christians.
Tabitha and Torkild
The father disappeared and they have had no contact with him for several years. Ruth is a bright girl in school. Her school decided to sponsor her schooling because they are really poor. For various reasons the school recently shut down and Ruth had to find another school.
The mother cannot afford to send Ruth to another school. Ruth’s grandfather is a Maasai and he wants to have her back in Maasai land. He does not want a girl to get eductaed, but instead follow the Maasai traditions for girls: to be married. Maasais think that only boys should get educated.
Ruth’s mother told me that Ruth’s grandfather had received an offer from an elderly, wealthy Maasai who wanted to pay a very large dowry in the form of many cows in order to marry Ruth. Ruth had been desperate because she wanted to stay in school, get her education and choose her husband when the time was ripe. For this reason the mother and Ruth came to our office asking for help.
We trusted God and sent Ruth to a good, Christian school where she is thriving.
We received a sponsor who will support her until Form 4 is completed. But Ruth wishes to continue for another two years and graduate from High School. If any of you would like to support Ruth for a few more years please write us or send a gift to our missions account. Please earmark it “Ruth”.
