LSFM Honors Graduates!

This is the beautiful LSFM banner that was presented to the church by Rev. Dick Dickinson on behalf of the Layhill Community Church. It greets the church members and visitors when they arrive for worship everyday!

Susan Mlumba is presented with a gift from the LSFM by the District Leader Rev. Remmy Stanslaus for completing her studies at the Montesorri Teachers Training Center. Susan is now teaching at the Nuru Na Maisha Study Center in Nyasaka which is sponsored by Child Care International Ministries.

Hellen Omenda is presented with a gift from the LSFM by the District Leader Rev. Remmy Stanslaus for completing her studies at the Montesorri Teachers Training Center. Hellen is currently teaching in one of the Montesorri schools in Mwanza town. Praise God for these two women.

The Maasai FMC Continues to Grow Strong!

The Maasai FMC continues to grow strong. William has taught his fellow church members some new songs in Maasai. They praise their Lord with a lot of enthusiam and participate in the whole worship service from beginning to the end.

We are excited about the worship service with the YWAM team led by Heidi and Justin on the 6th of February this year.

Meet Our Evangelist Daniel & His family.

Yesterday, my wife Gladys, our Lay Pastor James Shija & I were privileged to visit our church evangelist, Daniel Mkwama and his family. They live in Buhongwa-about 40 minutes drive out of Mwanza town.


His wife is called Elizabeth. The Lord has blessed them with one daughter called Winner and a son called Goodluck.

Daniel preaches in the LSFM everyday over the lunch hours. He is spearheading the LSFM goal of bringing 50 new members into the church this year.

Apart from being the church evangelist, Daniel wants to realize the church members' endeavor of raising their incomes by using their hands to grow crops and make clay bricks.

Please pray for Daniel and his family that the Lord may use them to expand His kingdom here on earth.

Organic Farming & Appropriate Technology Can Change People's Lives.

On January 13th, 2006, I had the priviledge of visiting the Empowering Lives International Station at Kalemera-Chamgasia which is about 120 kilometers out of Mwanza City. The station is managed by Mr. Yakobo Yasini, a down-to-earth man of God who inspires you with his love for God and the people that he serves.

Yakobo has been practising sustainable agriculture and appropriate technology in this area since 2002. He teaches people how to do irrigation farming since rains are scare in this area. The project was started on a 2 acre plot. Today the project has acquired another 10 acres on which they teach livestock farming, poultry keeping, bio-intensive agriculture, making water pumps, making chain or rope wind mills, bread baking, bookkeeping, home economics, brick making, fish farming & drying, zero grazing, charcoal burning, making box solar cookers etc.

In December 2005, 21 students graduated from this center after successfully completing a 3 month course. Many of these students had finished four years of secondary school education but they still needed to learn life-skills that could enable them to put bread on their tables. Plans are underway to put up boarding facilities for students who wish to board as they study at this center.




Yakobo Yasini says getting people who are able to learn, understand and work as a team at the center has been his major challenge but he is happy that the Lord is bringing some his way. He also prays that the people who learn at that center may put into action what they learn.

ELI Kalemera is a possible place for the Free Methodist Church in Tanzania to send some of her people to be equipped with vital skills. Even the Maasai FMC members could benefit a lot from this training as it would enable them to acquire and possess skills that would enable them to be either self-employed or to be employed by individuals and organizations.


Please pray for the ELI center. Pray also that God may touch people to sponsor some of our church members to be trained here.

God bless you.

Wilner-Pastor's Daughter Excels in National Exams.

Fourteen-year-old Wilner Makokha who scored 425 out of the maximum 500 points to emerge among the top candidates in the Western Province of Kenya did not believe her eyes when she saw her name on Kenyan dailies.

"I found myself jumping and praising God," said the second-born daughter of Pastor John and Mrs Anne Makokha of the Riruta Chapel-United Methodist Church, Nairobi, Kenya.

Wilner who sat for her examinations at Chakol Girls Boarding Primary School in Western Kenya said she knew she would perform well. “In fact I expected to perform better than this” says Wilner as she points at her scores on one of the dailies.

She attributes her success to hard work, prayers, and support from her parents and teachers. She also thanks her cousins who have completed university studies or are undertaking university studies for challenging her to perform well in her exams. Wilner says she looked at them and saw that they were studying to become lawyers, doctors, IT specialists etc and that gave her a big challenge. She made up her mind to either follow in their shoes or even perform better than them.

She says she would like to be a medical doctor, adding that her best subjects at school were mathematics and Kiswahili.

"I particularly thank my parents for the support they gave me during my studies, because they provided me with everything I needed," she says.

Wilner will be joining Kenya High School in Nairobi. This is one of the best National schools in the country. While this may be an answered prayer, it also needs a lot of money to enable her to undertake her studies there. At least US $ 1,200 will be needed this year to keep cater for her school fees and other related expenses.

Your prayers, moral and financial assistance are needed in order to enable Wilner to pursue her studies at Kenya High School. Any assistance can be sent either directly to her school or via her parents. For more information, please contact her using this e-mail address: jmakokha2000@yahoo.com or Anne.Baraza@ negst.edu

Wilner is a niece to Pastor Gerald Baraza

Outstanding Student Ordained!

It was joy and praises in the Nyasaka FMC this morning when Pastor Conrad Edmund was ordained deacon. Pastor Conrad has been faithful in the Free Methodist Church of Tanzania for the last five years. He has planted churches in Nyamtondo, Mnekezi, Buyoga, Buselesele and Geita town. He is an "A" student in class and he has served as the class chairman in five modules. Pastor Conrad received his first theological training in the Christian Methodist Bible College in Arusha, Tanzania. He is married with four children.
The members of the FMCT were blessed to see Bishop W'Elongo Luheya from Congo. It is always a blessing to hear him preach.
Among the people who attended the ordination service were the National Superintendent, District Superintendents, missionaries and Pastors from all over the country.
Please pray for Pastor Conrad as he takes on more responsibilities as an ordained deacon in the FMCT.

LSFM-Unpleasant News!

This is the LSFM pianist, Yusuph.
At around 9.00 am I received a call on my cell phone as I was taking The FMCT National Superintendent to lead the Annual Conference with the Bishop. The call was from our church pianist, Yusuph. He informed me that he had gone to the LSFM to fine- tune some of the choir songs on the keyboard only to find that our church had been broken into last night. Our amplifier worth US $ 150 and loud speaker worth US $ 130 were stolen. Only the keyboard and the microphone were left there. Maybe that was because the keyboard was too big to go through the opening on top of the church door that the thief/thieves used.

The choir members that have heard this news have vowed not to give into the schemes of the evil one. They will sing with or without instruments and they will still glorify the Lord!

FMCT National Leaders' Retreat & Annual Conference.

National Superintendent Fabian Kikoko teaching the National leaders who are attending the National Leaders' retreat in Mwanza. Please pray that the Lord may give a fresh vision and energy to the National leaders so that they may be able to accomplish the task that the Lord has called them to do.
The FMCT Annual Conference begins tomorrow. Please pray that the Spirit of God may be our guide and strength in everything that we do.

2006-It is now God or never!

In their new year songs, the LSFM choir called on the leaders & members of the FMCT to use the opportunity that God had given them to redeem what they had lost by returning to God, being faithful to His calling and using whatever resources they have to complete the unfinished task of preaching, teaching, baptizing and making disciples of all nations.
Samuel Ole Sonjo, a Maasai member of the of the LFSM thanked God for enabling him to see the new year. He recalled how he had been hospitalized 3 times in 2005 and how his marriage almost came to an end and how he almost despaired when all his livestock was wiped out by the raging draught. He confessed that were it not for the example of Job that he saw in the Bible, he would have committed suicide!
Pastor James Shija of the Maasai FMC trusts God to triple their numbers this year. The Maasai community has been hit hard by the draught. They have lost most of their animals but they are trusting God to enable them to work hard, save enough money and buy other animals when the rains come. Please pray for them

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

and all the best for 2006.


The Baraza family.

Meet My New Friend.

Hi

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. Mine was great! I just want to introduce you to my new friend. Her name is Rebecka Phelps-(Becka). She is a wonderful person. You can read more about her on her blog-http://www.xanga.com/beaker8205

Becka has a heart for the suffering children of Africa. She is trusting God to make a way for her to come and serve Him in Africa. Will you please join us in praying for this need. Let God's will be done in her life for His glory!

Ministering at Ihabuyaga.

Worshiping on Christmas day at Ihabuyaga, Kisesa, Mwanza.
Orphans from the Ihabuyaga church praising God.
The Nyakahanga choir praising God at Ihabuyaga.
The Baraza family being introduced to the congregation at Ihabuyaga on Christmas day.

Christmas holidays come with the excitement and expectations of a week long party!

21 Maasais gathered for worship in the Maaasai FMC on Christmas day.
The Ntama choir praising God on Christmas day.
After the worship service members of the Maasai FMC did what they know best-feasting on roasted goat meat with ugali!
The Nyasaka FMC choir was not left behind. They praised God in their new purple uniforms.

Christmas means a whole lot to different people!

When it was time for praising God, each one did it in his/her own way!
The Living Spring FMC choir stole the show with their new songs and dancing styles. The congregation could not help but ask for more!
Others made sure that the soup tasted just right!
On the other hand, each coin was counted to make sure that nothing was lost.

Character, Education & Budget-Keys to Success in 2006.

Character: “A quality of Christianity”. Character is defined - The pattern of behavior or personality found in an individual or group; moral constitution. How a Christian deals with the circumstances of their life speaks of their character.

Crisis doesn’t necessarily make character, but it does reveal it. Adversity in our lives is a crossroads where a person chooses one path – Character or Compromise.

Jesus was the ultimate example of character. Every time we choose character, we grow more into the image of Christ. Character is who you are when no one is looking.

Rom 5:1-4 “dokime” – Experience, Trustiness, Proof, integrity. Phil 2:19-22. Character is more than talk. Anyone can say they have integrity but action is the true indicator. Your character determines who you are. People that always seem to be at war with themselves have a problem in their character. James 2:18 But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

People Cannot Rise Above The Limitations Of Their Character. Have you ever seen highly talented people fall apart when they reach a certain level of success? The key to that phenomenon is character. Success without a good foundation of character is bound for failure. The 4 A’s – Arrogance, Aloneness, Adventure-seeking or Adultery.

Education: The field of education, covering ethics, religion, skills and general knowledge, is a very broad and very vital one. The importance of learning in enabling the individual to put his potentials to optimal use is self-evident. Without education, the training of the human minds is incomplete. No individual is a human being in the proper sense until he has been educated. Society has viewed education as an important part of life for many years. A few generations ago when a person received an education through the eighth grade level, they would be fine living their life and raising a family. The main reason for this was children were needed to help their parents around the house or on the farm. There was no desired need for an education past the eighth grade level. Parents wanted their children to know the basics of reading and arithmetic. Once the children were educated to that level, the parents would take care of the working aspect of their lives.

Budget: A basic budget plan is knowing how much income you will have, how much money you will spend, and how much money, if any, will be left over. Using the information available to you from your check register you only know how much money is available at that moment.

It is these three crucial things that we will be praying for in 2006 if we are to achieve our goals. It is these three things that will determine the amount of success or failure that we will have in 2006. Please pray that God may enable us to have a character worthy of His name and calling. Pray that we may grow in our knowledge of His Word so that we may feed on it and feed others as well. Pray that God may provide the needed budget for His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven!