I have just returned from two weeks in Tanzania where my friend Ryan and I conducted Pathways workshops in Iringa and Muheza. The focus for both workshops was on the first several chapters of Genesis, primarily focusing on how to develop a good message statement from the passage through determining important ideas, sections, and the author’s flow of thought. Both networks started out slow, but as the training continued, they caught on and made significant improvement.

This trip had a bit of a strange start: On the outbound flight we were stopped in Arusha, Tanzania due to the fact that a large hole suddenly appeared on the runway in Dar es Salaam, our intended destination.

The plane was unable to land in Dar, so we were stuck for a day in Arusha. Very strange problem, but we tried to make the best of it, and I ended up preaching in a local church in Arusha.

Eventually we made it to our first training in Iringa, led by pastor Tumaini. A favorite part of the training was introducing each network to the “Whole Story of the Bible,” complete with hand motions. Check out this video:

Meals each day consisted of rice, beans, and greens, once in a while with a piece of meat.

The pastors are doing a good job passing on the training to others, with about 360 others being trained between the two networks. The 10 hour bus ride from Iringa to Muheza was a bit challenging, but being with our beloved pastors is worth any suffering. In Muheza we stayed with our coordinator, pastor James Andrew, who was a gracious host and whose wife cooked great meals of … you guessed it, rice, beans, and greens.

We had opportunities to preach in churches in Muheza, and they all sent their greetings back home.

We thoroughly enjoyed the warm weather in Tanzania, but getting home to family was a sweet reunion. I’m thankful for the good work God is doing in these pastors lives, and continue to pray for faithful preaching of the Word to spread throughout Tanzania, Africa, and globally.