5 days in Mwanza

We spent the next 5 days in Mwanza. The weather was beautiful. I am guessing it was between 75 and 80. It is hard for me to guess as I am so used to high humidity levels which make it feel warmer. In Mwanza, there is low humidity so it really doesn't affect the heat index. Overall, it was comfortable the whole time we were there.
In the mornings, we went to Pastor Robert's(Pastor Richard's brother) church where Debra and Ginny did teaching for many pastors and lay people in the area. One morning, I think it was the second day, a man stood by the door and listened the whole time. When the teaching time was over, he asked if he could be saved. We prayed with him to receive salvation. After the teaching time we would return to the hotel for a snack and to prepare fo the open air crusade. Each afternoon, we went to an area, near where Pastor Richard's current church is now, to sing, preach, teach and pray with the people. We had several hundred in attendance including several Masai people. The Masai are a nomadic people that raise cattle on the savannas of Africa. They are highly respected in Africa for their bravery and integrity but they are heavily involved in their tribal religions. I was excited to see a couple come forward for salvation but then they left before the prayer was actually said. I believe there was some confusion for them but am very happy to know that we planted seeds in their hearts. Each night I spent a few minutes ministering to the children in attendance with my monkey puppet, George. The children were very excited to see and hear from George. I told a story about a caterpillar becoming a butterfly and compared that to how the children can become new if they love Jesus. I also told them about how Jesus loved to have the children come and sit with him and how even when the adults tried to push the children away, Jesus rebuked the adults telling them that we must all be like children to enter heaven.
One major dificulty for me was my inability to communicate with the people without an interpreter. Tanzania became a nation 40 years ago. At that time, the president, in an effort to unify the tribes, declared Swahili as the official language. No other languages could be taught in the school. This unification is part of the reason that Tanzania is such a peaceful country. It was just recently, in the late 90's that the nation began teaching English in the schools. This means that few adults know English well. The children, that are in school(school is required by law there but because it costs money for the uniforms and books-about $300 per year-many children's families cannot afford to send them) are learning English but not using it enough to be functional. Pastor Richard or his brother Pastor John, accompanied us everywhere we went. Pastor Richard interpreted for Debra and Ginny. For my teachings with George, their nephew, Alex, interpreted. I very much enjoyed working with Alex. He reminded me of a young Christian man named Victor that I know in Minnesota. Anyway, it is because of my frustration with the communication issue that our whole family is currently learning how to speak Swahili. We are using the Rosetta Stone computer program. Rosetta Stone is used by NASA and the US Government. It teaches a language through immersion. I highly recommend it and they have many, many languages available.
I very much enjoyed my 5 days in Mwanza. I was able to meet and spend time with many of Pastor Richard's family including his wife Gertrude and their two boys. We also spent an evening with Pastor James from the island. I will write more about him later. What a testimony he has. By the time we left Mwanza, it felt like I had family there and I knew that one day I would return there. Next, we boarded a bus to begin our trip to Bukumbi.