Tanzania Blog #2
After a full week of serving in the hospital, we have experienced many blessings and many trials. We have been able to see, serve, and pray for many patients this week at the hospital. It’s especially been a blessing to have the opportunity physically care for Muslims and pray the gospel over them. A patient who came in on Monday for treatment was experiencing lower back pain and hip pain. She came back a few times throughout the week to progress her physical healing. We’ve been able to treat her physically through a treatment called dry needling. On Monday when she first came in she was in extreme, constant pain and was having difficulty walking. After her third treatment, she reported that she was 75% better in terms of pain and was able to walk without a limp. Not only were we able to minister to her physical needs through treatment, but we have really begun to develop a relationship with her and engage with her about her faith. She was raised Roman-Catholic, but married a Muslim man. Therefore, she was required to convert to Islam. We are grateful that she accepted prayer from us each time she came in and we are hopeful that the seeds we planted through sharing the truth with her will see her welcomed into the family of God.
We have also been able to really grow as a team and see the Lord move in our relationships with one another. Seeing the way God has brought us together in unity to serve the people at the hospital and at the church has been so encouraging. Every morning before work, we would have chapel on the hospital grounds where we would sing Swahili worship songs and someone from our team would share an encouragement from God’s Word. On Thursday afternoon, we had a lull in patients and one of our translators suggested we have a worship session. We had a guitar with us and got to sing praises in our clinic.
As we talked about in our last blog, we have connections with a church in a village called Nyantole, which is not too far from the hospital and where we’re staying. We were supposed to go back Thursday night for Bible study to preach the Word to the villagers, but due to some unforeseen circumstances we were not able to go and our next couple visits to the village have also been pushed back. This is one of the few instances since being here that we have experienced spiritual warfare and ask for your prayers as we continue to walk forward for the Kingdom.
We will not be discouraged and know that God is with us and is not finished with the work that we have here still. He will continue to protect us and guide us to complete His good works. Please also pray for the seeds we are planting that they will produce good harvest and that we will see physical and spiritual healing for those we encounter!
