It's a Girl!

A few weeks ago, we traveled to Nairobi, Kenya to take our parnters, Nate and Heather Wolf to the airport. While we were there, Tricia was able to receive a 3D ultrasound. The doctor says everything is progressing well and both mother and baby are in good health. So, we introduce to you for the first time, Rachel Lynn Henderson!

Siku Ya Vijana/Youth Day

On October 2nd, the TRUTH Center hosted the 2nd annual Siku ya Vijana or Youth Day. From start to finish, we welcomed over 200 teenagers from our small community for a full day of games, tournaments, music, skits, food and a movie. The Gospel was presented two times throughout the day. We trust that the Word of God will not return void and we will see much spiritual "fruit" from the Youth Day in the future.

Meet Baby Henderson!

We recently found out that we will be expecting our first child! Tricia is almost 18 weeks along and we are expecting to meet baby Henderson around the 5th of February. Tricia and the baby are in good health. Praise the LORD!

Summer Fun

Although it is the coldest part of the year in Tanzania, we still enjoyed our "summer" interns Samantha and Matt. Samantha taught at the school 4 days a week and Matt taught Science and assisted Nate in the ministries in Basotu. Both were a HUGE blessing to the ministry and we really enjoyed hanging out with them both.

Opportunities to Minister

Since we moved to Tanzania in December 2008, the Lord has blessed us with many opportunities to serve at the ministries at the Truth Center. God has taught us many valuable lessons in how to serve in a different culture and in a different language. Brad stays busy preaching and teaching at the church, teaching at the local high school and also our Bible Institute. Tricia has been able to run the elementary school in Natalie's absence. It has helped her in her language and leadership skills. Although we will be VERY glad when the Burkholders return, we are also very glad that they left us during this time. We have gained many valuable lessons we would not have otherwise if they were still by our side helping us find our way through our very new surroundings!

Time with Family

Brad's nephew, Seth, was able to visit us last week. We were so happy to have Brad's first family member visit us here in Tanzania. He visit was short, but Seth was able to do many things. He visited a Barabaig village, ate cow oil and ugali, climbed Mt. Hanang, and went dirt bike riding in the "bush". We truly enjoyed his visit and it was such a blessing to be with family again.

Basotu's First Birthday

This past weekend, Basotu Baptist Church (the first church plant out of the Truth Center) celebrated it's first birthday. Missionary, Nate Wolf was joined by a group of Americans to help with the day's activities. During the weekend, they hosted the first annual Truth Cup soccer tournament. Brad assembled a group of players from Katesh and Arusha to compete against the Basotu team. Hundreds of people turned out for the event and two people accepted Christ as their Savior. It is our vision to use this soccer tournament each year to reach many with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Just another day in Katesh

There are many days we think, what in the world are we doing here? We get distracted by adjusting to the culture, language and the ministry we forget to appreciate all the great things God is doing all around us. Even the beauty of His creation. God has put us in such a gorgeous location! During our day off, this past Monday we decided to take the dirt bike for a little ride. This beautiful scene is just a few minutes of the beaten path behind our house. It is a huge crater, made many years ago by nearby Mt. Hanang.

2nd Annual Goat Cup

On Easter weekend, we were able to host our second annual goat cup. Five teams played for two days and the winners received a goat and each received a New Testament Bible. Win or lose, everyone heard the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Our Newest Addition- Manny

Two months ago, one of our guard dogs died. His brother, Mocha was left behind, missing his favorite playmate. So during our next trip to Arusha to get supplies we casually stopped in the vet's office to see if he knew of any dogs for sale. They said they had a male Rhodesian Ridgeback puppy, but he could not leave his mother for another two weeks. We were only in Arusha for one day and would not be back for another two weeks exactly! It is awesome to see how God works out even the small things!

Exposure brings opportunity

While the children's ministry team was here, we wanted to expose them to some real Tanzania culture! We took them to a near by Barabaig village to talk to the ladies, see some cultural dances and to witness their very different way of life. We were also able to talk to the village leader and have a official Tanzanian meeting under a big tree. These men expressed their greatest need of fresh water and a school. The nearest school is over 20 miles away and is too far for the children to walk by themselves. We are always praying for avenues to reach this needy tribe. We are now praying for ways to help facilitate these projects. By helping with these projects we also were given permission to evangelize their area and possible start the first church in their village!

Kids, kids, and MORE kids!

In February, we hosted a group of 12 adults from the States to minister to the children in our area. They visited local orphanages, schools, and hosted a Children Carnival at the Truth Center. Steve prayed the day before the carnival that the Lord would bring 700 children that day. We all thought he was nuts. But, the Lord proved us ALL wrong and we counted over 1000 children! There were games, prizes, music, balloons, and a clown. One of the guests also presented the large crowd with a Bible story and the Gospel. It was a day of complete chaos, but we trust the Lord of the Harvest to bring forth the fruit!

The Timothy House

It has been the prayer of our missionary partner, Steve, for many years to have a home to minister to local Barabaig young men. It is very common to travel far from your home and family to attend secondary school. This leads to much mischief and pregnancy. After many months of struggling with legalities, the Lord opened the door to buy land directly across from the TRUTH Center. This land will be the future home of the Timothy House. We will use this home as a dormitory for young Barabaig men as they attend school. Our vision goes much further than just to put a roof over their head, but to provide a solid Christian atmosphere and teaching from God's Word. We pray that the Lord will touch many lives and the HE will develop strong Christian leaders.
In this picture, Truth Baptist Church, is praying over the land of the future Timothy House, asking the Lord's blessing for many years to come!

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood

God has blessed us with a beautiful place to minister. We a have an picture of God's handiwork right in our backyard, Mt. Hanang. Mt. Hanang is a very important part of the Barabaig culture. It is where they bury and worship their dead ancestors. It is our prayer that God will soften their hearts to hear about the only TRUE God to be worshiped!
(You can see three farms in a row in the middle of the picture. Our home is directly to the right of them)

Teaching Others to Minister

We encouraged the people of our church to minister to the people at the hospital while the medical mission team was here. It is not only the job of the missionary and mission teams to minister the the sick, but it is means so much more when their own people help them, expecting nothing in return. While the team hung up mosquito nets, the church members prayed with each patient, gave them fruit and most importantly, the Gospel. Two ladies trusted Christ as their Savior that day!

Kweli Learning Center is growing!

The TRUTH Learning Center now has up to 2nd grade and 66 students. We praise the Lord for providing all the money to build three new classrooms. We will now have enough classrooms for up to grade 4. Here are a few pictures of the new building and a few of the students.

A dream come true!

The longer we live in a third world country, the more we become grateful for the things God has given us and for the great country we live in! One day, as Mama Sadikieli was helping me with some housework. She noticed some old magazines sitting by the couch. She was very curious about all the things that she saw for the very first time. Each time she came to the house she always asked to look at some pictures. When the time came to replace the magazines with some newer editions, I thought of Mama Sadikieli. I asked her if she wanted to take them home with her. Her eyes lit up immediately as she said, "It was always a dream of mine to be able to hang up magazine pages on my wall. But I could never afford it. Now I can!" Here in Katesh, most houses our made of mud bricks with no plaster or dry wall to cover them. So, to make it a little more "homey" the people cover the bad spots with old newspapers and magazines. Now she can make her little one room house and "home." The things we take for granted..........

Our First Medical Missions Team

We brought in the New Year by hosting a group of doctors, nurses, and pharmacists. This was a new experience for our team, so we did not know what to expect. The medical team was unable administer medicine themselves, but were able to minister to Katesh and Basotu physically and spiritually! They spent the first few days hanging over 100 mosquito nets in the local government hospital. This in itself has the potential of saving hundreds' of lives. They also hosted 2 medical seminars for the public and were able to advise over 200 people on basic health and prevention of common sickness. They were also able to hand out over 150 eyeglasses. They also hosted a medical seminar for all the health professionals in the area with a free dinner to all who attended. During there stay, 6 people trusted Christ as their Savior!