Thursday, November 6, 2008
Today was the big day. Today was the day of the LCEA regional conference here in Moshi. All of the seminary students, plus our pastors from all over Tanzania were here. In all, we had 34 persons in attendance! We had a very good turnout and we were very happy about that.
The conference was scheduled to begin at 10:00am. Of course very few things run on time here in Africa. We say that the people here run on "Africa time" which means that it will probably be 30 minutes to a hour after the "scheduled" time. It drives us crazy, but there is little that we can do since it is so ingrained in the African culture that time really doesn’t matter. We were ready and waiting at 10:00 am. Some of the pastors were there, but others continued to arrive.
Finally we began at about 10:45. Russ gave the opening devotion and we all joined in the signing of "Open now the gates of Beauty" in English. After some opening remarks and greetings, I gave a presentation on Old Testament laws and ceremonies and their application to God’s New Testament people. There is a great deal of application for this topic here in Tanzania because of the large number of reformed and Seventh Day Adventist churches here.
Time was given for questions and answers, and then we took a short break. After the break, Russ went through a review of Bible doctrine laid out in the catechism. It was a valuable review for everyone. Then we broke for lunch. The hotel served lunch right there. It was buffet style with rice and spaghetti with gravy, chicken, and vegetables. Sodas were also provided. Most of the men who had come were local men from the Moshi/Himo area. But men were also there from Dar es Salaam, Tanga, and even central Tanzania!
After lunch we started back up with a homiletics study. I asked for their help in writing a sermon and took them through the steps of preparing a sermon. This was more interactive which helped to keep people awake after filling their stomachs! At 3:00pm we took another short break before finishing up the conference. Russ finished his review of Biblical doctrine with questions on the sacraments, which sparked some very good questions. At about 4:30 we concluded with prayer and the singing of a hymn in English and Swahili. It was a wonderful conclusion to a great meeting.
After the conference I visited with many of the pastors and said goodbye to those who had to leave that night. It was very enjoyable to see men I had met last year and meet many new ones as well. It was very obvious that they appreciated the conference we had put together. One man even asked that we plan for additional days in the future so more could be taught and learned! It can be costly to put together a conference like this, but it is very rewarding. The cost of this conference was much more that I had anticipated, but we also had many more men then what I had planned for, and that it a real blessing! Your offerings to the CLC MDF help to support conferences like this one as well as the purchasing of Bibles and Catechisms which are really needed by the people of this area. Thank you to all those who have given to this fund, and please continue to keep this work in your prayers!
In Christ
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