On my way to Tanzania
October 1, 2022
Dear friends of Workers Together With Him,
I greet you in the blessed name of Jesus Christ, our Lord,
It has been a long time since I’ve been able to make such an announcement, but on Monday, October 4, I am embarking on a trip to Matebete Village in Tanzania, Africa, expecting to arrive home again on October 20th. This is my first mission trip since the global lockdown began and ended, and a full three years since my last trip to see my Maasai friends. God has always been extra good to me on these trips, and the Tanzanian Christians have always opened their hearts to me in such a way that I feel like they squeeze me like a sponge to receive all that they can from my teachings.
I am traveling alone to Tanzania, but then again, I am not traveling alone. Most important, I have the indwelling Holy Spirit to lead and inspire me. It is my earnest prayer that I could be like a sail driven by his wind. In truth, my walk with the Lord has been far less majestic, but that has not stopped me from aspiring to such a thing!
Besides that, I bring the “spiritual companionship” of everyone who joins me in prayer for the success of this mission. And that is why I am including you in this letter, because I would be very blessed and appreciative if you would take part in this mission by being on my prayer team.
During my week in the village I will be teaching on the Epistle of Galatians, along with other shorter topics. This is a new class for me. I completed my work on the PowerPoint presentation a few weeks ago, and presented all six sessions to my church over the course of a few hours. I am very happy with how it turned out. (The best part of writing these classes is how much I learn myself!) If you are interested, you can download the class HERE. As with most of my online classes, there are 10 questions to answer at the end of each session, but since this class was not developed for my students in Nepal, the answers are also provided. (But try to answer without looking!)
My presentation in Matebete Village will not be on PowerPoint, of course. The message needs to be translated into Kiswahili, not to mention that I won’t have access to the electronics I would need. So I have spent quite a bit of time making a new set of notes that do not rely on pictures, while making sure I can explain things in simple words that are easily translatable. It was Albert Einstein who said (at least supposedly) “If you can't explain it to a six-year-old, you don't understand it yourself.” Maybe he said it, maybe he didn’t, but I am still convinced that the job of a teacher is to make difficult things easy to understand. That is the part of being a Bible teacher that is fun and challenging – first, learning the material itself, and then learning how to present it in a way that is easily understood. Both tasks are impossible without the Holy Spirit.
Special thanks once again to all you who have blessed me with financial support. The Bible says that because of your giving, you will share fully in whatever rewards I earn, and I pray that your investment will not be in vain.
Just in case you didn’t know this already and might be interested, a few months ago I recorded seven of my original songs and uploaded them to YouTube HERE. I would love to think that these songs might edify, exhort, and comfort you.
God bless you. Thanks again,
In the Service of His Majesty, the King of kings,
Tim Sullivan