EAST AFRICAN VISIT FEBRUARY 2009

Our first Afmin Schools of 2009 took place recently.

MOROGORO
The first school for 2009 was held in Morogoro Tanzania, and was in fact a 2nd year class. Morogoro is situated approximately 169km South-West of Dar-es-Salaam, on the main road to Zambia. After 30 km odd of city area, the country consists mainly of cultivated plots. The roads are in fair condition and work is currently underway to upgrade the existing tarred road.

80 km from Dar-es-Salaam, one crosses the Ruvu river. Photos of the area are not allowed as the National Power Station, which uses water from the river, is next to the road. Shalinze is the largest town on this road and is a junction to the larger towns like Moshi near Kilimanjaro, Arusha and Nairobi in Kenya.

One continues on the main road to reach Morogoro. To the East lie beautiful mountains which caused a little homesickness for the Cape. With the daily afternoon showers, one is not surprised by the vast plant life. Bushes with the nicest colours, trees of all shapes and sizes and green, green grass add to the beauty of this town.

There are 2 Universities in Morogoro. Msumbi University is about 7km outside town and the Sokoine University is 15 km from the first. This facility was used as a military camp by the ANC during the apartheid years. This year, our school was held in the main building of the university. We began on Mondy 16 February 2009, with 152 students attending from the southern and northern regions of Tanzanzia. Alta and I were delayed in arriving as someone had erroneously taken our luggage at the airport and only returned it 5 hours later!

The subject on which I taught was my favourite – “A lifestyle of Praise and Worship”. For 4 ½ days, I was able to teach the principles of Praise and Worship in the lives of men and women. Leonard Daffa, the Tanzanian Co-Ordinator for AFMIN, also taught on the subject “Spiritual Leadership 2”. The desire which these people have to learn, never ceases to amaze us! At each school one can see their spiritual growth. At the end of each week, they write exams and also take home certain assignments which have to be completed as part of the course. This school costs a total of R210000.00 towards which the students only pay $50.00 each.

We wish to thank our sponsors in the RSA and USA for their support, by which we can offer training to these church leaders.

MOMBASA
Alta and I then moved on to Mombasa in Kenya, which is situated 303 km North from Dar-es-Salaam. A one-way flight with Precision Air between the two cities costs $330 (R3450!). Travel in Africa is not cheap!

Mombasa is situated on an island between the sea and lakes. The contrast between modern and very old buildings is very obvious. One immediately becomes aware of the incredible heat and the somber atmosphere caused by the Islamic faith which is so prevalent there. Generally Mombasians are suspicious of visitors, however tourism provides their main source of income. The churches are battling along and there is a slow but steady growth in membership. Unfortunately, the churches do not work in unity, with each wanting to do their own thing. This is such a pity!

Our first school in Mombasa kicked off with 69 students. These are men and women who want the Kingdom of God to come to Mombasa. This was the most disciplined school that I have taught in so far. The students were always on time and even in the extreme humidity, they showed no signs of sleepiness which is usually a problem we tend to pick up a lot.

One of my spiritual sons from Uganda joined me in presenting the teachings. Pastor. Rogers Sserwadda Mwesigwa was one of our first students in Nakuru, Kenya and we have developed a special bond between us. (Photo 131) I concentrated on the subject of “The Church and the Kingdom” We challenged the students - "Let the Kingdom of God come in Mombasa and let the ECCLESIA again be the Church of God" - as it is in Heaven let it be in Mombasa!

We saw many lives change during these two schools and we experienced what could be our deepest spiritual moments in the past 15 years that we have been presenting classes. I must admit, that Alta and I were both physically drained. You may ask why? I don’t think there is one single answer to this question. However, the enemy does not like what we are doing. The Kingdom message reveals his hold on the nations. We will continue to be as yeast in every nation which we infiltrate and will declare the Kingdom of God, as Alta and I have been called, together with thousand others, to bring the Kingdom of God to the earth.