Venue: Arusha
Theme: Please remember Rev. Lee in our prayers.
Mission Trip to Tanzania
20 Nov - 06 Dec 2006
To visit and encourage brethren at existing outreaches in Arusha, Tanzania.
20 November 2006
On the 20th of November 2006, I took a bus to Singapore with my luggage all set for Africa. Thank God for the encouragement and well wishes from church members for this trip. By God’s providence, a Singaporean couple, Dn & Mrs Wee Hian Kok, was at the Lord’s Day service at Calvary Jaya on the 19th of November, a day before I left for Singapore. They also gave encouraging words for the trip since they were there for a few weeks in June.
As I travelled in the bus towards the south of our Malaysian peninsula, I saw many oil palm plantations. Do you know that the first oil palm tree came from West Africa? We are indebted to the great continent of Africa for our oil palms.
Since entering full-time ministry about 20 years ago, Africa has been in my mind as a potential mission field. But I never made any serious effort to go. Since Calvary Jaya supported African FEBC students and I as pastor knew little about Africa, I was invited to visit Africa and the churches there a few years ago. I hesitated to accept the invitation but at the end of last year when I received another invitation to visit Africa in a missions conference, I felt then that it was the time to say yes.
When I reached Singapore, Rev Wee Eng Moh picked me up from FEBC to have some fellowship in the late afternoon. Later in the evening, Dr and Mrs Jeffrey Khoo brought me to have dinner with Rev and Mrs Timothy Tow. Although now in his evening years, Rev Timothy Tow is still passionate about missions. He even wanted to send us off at the airport.
21 November 2006
On 21st November at about 3am, we flew with Qatar Airways to the city of Doha. This was the city that hosted the 15th Asian Games just ended. Sportsmen at the Games compete for a perishable crown but we Christians press towards the mark of Christ for an imperishable crown. The whole journey took us about 8 hours with a distance of approximately 6215 km. Qatar is a small but very wealthy Arab nation. Thank God for the smooth journey and a very pleasant service on board. The brand new airport wing is very efficient in service.
I have heard that drinking water is more expensive than petrol in the Middle East. One small bottle (500 ml) of mineral water costs USD1. Truly, I appreciated every drop of it! After 3 hours of waiting, we flew to the city of Nairobi in Kenya. The Airbus A320 took us to the height of 36,000 ft above sea level, and it took us 5 hours to reach Nairobi, covering a distance of 3407 km. After such a long journey, I felt quite tired. Nairobi is a city on a high land. Recently, Kenya had received abundant rain. It made the government worry. The government thought of declaring a nationwide disaster as widespread flooding had destroyed certain areas. The Lord had mercy on us. Our plane touched down on dry ground at Nairobi.
Rev Mark Kim Kyung Soo, Pr Eben Yoon and Pr Richard Tiu met us at the airport. Rev and Mrs Mark Kim of Korea were called to serve at the Bible College of East Africa (BCEA) in Nairobi 17 years ago. Rev Mark Kim told me there are about 100 Korean missionaries with their families in Nairobi. It is reported that South Korea is the second most missions-minded church in the world after the United States of America. We have a lot to learn from their courage and obedience. Rev and Mrs Mark Kim have laboured hard in the vineyard. Now they see the fruits of their labour. Please pray for Rev Mark Kim’s health. There are about 90 students in the college now.
After we were comfortably settled into our rooms at BCEA, Dr Jeffrey Khoo began to teach that very same night. “In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good” (Eccl 11:6). There were about 60 students who attended his lectures on 1 and 2 Thessalonians. I was invited to preach in the morning chapel the next day. The Lord provided a 10-acre land for BCEA in Nairobi. The campus has many trees, flowers and plants.
22 November 2006
After the morning service, Rev Mark Kim fetched Eld Tan Nee Keng (Berean BP Church) and me to Arusha of Tanzania. Enroute to Arusha, we passed by a vast area of land inhabited by the Masai who are nomads. This place is full of lerai trees. The unique feature of this tree is that it is full of thorns like huge toothpicks. The giraffes love the leaves. The Masai kept their cows, sheep and goats in this area. They made sure that their next generation knew their culture and practices well. Oftentimes, they organised training camps for teenagers. They stressed on communal living and tried to solve every problem within their community without the need to consult the civil government. (It is in sharp contrast with our modern, individualistic living and practices). Missionaries have made efforts to reach out to them. Some of them who have become members of the kingdom of Christ have given up the practices that contradict the Word of God.
On the road to Arusha, we saw a few giraffes by the roadside. The giraffe, which is the national animal of Tanzania, is known for its tameness. After clearing the hurdles of the muddy road, we managed to arrive safely in Arusha city after a 340-km journey. Know that one litre of petrol in Kenya costs USD1.10.
Arusha is located at the north east of Tanzania and is a famous tourist city in Tanzania. Arusha is the Hindi word for “City of the Rising Sun”. After checking in to Hotel Saba Saba (which means 77), we went to visit BCEA Tanzania.
BCEA Tanzania is located in the small town of Usa River which is approximately 23 km away from Arusha city. The Bible College is built on 8 acres of land located at Chem Chem Village (translated as “water springs”) and about 1.2 km off the main road. Rev Elibariki Peter Nanyaro and the students were there to welcome us. We could see the majestic Mount Meru from the Bible College campus. Mount Meru is the second tallest mountain in Africa. We took the opportunity to pose for a few photographs with Mount Meru at the background.
When we returned to the hotel that night, there were no street lights. The pedestrians had to depend on the passing vehicles’ lights. In the hotel room, we were blessed with quietness. There was no television but we had the “African Insects’ Symphony.” Blackouts are frequent in the country due to the lack of power supply. How I appreciated the street lights in our homeland and the candles in the hotel room! The whole world is in spiritual darkness and in need of the gospel light desperately. As Christians, are we shining for the Lord in our respective corners?
23-24 November 2006
The largest Christian denomination in Tanzania is the Evangelical Lutheran Church which has joined the World Council of Churches. It was started by German missionaries and later helped by the Lutheran Church of the United States. Rev Elibariki’s church is called African Mission Evangelism Church (AMEC). It was separated from the Evangelical Lutheran Church many years ago. His church takes a stand against the unbiblical ecumenical movement which is prevalent in most countries today. The greatest need of his church is the sound teaching and preaching from the Bible.
Most of the students in the Bible College are preachers or pastors. The oldest student is over 60 years old. It is encouraging to see students who are much advanced in age. We should never stop learning as long as we live. Learning is an exciting process of gaining wisdom.
I was given 3 hours each day to teach the book of Ecclesiastes to the students. There were 16 of them who attended the class. They were attentive and most of them did quite well in tests after the lectures. Many of them are not so fluent in English but they are willing to work hard.
25 November 2006
On the first Saturday afternoon of arrival, Rev Elibariki brought us to the home of Rev Judah Pallangyo which is about 5 km from the main road. Rev Judah’s wife and family members welcomed us warmly with food and drinks. Mrs Beatrice Judah is a graduate of BCEA (Nairobi). God has blessed them with a two-year old son named Mark. In the vicinity of the home, we saw the shepherds with their sheep, goats and cattle. Such an environment is conducive to train many men of God. Think of the Old Testament patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and even Moses who were shepherds.
26-29 November 2006
Most of the pastors in AMEC churches are full-time farmers. There are very few preachers in the town. On the next Lord’s Day, we went to preach in the different congregations of AMEC. I spoke on the Parable of the Great Supper and Rev Elibariki was my interpreter. The Lord has blessed these Christian villagers with good voices. The choir sang in parts beautifully. Rev Elibariki’s church expressed their thanks to Calvary Jaya for our support of his training at FEBC. The church building is very simple and built on the top of the hill.
There was one day when the Bible College gardener showed us a squirrel-like animal which he had caught. It is called “fuko” in the local language. It ate the plants by digging burrows. They are considered a pest that destroys all young plants. With two long front teeth, they become the enemy of farmers. It is not easy to catch them as they work from underground.
During the week, we visited two Christian bookstores in the city. The Bible and Christian books are more expensive here due to the limited market. The weather here is hot but without the humidity that we experience in Malaysia. Bread could be kept for a few days without turning mouldy.
On the eighth day, we visited the home of Rev Elibariki on a hilltop near Mount Meru. His wife prepared us a hot meal. We then took a rest in the afternoon. We met his four-year old son named Jeffrey.
30 November 2006
On the 30th of November, I was invited to speak at the Combined Youth Conference of AMEC. I spoke on the life of Samson. People came from different villages, some even travelled for as far as 50 km. There was a 50-year old mother who asked permission to join the youth conference. She was a youth at heart. The youth conference was attended by some 50 participants. The conference was held in a church which was situated near the burial ground of the first German Protestant missionary who had died for his faith.
Fifty percent of the Tanzanians live below the poverty line. However, as long as a person believes in Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Saviour, he is not poor in the eyes of the Lord. How many people who have abundance of wealth are actually poor because they do not have the living and true God. The people in Tanzania do not practice tribalism. They live in harmony. By and large, they are friendly to visitors. Think of the tribal war between two tribes in a neighbouring country that has taken 800,000 lives in 100 days.
01 December 2006
In the evening of the 1st of December, we attended the end-of-term dinner of the Bible College. We had a good meal in one of the classrooms. Rev Elibariki, the academic dean, together with the students expressed appreciation for our teaching ministry and hoped for us to visit them again.
02 December 2006
On the second Saturday evening, we had an Ethiopian dinner in a restaurant. The food tasted good and was filling to the stomach. The dishes tasted rather like Indian food. Arusha city is different from Kuala Lumpur on Saturday night. It is so quiet because many people stayed at home on Saturday night. Is it not a good practice for Christians to rest early and wake up early to worship and serve God on the Lord’s Day?
03 December 2006
The next day, I was invited to preach in the Marikanda congregation. After the service, we lunched with the Bishop of AMEC, Rev Lucas Pallangyo. He is about 80 years old with a joyful spirit. We enjoyed fellowship with him. After that, we drove to visit Kilimanjaro International Airport. While we were there, we saw the unveiling of the snow-capped peak of Mount Kilimanjaro. At 19,340 ft above sea level, it is the tallest mountain in the great continent of Africa. The grandeur of the sight was awe-inspiring and humbling.
04-06 December 2006
The following day saw us taking a minibus back to Nairobi. We stayed the last night in Nairobi before we took the flight home via Doha and Singapore. Thank God for the safe and fruitful journey. Thank God for the help of friends in Kenya and Tanzania throughout the mission trip. In Christ, we are not limited by geographical boundaries, ethnicity and languages. We are one in the body of Christ.
After sixteen days of travel, it is so good to taste the spicy Malaysian curry again. God willing, we shall return to the Bible College to teach God’s Word. Can we forget Africa? Will you support the work of God there?
