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                COVID-19 otherwise known as the coronavirus has captured the world’s attention.  While we are all concerned about how close the virus may be to our hometown, we are also very concerned about how the virus is affecting the rest of the world. We have thousands of fellow Christians around the world who are also dealing with this virus in their own land. If we are concerned for our safety and access to proper screening and medical care, those in very poor countries are even more so due to a greater lack of such things, including Tanzania. I am passing onto you as a subscriber to the Challenge what I am learning about the current situation in Tanzania and especially at the Chimala Mission.
                From reading Tanzanian news sources, the number of people who have tested positive for the coronavirus is six. They include three Tanzanians and two foreign nationals; the sixth person’s identify has not yet been revealed. There are another 112 persons who could have made contact with the infected people with some already in self-isolation. It was only one day after the first confirmed case of the virus in Tanzania that the government ordered closure of all schools and banned all forms of public gatherings.
                Chimala Mission is also following the government’s directive by closing not only the primary and secondary schools, but also closing the Chimala School of Preaching. Boarding students in the primary and secondary schools as well as the preaching school students have all returned home until further notice. Shadrick Obely, Chimala Mission health secretary says that some restrictions have been put in place limiting the number of people visiting the hospital especially during normal visiting hours; and all people are advised to stay home. As to be expected, there are some who are in denial to the existence of the virus in Tanzania as in a video adapting the popular saying, “hakuna matata” (there are no worries), to saying, “hakuna corona” (there is no corona).
                No one knows how long this virus will continue to affect us personally or people around the world. It will undoubtedly affect upcoming visits to Tanzania for those who already had plans. We will try to keep you updated on the situation at the Chimala Mission in the upcoming weeks. In the meantime, please keep our brethren at Chimala in your prayers.

God bless!

Howell Ferguson

Eight students from the Form IV Religious Education Graduation and one hospital worker are baptized into Christ

Sometimes Gage Coldwater teases me about how many meetings I have to call. It’s all in fun – you have to have a sense of humor to do mission work! But when you consider the magnitude of this mission—a 120-employee hospital that touches the lives of 60,000 patients per year, 700 primary and secondary students plus teachers and staff, missionaries, 30 CSOP students and staff, and a host of doctors, matrons, cooks, cleaners, gardeners, farm workers, carpenters, plumbers, electricians and guards on a 720-acre estate—understanding the numerous things that occur at the mission every day is of upmost importance.

Just to name a few: teaching, preaching, tending to the sick and injured, learning new farming techniques, edifying, staff meetings, assemblies, repairing or making something, giving, receiving, asking, explaining, praying, listening, digging, baptizing, examining, giving birth to a newborn, mourning the death of a loved one, singing, eating, laughing, crying, driving…..you can literally get the picture in the images below:

These are only a fraction of the activities and works that go on at the Chimala Mission. They are not just pictures, they represent the souls of people on a journey that will eventually take us all before our Creator. Making the gospel available in this far and remote part of Africa is what has made the Chimala Mission so invaluable to so many people.

Your continued prayers, encouragement and support help keep this vital effort in southern Tanzania alive. There is still much to do and many challenges yet to face. Meeting these challenges is frequently at a financial cost, as are all effective works of the Lord. But we are confident that our God shall supply all our need to accomplish His will through good people like you. God bless! 

Howell Ferguson

We are now finishing the fourth day of our first visit to the Chimala Mission for 2019. It began in a similar way to countless other trips to Tanzania that we have taken in the past. A short flight from Nashville to Washington, D.C; an 8-hour flight to Zurich, another 10-hour flight to Dar-es-Salaam; and finally a short trip to Mbeya followed by a 2 ½ hour drive to Chimala. Menard Swila, mission administrator picked us up for the drive. All our luggage made it, so we arrived at the mission around 5:30 pm. As hard as the trip is, this one was as uneventful and smooth as they come.

Richard and Carol Rogers arrived at Chimala a day earlier than us just coming off their furlough. Gage and Kelly Coldwater and their children, Aurora and Pike, have been here at the mission for about a month working with the new farm project. With all of us here we have been taking advantage of opportunities to eat together and get to know one another better.

The jet lag seems to be a little more annoying than I remember. After waking up the last two nights feeling like I’ve been asleep all night, and then to see the clock read 12:30, is a bit frustrating. But the good coffee that I know is coming a few hours later is worth the slight inconvenience. Speaking of inconvenience, the electricity has been going out more than I would have guessed since it is the rainy season, and the hydro-electric plants should have plenty of water in their rivers. But so far we’ve woken to only one gully-washer early Saturday morning. I’m sure more will come. The road up to the Ailsa mountain mission behind the Chimala Mission is impassable. Consequently I may not be able to visit that work on this trip.

Since our arrival to Chimala started on a Friday, I have not disturbed the Chimala staff too much due to the weekend. But at the same time I have been able to jump-start a few discussions with Menard Swila—the mission administrator, as well as with Richard concerning the Chimala School of Preaching, and Gage with the farm program.

This morning, we worshipped at Itamboleo, a little congregation a few kilometers west of the mission on the Great North Road. Although there were only around 15 in attendance, the voices of the Tanzanians rang loud and clear in that little brick building. A visiting preacher was prepared to speak there as part of a preaching rotation among some of the congregations. I was asked to say a few words to prepare the church to partake of the Lord’s Supper and to prepare them for the time of the collection. That afternoon, Menard, Mary and I traveled to one of our favorite village churches – Chosi A. And our going there was not so much for the few members to hear me, as it was for the group of small children that came from all directions to hear Mary teach Bible lessons using laminated sheets that she had made several years ago.

Just this evening before sitting down to write this report, we enjoyed a tradition started by Bill and Cyndi Stinson of eating pizza at one of the mission houses. Carol asked everyone to come to her house where we crowded around a small oval table enjoying great pizza.

Tomorrow (Monday) morning will start the beginning of a very busy week. Chapel at CSOP will begin at 7:30, as do all the chapel services around the mission. The preacher students are returning to begin orientation and the first day of school. On my computer I have already made a list of many things I need to do including many meetings with department heads and administrators. The entire mission will be buzzing with activity with the preaching school, the hospital, the primary and secondary schools as well as all the activities of the farm project and estate workers.

On a final note, Bill and Cyndi Stinson had to cancel their flight to Chimala due to Bill having a health issue. Because he is facing several tests, he is not sure when he will be able to come. Thankfully, he and I have been discussing many areas about the mission as I have become the new stateside coordinator beginning this year. So I ask that you pray for both Bill and Cyndi as they face this health concern.

On a personal note, I would appreciate your prayers as I just learned yesterday that my Mom was taken to the ER because her potassium and sodium levels were low. She was then taken to CCU until her levels were back to normal, and now she is doing much better.

I am grateful to God every day that He has entrusted His world-wide spiritual objectives to the hands of precious people like you who really care what happens to others. Your prayers, encouragement, and support are having a tremendous effect as the love and care for both the body and soul is demonstrated daily at the Chimala Mission. 

Howell Ferguson

It would not be a stretch to say that a good amount of effort has been spent in mission works in East Africa over the years. From the early efforts of men such as Eldred Echols who made his way from South Africa upward through Zimbabwe, Zambia, Malawi and eventually reaching Tanganyika (Tanzania’s former name under British rule), until the present efforts centered in Arusha, Chimala, and Dar-es-Salaam; Tanzania has frequently been the location of choice for many mission works in Africa. What makes Tanzania a desirable location from which to conduct mission work should not be viewed from its numerous national parks with exotic wildlife nor its moderate climate. Among the many benefits to the missionaries include the following significant factors:

1. The central location offers easier access for people of neighboring countries.
2. Generally speaking Tanzania is not an expensive location from which to operate missions.
3. It is a favorite location for Western, European, and Asian tourists which brings with it modern communication and better transportation linking it to a small number of major European and Middle Eastern airlines.
4. Tanzania is politically a continuously-peaceful country unlike many other African countries that are under constant instability and conflict.
5. Missionaries generally enjoy a friendly relationship with Tanzania’s government and people due to tourist generated income from foreigners who favor wildlife-protecting countries.
6. And let it not be overlooked that the country of Tanzania is home to nearly 60 million souls!

What this all means to evangelistic mission efforts is greater and more diverse connections with a greater number of people on the African continent as well as relative stability for missionaries.

These reasons and many more draw the attention of mission efforts that are seeking an efficient way to maximize the spread of the gospel of Christ in Tanzania and beyond. Among the places within Tanzania, the village of Chimala was one of the first locations of churches of Christ from which to launch mission efforts effectively. Over the years the mission has grown in influence and size and is likely to develop further in its effectiveness and influence. It is continually growing closer to becoming self-sufficient, self-ruling, and self-supported. For about a year now, one of the first graduates of the Chimala Bible Institute, Menard Swila has been serving as the Chimala Mission Administrator. This has been a first. And with new agricultural plans being implemented, the mission should be able to provide for itself more effectively in the way of being good stewards of the land.

You might be wondering why a mission of the church of Christ would be involved in agriculture. That is a good question. The answer lies in stewardship. Remember, the ultimate goal of the Chimala Mission Hospital and Schools is to “seek and save the lost” with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And a quick glimpse of Chimala’s history will shed a little light on the subject.

After the Lord’s church began to be planted and spread in Tanganyika, the government demanded that the American missionaries provide some type of “social” benefit to help the people or the church would lose its registration. And consequently the missionaries would have to leave. Andrew and Claudene Connally were serving in Tanganyika at that time. When they learned of this dilemma Andrew returned to the States. After discussing the condition with his elders, he began with their approval to raise support to build a hospital which was desperately needed in southern Tanganyika. This action prevented the government from reclaiming the land (over 700 acres) from the Chimala Mission, and the Lord’s church was able to maintain its registration in the country. But for many years now much of the land has been lying fallow.

There is another challenge that factors into this situation: the predicament of multitudes of small village churches without permanent preachers. This has been one of the great obstacles to be overcome by many otherwise successful mission efforts that strive to train indigenous preachers, leaders, and church workers. Most of the Christians in places like Tanzania are very poor rural people with little education and opportunities. While the Christians are taught to give, the total of their giving is very seldom enough to support the preacher and his family. Consequently, preachers either have to be supported (usually from churches in the States) which is undesirable and unsustainable in the long term, or they spend a great amount of their time farming in traditional, highly inefficient methods while the immature churches languish spiritually.

A solution that is being proposed is the implementation of a new farming plan. The basic goals of this proposal are outlined below by Gage Coldwater of “The Manna Project” in Vidor, TX :

• Grow enough food for the ENTIRE Chimala mission.
• EVENTUALLY grow enough to use as benevolence in the area.
• EVENTUALLY grow enough to sell as a source of income to become a self-supported mission work.
• To teach the students (primary, secondary, and preaching), mission staff, and area members of the Body of Christ to better grow their own food to be self-sufficient and for income.
• To increase the quality of nutrition on the Chimala Mission.

Hopefully the idea of stewardship is now made a little clearer in respect to the land at Chimala Mission and the challenge of financing preachers. With God’s help the Chimala Mission can become a model for future development of new mission efforts and church plants. The age-old “Gordian knot” with respect to maintaining preachers in effective ministries in very poor areas could potentially be solved; at least in some instances since agricultural means may not work in every circumstance. As the Lord’s people continue to seek more effective means to reach the lost let it not be said of them, “For the sons of this world are more shrewd in their generation than the sons of light” (Luke 16:8). May we be good stewards of God’s things He has placed in our hands.