Africa Mission Report

PBC Members Bob Sanford and Rev. John Tuck (Youth Pastor) are currently on mission to Africa. We will be posting reports here as we hear from them on the mission field. If you receive emails or information, please forward them to pmwilliams@otelco.net for addition to this page. Thank you.

06-17-11: The mission team has safely returned home and no reports have been received to date. However, team member Linda Fleming submitted the following:

"Just returned from African Mission. It was such an honor to serve with Bob Sanford. We have been on mission before and he is a blessing. John Tuck is an asset to any ministry. He was so willing to help. He physically labored, played with the children, preached, and ministered God's love to the Massai and all along the way. It is refreshing to see a young man with such a desire to serve the Lord with boldness and confidence. I know he honored our Lord and he is a great testimony for the love of his family and church. Thank you for praying for us. We could feel your prayers through the power of the Holy Spirit. Your giving with a pure heart will be greatly multiplied. Thank you for the powerful witness of faith, Philadelphia Baptist Church. It is with great pride in the Lord I call you Brothers and Sisters."

06-14-11: From John Tuck: "Because we finished our project early, we had an free day. Nothing to report here except for our departure plains. We board in Kilimanjaro heading for Amsterdam tomorrow at 8: 50 p.m. We're probably going to land in Dar Essalem, Tanzania, to pick up some people then head straight to Amsterdam. We'll experience an exciting (sarcasm) 2 hour layover in Amsterdam, then board a plane to Atlanta. Hopefully we should touch down in Atlanta around 1:00 p.m. Thursday and get home at 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Pray for our safety!"

06-13-11: From John Tuck: "Today was awesome because we finished our project. For the first half of the day, the team spent their time playing soccer and various games with the children. The guys were on the road to Arusha, a nearby town, to have an electrician take a look at the surge protector that serves as a protection agent for the water pump. Eventually, remember Africa is a country that requires patience, the brainchildren returned with everything straightened out. They turned on the generator, plugged everything up, and within seconds the water was gushing out of the pipes. The surrounding Masai, as did our crew, applauded with claps and native shouts as the water began to pump out of the well. The men placed the 560 gallon tank on a temporary mound of dirt so the people can began using the water for livestock and began pumping water into it. It only took the pump 20 minutes to fill up (a major improvement from the mechanical well that we replaced). Eventually, they will put it on top of the 10 foot tower that is still being constructed to gravity feed irrigation lines. We will leave money for irrigation lines to be bought by our host, a Southern Baptist Tanzanian. In addition, we will teach them how to utilize them so that their harvests can be double and triple.

In addition to our project being completed today, we purchased Bibles. At the store that we bought the Bibles, we ran into a Catholic nun and a young lady. The nun was questioning the store clerk about two school books (we didn't know this at the time because we don't speak Swahilli). As we were purchasing the Bibles, it was brought to our attention by our translator that the girl was an orphan and she had no money to purchase her school books. The nun and the orphan girl both began speaking in English to our lead-lady, Linda Fleming. They explained to her that this morning the nun had set out to the book store expecting God to provide the books for her. We purchased the books for her at a cost of five dollars, give or take. As we reflected upon that, we were all curious as to what that moment could have done for this child's future? What could happen because of faith and trust in God?

Tomorrow, we allocate the last of the money for remaining needs and see a little bit of Africa. Keep on praying, God's working over here!"

06-12-11: Kay Sanford received this message from Linda Fleming who is on this trip:

"Hey Ladies,

We are doing well. Joe and Bob received their luggage yesterday.
They installed the pump and it did not work. The generator was producing too much voltage.
The village is without water so pray they get it fixed Monday.
It is almost 6:00Pm here. We are all ready for rest and a little reading before bed.
I know you want to hear more but we need to tell you face to face.
Be safe and know you are loved by these men. They really do miss you.

I love you too,
Linda"

06-12-11: From John Tuck: "Today was a slow day but a great day. It was Sunday, so we didn't work. However, we got to have church with the Masai people at their church. It was a remarkable experience that I will always treasure. The Masai, as does everyone, have a unique church service. It is filled with praise and worship mixed with traditional Masai music customs. A homemade drum keeps rhythm while the rest of the choir sings, claps, and sways to the music that celebrates Jesus. It's truly a unique experience.

I got to preach to the people today. It was the first time that I have ever used a translator to speak to anyone, but it went well. It was an emotional experience for me. When I set out on this mission, set out to help the Masai. But, these people have ministered to me as much or more than I have 'helped' them. I counted it as a great honor to speak with them.

At the end of the service, we were presented gifts by the chief of village we are working in. His name is Jackson. Jackson is a Christian, a strong Christian, who is very open to education, Jesus, Church, and other opportunities that traditional Masai people aren't open to. We are very happy that he is the leader there. The gave us traditional African Blankets that the Masai are constantly wearing over their clothes.

At that time, we gave them some gifts that we brought from home. We gave Jackson a utility knife, his wives (One problem of the Masai is polygamy; once they are saved that refrain from adding more wives and children) jewelry, the teacher received educational tools, the pastors received watches, and the children received candy and toys.

After this special moment, it was time for the offering. The people would, one by one, come to the front and put their tithe a basket. We began to see tithes of goat milk, beans, corn, and a live chicken. Soon after, the church dismissed and the people held an auction in front of the church for the non-monetary tithes. The proceeds were given to the church!

Continue to pray for us as we work here in the Masai Village."

06-12-11: From John Tuck: ''This is a report for day one from Moshi, Tanzania. We had a long, tough flight but made it in last night around 9:30. International travel has a way of taking all of your sense of time and destroying it. I have no idea what time it is, ever.
We are working with the Masai people, which is like our Native Americans. They have their own land similar to reservations for Native Americans in America. One of the big problems here is farming. Because it rains seasonally here, it is difficult to successfully farm. The main job that we're trying to do is create a irrigation system to allow them to grow crops 12 months a year. We have to convert their existing well to allow for a generator driven pump, a holding tank, and enough irrigation lines to irrigate a 1/2 acre.

Day one was tough, No material was on site so Bob and Joe Smith had to travel the African Nation searching for it. In the mean time, Bill Richards led two young boys to Christ using our driver as a translator. Please be in prayer for our safety, specifically that we don't get sick from water (I brushed my teeth with their water this morning accidentally), pray for the people, and pray for the project.

Day 3, Saturday, was spent doing some real work. Today, I worked with many Masai men as we started the construction of a 10 feet block tower to put the water tank. The water tank is 500 gallons and will keep the water at a height that allows water to gravity flow from the tank through the irrigation lines into their fields.

Construction of these the tower in a third world country is extremely difficult. Concrete doesn't come form Kirkpatrick and it doesn't come mostly mixed with an "all you have to do is add water" label. The process is very strenuous with very simple tools. We are hand mixing sand, concrete, water, and gravel on the ground to get cement to go in between the blocks. The men dug the footers with a broken pick and a tiny shovel. Then carefully placed rocks on the ground, poured cement over the rocks, and finally started laying blocks in a square shape. Eventually they placed rocks inside the first layer of blocks and poured (one bucket at at time) cement on top of that to create the foundation or base layer. From that point, they laid and are still laying blocks in a cross shape 10 feet high that will eventually hold the water tower.

While I was helping with the tower, the other men were removing the old pump and inserting the new pump. They were able to completely install the new pump and hopefully we'll be able to get water pumping tomorrow and get the project almost completely finished.

06-10-11: Received this report from John Tuck:

"Today, we spent a lot of time buying additional tools to use to build the new pump. In Tanzania, patience is very important. For example, it took us 1 hour to get 3 items from a hardware store. In America we can buy lunch while never getting out of our car and have it in 30 seconds or less and, if we don't get it that fast, we're ready to yell at managers. The money here is like monopoly money. 1 American dollar is worth 1,560 T. Shillings. So, I am easily a multi-millionaire in Tanzania. Another random fact, the women of the Masai Village are bought with goats and cows for marriage. The Men have many wives, one man as many as 17. However, once they are converted to Christianity they only have 1 wife. The wives do all of the work. They build the houses, plant the corn, harvest the crops, feed the children, and everything else....Everything. The women also have no public rights or decisions. The children here herd cows and goats and donkeys up and down the roads and watch over the cows all day. The men just hang out and make executive decisions.

Back to the main points here, they are building a irrigation system so that they can water their crops more effectively. They get seasonal rain, so an irrigation system could allow them to plant 12 months out of the year, doubling their harvest. While Joe and Bob where working with the men of the Masai, Linda, Bill, and I went out and witnessed to the people in the village. We were also accompanied by Jackson, the village chief, and his wife(s)...not sure. I know they are strong, Christian women. Six people got saved today. However, the wildest thing that I have ever seen in my life happened today. I saw a woman accept Christ as her Savior and minutes later go into a type of demonic possession of some sort. This woman was the wife of a witch doctor who practices vodoo and many other Satanic practices. The demonic possession looked like she was having a seizure but her family suggested that they had never seen anything like this before letting us know that she was not having any medical problems. She tossed and turned and stumbled and fell around as many men prayed in the name of Jesus Christ to leaver her body. Eventually, after 15 minutes of a sheer struggle, this young girl came to consciousness and was able to rest. It was as if a evil spirit had been removed and lifted from her body. After consulting with our translator, Pastor Kelley, he let us know that this is common when sharing the gospel to a family that is subjected and wholly given to witchcraft. He believes, as do I, that we witnessed a true case of the Holy Spirit entering into someone's body and a demon being forced out. At any rate, it strengthened my faith today and will surely be an illuminating light for Christ's testimony."

06-10-11: Kay reports that the guys made it to Tanzania, but the luggage of Bob and Joe Smith was lost. Joe had all his tools packed inside his luggage. However, they arrived safely and that's the main thing. She added, "Their mission is to install a pump so that the villagers can irrigate and grow crops. Their nutrition is so bad that their hair doesn't grow. They have a very poor diet which consists mainly of corn."

06-07-11: Kay Sanford reported that the guys are headed to Tanzania, Africa, to serve for 11 days. They will be able to see Mt. Kilimanjaro from the village where they will be staying and working. The people there are from the Masai tribe. Kay says, "The women there think it is so funny to see men work. The women do all the work in their village, including building homes and churches. The men herd the cattle. They have a well there, but it does not work. Bob and John will be assisting in installing a water pump so the women won't have to haul water."