By Bill Crenshaw, Team Leader

Supplies, clothes and bags covering the living room floor. Last minute logistics, planning, and questions abound as team excitement and anticipation mounts. Several team members are sporting new haircuts called the “bush cut buzz”! We are also happy to have five ladies joining the team this year and they will be a huge blessing to this year’s trip. The fun has already begun.

The two most common questions I get asked is “Where are you going in Africa?” and “What are you going to do?” I love getting these questions because they are an open door to share about what God has been doing. And, I never know what interesting conversation will develop as a result of answering these questions.

Where are you going in Africa?

Western Tanzania just south of a town called Mbeya. It is a 16-hour drive from the capital of Dar Es Salaam on the Indian Ocean. The map of Tanzania shows how far it is from Dar es Salaam to Mbeya in the southwestern part of the country. It is a full day of driving! I love maps as they make me want to explore areas less traveled.

What are you going to do?

Share bible stories and help train new Safwa missionaries. Did you know that most of the unreached world today can not read? So if a Bible will not work, how do you share The Good News of Jesus with them? You share and teach stories from the Bible orally — kinda like telling stories around a camp fire and then talking about them.

Once they know the stories, they link them together to receive the whole picture. That is the way they learn. We have  an ongoing partnership with Christian brothers and sisters from the Safwa tribe outside of Mbeya. The Safwa are Bible storying gurus, memorizing the key stories, and they all have a huge heart and commitment to spreading the Word to other tribes across Tanzania.

I can’t wait to see them again soon under the star-covered canopy of the African bush.