Hope & Evangelism

I wrote the following blog last April, I think. I'm not sure why I never posted it, but here you go. Thoughts from 6 months ago.


Last weekend a member of our church was driving here in Dar and was struck in the face with a bullet from what they suspect was an armed robbery taking place near where he was driving. He, his wife and newborn child flew to South Africa to try and save his eye. They were unsuccessful.

Also last weekend, the brother of a woman at our church was shot in Johannesburg, South Africa, so she flew there to be with him.

Yesterday, a friend and life-group member with us excitedly shared the picture of her newborn niece and we all celebrated with her over WhatsApp. By morning, the baby had died and even as I type, they are at the baby's burial.

Garissa. 148 people dead in our neighboring country Kenya and heightened security around Tanzania since due to rumors of threats.

So much pain. So many unanswered questions. So much tragedy and heartbreak. So much brokenness.  So much loss. The stories are endless near and around me- I'm sure the same is true in your life and in your context as well. No matter where we live, we cannot escape this brokenness.

I wonder...how does one cope without Jesus?

How do you cope if you only know death, abuse, injustice, disease, loss...the Good Friday story.

How do you hold onto hope when you don't know about Easter - Resurrection Day...Or if you know, but reject it? What do you hold onto? What do you hope in?

Perhaps people's hope is in humanity and the idea that deep down people are good? Perhaps hope is in a god-like figure, some spiritual being, some idea that there is something 'bigger than us out there'? Perhaps hope is in oneself - trusting that you can, in the end, work it all out in your own strength? Perhaps hope is in science, or money, or education, or relationships, or chariots, or horses...

"Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God."

Psalm 20:7

Putting our hope in anything but Christ is futile. And seeing the brokenness and pain around me only increases the urgency I feel in sharing that hope with others.

Yesterday's sermon was about Evangelism. During worship, after we sang "Mighty To Save", I invited people into a time of prayer for those who don't know Jesus. A few people came to my mind and I prayed for them. During the sermon, however, someone new came to my mind. And I wrestled with God. I was literally telling God it was too complicated and overwhelming - this person was too 'messy'. I felt hopeless. I felt like this persons brokenness is so deep that the gospel just might not be enough. I know in my head the power of the gospel, the love of the Father, the forgiveness of the Son, the transforming work of the Spirit...but my prayers do not reflect that for this individual.

Who has God placed in your life to pray for? To share the gospel with? Is there someone who you, like me, consider to be too 'messy'? Let's repent of our lack of faith and earnestly pray for the salvation of those God has put in our path. Let's pray for boldness in sharing the gospel message. Let's pray for the unconditional love of the Father to pour out from us to others and for us to cling to the hope of Christ!

He Is able. More than able.

THIS SONG has been in my mind today. It's an OLDIE, but it's still true and it's a message I need to focus on. (Can you tell which era I grew up in!?! ha!)

He is able, more than able, to accomplish what concerns me today

He is able, more than able, to handle anything that comes my way

He is able, more than able, to do much more than I could ever dream

He is able, more than able, to make me what he wants me to be. 

We owed our government $1500 on September 15th for estimated self-employment tax for this year. We owe another $1500 in December. Geneva needs to get to the dentist for a cavity. We should really take care of our remaining dog (we had two - one died mysteriously this week) getting neutered. Our van needs a new engine. Yes, a new engine. Selfishly, we found an inexpensive used A/C unit for the kids room for during the hot season - certainly not a necessity, but would be nice for our kids to sleep through the night during the hot season and not have heat rash.

HE IS ABLE.

We budget for these things.
We have line items for them.
We've planned for circumstances such as these.

In October, our actual received income is only 59% of our budgeted amount. When we aren't fully funded, we don't have the money for car repairs, or taxes or medical expenses. We should have money in our savings set aside for these things, but for two years, we've been living below our budget, meaning there is no savings.

HE IS ABLE.

Is God using our circumstances to redirect us? To move us? Is God using our circumstances to test our faith? To cause us to more fully rely on Him? Is God using our circumstances to display His Glory? To display is power? Are these hardships evidence of spiritual warfare? Is it the enemy who wants us to be done here? Have we been foolish to continue on without full support?

We're in the midst of a storm. We're in a fight. We're trying to keep our focus on Jesus. I have to admit, though, I'm growing weary over the constant battle of fundraising. There have been many days recently when we feel ready to throw in the towel and move home, get full time jobs and not have to rely on others. Neither of us wants to do that, though, when we press ourselves. We want to be here. We came here out of obedience and have not felt God telling us to leave this place or ministry. He might yet, but so far, we feel called to stay in Dar.

HE IS ABLE.

This morning I was lead to Mark 4, where Jesus calms a storm. After rebuking the wind and the sea was calmed, Jesus says to his disciples,

"'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?" 

And they were filled with great fear and said,

 "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?'"

Mark 4: 40 & 41

Our God controls the wind and the sea. He is the Creator and Provider. He is the Alpha and Omega. He is the Great I Am. He is our Savior. He is sovereign over all. Surely a few thousand dollars is not too much for him to handle. Surely HE IS ABLE! We are choosing to continue on in faith, trusting the Lord to guide our steps and to make His will know for our present and our future. 

HE IS ABLE.

Maybe we won't get the van fixed. Maybe we have to move home in June and get full time jobs. Maybe our other dog will die. Maybe we can't pay our taxes. Guess what? HE IS STILL ABLE. He is the one to decide these things, not us. By continuing on in faith, it doesn't mean we expect God to bend to our will, but more that we bend to His. Perhaps, maybe, through all of this, he is just making us who he wants us to be. And that is enough. 

We are looking for a few people to join us in prayer for these next few months - from now until mid-January, which is when we expect to need to make a decision about our future here in Tanzania. If you're willing to commit to pray for us and with us, will you email us at thedriesengafamily@gmail.com and let us know? We will send out prayer updates weekly (ish) to keep this specific group of prayer warriors up to date on what's going on. 

We also realize that our situation and story is not unique. You might be going through something yourself, where you feel worn down and weary. Maybe you also need the message today that God is able. Maybe you also need to be reminded to reach out to your community for prayers and support, as we are trying to here. Maybe you feel uncertain about where God is leading you in your future and need to know you're not alone. Maybe you're feeling like one of the disciples, full of fear and little faith and need to be reminded that 'even the wind and the sea obey him'. Maybe you need that reminder of the power of God today. Whatever your circumstances, may God's grace and power be evident in your life and may you trust that HE IS ABLE. Let us know if we can pray for you. 

If you feel led to give, please visit the tab above "GIVING" or click HERE to be instantly directed to Christian Reformed World Missions website. 

A bit quiet - let's catch up!

It's been months since we've posted anything here. We've been to the States and back again and experience so much in the last several months that it would be impossible to play catch up. So, instead, I'll start with where things are at now.

We're 4 weeks into the school year and 5 weeks into our 3rd year of being here in Tanzania. In some ways we've settled back into 'normal life' easily, although that looks a little different than it has in the past. 

Marc is teaching grades 9 - 12 this year as opposed to both middle and high school. This helps to lighten what was a heavy load, and also frees him for more intentional time with students outside of class.  Isaac is in grade 2 and has joined the primary swim team. He has practice three days a week after school. I've started to give him piano lessons as we were able to get a keyboard from friends who left at the end of last year.  Hope has started preschool again (2 days a week) and just celebrated her 5th birthday. Geneva is now potty trained and joins me for our weekly adventures of driving people places, worship team rehearsals, swahili class, leading assemblies, going to the market and prayer meetings. 

Our roles at church are different as we've come back. For various reasons, we are slowly phasing out of some of our leadership positions within the church. Marc is no longer doing all the tech/design stuff nor on the leadership team. Instead of leading worship every week, I am now in rotation every other. We are still helping with our life group. One of the things we recognized while being 'home' this summer was that our family time was beginning to suffer under the load of our church and school commitments. We may have a 'large capacity' for ministry, but we sometimes find ourselves saying YES to too much and it not being sustainable or healthy for our family in the long run. When we left for the States, we were there. Between that, some theological differences and the need for more Tanzanian leaders to step into leadership roles at the church, we are phasing out of some of our roles. Its not easy, as we love our Pastor and his family and we love our church! We've had some difficult conversations over the past few weeks, but we are at peace about the changes being made and continue to support God's Tribe and pray for the church, here and worldwide, to grow! 

The other challenge we have faced since returning is the recognition that despite our amazing supporters and our various church and small group presentations this summer, our funding is still low. The past two years have been difficult in regards to fundraising, and we've actual incurred a bit of debt just to stay here as some months we had only enough money to cover rent. We don't believe that's God's plan for us, to go into more (any, really!) debt, and we've come to feel that if we are not fully funded by the end of December, we may need to leave Tanzania at the end of this school year.  Our school will need to know in January if we are coming back or if they need to begin recruiting another Bible teacher, thus the timeline. We're trying to be open to the Lord's leading for our family. Would you please pray for the Lord to make his will clear to us as we contemplate and pray about our future? We would love to see huge breakthrough in the area of our finances and be able to testify to God's provision. We want to stay! We also want to follow Jesus if he's showing us a need for us to return to the States, whether for a year to fundraise and then return or for good.  We get that we don't see the big picture. This is just another way we are daily learning to rely on ourselves and our own abilities less and on Him more. We can't just go out and get a part time job delivering pizzas or something to help our own financial state - we're not in control! Please pray for clear direction and for patience as we wait. Our latest Prayer Letter will be going out later today which lays this out a bit as well.

So those are the big things going on with us. We feel at home here and are enjoying getting to know some of the new faces around the HOPAC and missionary community. 

Stocking up.

We are leaving 2 weeks from tomorrow, so we continue to stock up on things we will need for the next two years. We are trying to save up for rent, but also know that these things are cheaper here than in TZ or are not available in TZ, so would love to get them here before leaving. Thanks to those who have already helped us cross many things off our list.

If you'd like to help by picking up any of the following items, let us know what so we can cross it off our list!

* Bug spray - 4 bottles (pump, not aerosol)
* T-Gel Shampoo (6 bottles)
* 4 tension rods for small windows
* Black Beans (12 bags of dried)
* Deodorant - 6 for G (Dove unscented), 6 for M
* Face lotion for G - 3 bottles - Meijer "elements" with SPF (knock off of Oil of Olay face lotion)
* Nasal decongestant - 5 boxes (Sudafed or Meijer brand with pseudoephedrine)
* Crystal Light packets for pitchers - 10 containers
* Razors for G - venus disposable or something like it. 8 razors
>* Hat for Geneva
* Rain coat for Isaac & Geneva
* Rain coat for Gretchen
* Money for Gretchen to get a pair of nicer 'church' sandals.
* Money for Gretchen to get 2 new bras
* Box of cherrios
* Box of chex cereal
* 3 bags of goldfish crackers
* 3 bags of goldfish pretzel crackers
* 1 container of mixed nuts
* dust buster or small shop-vac
* Make-up for Gretchen
* laser printer + ink cartridges
* Guitar pick up
* Size 6 & 7 bathing suits


There is a lot of music I would love to download for my worship teams, so iTunes gift cards are amazing. Also, we could always use Meijer gift cards or cash gifts to help cover some other costs (guitar strings, guitar repair, gas, immunization costs, dentist visits, groceries the next two weeks, help cover postage for mailings, etc)

Thanks friends!
Gretchen

Car Troubles

Our Toyota Noah is a blessing. Most families in Tanzania do not have their own transportation. Taking the public busses (daladalas), three-wheeled bjajis or motorcycle taxis (pikipikis) can prove to be incredibly time-consuming and dangerous. Our van gives us opportunities we would not otherwise have: we can transport all the music equipment to church each Sunday; we offer rides to our life group (small group) members on Wednesday nights; we transport many worship team members back and forth for practice each Thursday night; we take co-workers without cars to run errands; we pick up kids walking to school in the rain; we are able to bring other church members when we visit the orphanage about 30 minutes away. We recognize the blessing of this vehicle and we intend to use it as a blessing for others.

Today, we learned that it will cost $850 to repair all that is wrong with our van.

The mechanic has said we cannot/should not drive it in it's current condition, as it will only lead to more expensive repairs down the line and that they need the money upfront to begin work. With a group coming in two days from Western Michigan Christian High School, an orphanage visit scheduled for Saturday, church equipment to move on Sunday and much on our plate next week with our group here, we had hoped for simpler and less expensive solutions to the issues. 

If anyone feels led to help us with a special financial gift for these unexpected car repairs, please send us an email and let us know (gretchendriesenga@gmail.com). As always, we appreciate your prayers for the new and faith-building situations we find ourselves in here in Tanzania!

Please let us know how we can be praying for you and your families as well.

With love,
The Driesengas

USA visit!

We are crossing off days on the calendar until we are back in the USA for a visit! We've added a calendar (look to the right) here on the blog to update you all of our comings & goings over the next few months.

In addition to our church visits, we would love to have some 'small group nights' in different peoples homes. Our hope is to have a more intimate time with smaller groups of friends/supporters and enjoy the personal interaction in someones home as well. While we would love to spend time with all our friends and supporters individually, we realize it might not be realistic. We hope to have one in Chicago, one in Muskegon and several in the Grand Rapids area.

Would YOU be willing to host a small group of friends at your home?

You would pick at date/time and help provide some food. We would get the word out and jointly we could invite people who might naturally fall into your 'sphere' of our community. We would share about life & ministry for however long people are interested, including pictures, sharing stories, maybe a video and answering questions while enjoying snacks, etc. To be upfront, this would include a brief update on our current financial needs and asking people to consider partnering with us. We would NOT make that the bulk of the presentation and it would certainly not feel like a sales pitch, but raising support is essential to us continuing here. We would also have a table of items from Tanzania that people could purchase to help our fundraising. Finally, we would want time to just hang out and catch up with people and share life!
 

What do you think? Would you be willing to host a brunch/tea/dinner/dessert night in your home?  We would love to start setting up some dates and talking through it a bit more. Feel free to email us at thedriesengafamily@gmail.com if you'd like to chat more about it!

 

What do carpet, street lights & garage sales have in common?

Besides the obvious joy of seeing family and friends this summer in the USA, here are some things I'm looking forward to, in no particular order:

* carpet
* camping
* meijer
* paved roads
* street lights
* orderly traffic
* not living behind a wall
* cooler temps
* as many chocolate chips, black beans and parmesan cheese as I want!
* salads
* fast internet
* garage sales
* parks
* places to take the kids: meijer gardens, zoo, children's museum, skyzone, etc
* farmers market
* going for walks
* ice cream shops
* drinking water out of the tap
* consistent electricity and water
* being light out past 6:30pm
* Wolfgangs (and a whole list of other restaurants...)

Marc agrees with my list, but wanted to add:
* Brewery vivant

Isaac's additions:
* McDonalds
* going to football (soccer) camp
* spending time with family
* having playdates at other people's houses
* going to Legoland (date with auntie Ker)

Hope's additions:
* going ice skating (a date with Auntie Ker)
* going to get ice cream

Geneva's additions:
* children's museum (date with Auntie Ker)
* playing