Women's Bible Studies

Kim Rabenold leads a weekly Bible study during which she also teaches local women marketable skills. "It's exciting to help remove myths the women have about health and their bodies, while at the same time teaching and educating them in God's Word," says Kim. The class is taught every Thursday for 22-25 women.

Life can be extremely difficult for an African woman. She raises and trains all the children, with the youngest tied to her back; she's required to get (and cut) firewood for cooking over an open fire; she must walk for the family's water; she does a large part of the farming, many times being expected to oversee the harvest; she receives extended family who come and stay; she receives very little thanks for the work she does and in many instances she is verbally or physically abused. With very little income they must provide for the family's needs. Kim has a heart for these women and does her best to address from a Christian viewpoint the struggles these women face. She visits the sick and attends the many local funerals with her African friends.

Training and Equipping Teachers

To impact local people with the Gospel, a group of 13 men has been formed to teach a course called "Firm Foundations," developed by New Tribes Mission. The course grounds students in an understanding of the Biblical views of God, that of Creator, Sustainer, and man's sinfulness and what it means Biblically. Many people have ideas of who God is but those ideas don't align with what Scripture says. This course begins with Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth...." It is a 39-week course and covers the entire Old Testament. The course is designed to lead people through the Old Testament while preparing their hearts for the Savior Jesus Christ. The students recently received bicycles to transport them to their weekly teaching sites. "Firm Foundations" is being taught in secondary schools, primary schools, churches and individual homes in the Rukwa Valley by these 13 men. 

The 13 men who teach the course have all graduated from our lay Bible school and have studied the course while in school. Monthly meetings are held at Kapenta in which reports are reviewed from their weekly teaching. Ted teaches leadership development and what it means to develop leaders. Many leaders will be needed to reach this Valley with the Gospel. Ted uses an outline, which he has translated into Kiswahili, from John Maxwell's book, "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership." The meetings are well attended.