End-month news November 2024

Dear Friends,

My colleagues, Dr. Marcus Grohmann and Frank Paul, have prepared this video about vulnerable mission. The original in German is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WZsSDCbrI0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WZsSDCbrI0

(You can set it up to show captioned translations from German to English.) The title of the video is:

Über Chancen, Anforderungen und Grenzen Verletzlicher Mission: Ein Praktiker erzählt,

which can be translated to English as:

About the opportunities, requirements and limits of Vulnerable Mission: A practitioner explains.

(For instructions on how to set up language translation to show in captions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZz03myFuWA&t=71s )

I continue my routine, of visiting and speaking at up to 4 church services weekly. Many of these are of ‘very indigenous’ churches. Drums are highly valued in many of these churches. They can go to great lengths to make the drums sound good. Such as here, warming the skin of the drums using a fire before the start of a service.

Hospital Official Opening

15th November was the official opening of the new Coptic Hospital at Maseno. This is about 300 yards from the original hospital, on a green-field site, a totally new complex of buildings. Various government officials, and numerous health-related people from the area were in attendance at the opening. Particularly groundbreaking: the new hospital is soon to have a CT scanner, and to offer dialysis.

Various pictures taken during the opening of our new hospital at Maseno in Kenya. It was a wet day. Top right is the out-patients. Bottom left is the room with operat-ing theatres, birth-room, and so on. Entrance to the wards (total of 50 beds) are at the end of the middle picture on the right. We are soon to have dialysis and a CT scanner at the hospital. The hospital will not be large, but will have some facilities for testing and treatment that are unmatched in the area.

Local media report video on opening of hospital (some of it only in Swahili): https://youtu.be/IukN1rCQwRg

Musoma – Mennonite Bible College

On 23th November, I travelled to Musoma in Tanzania. This was a long day’s travel by bus. I am to teach for two weeks, starting Monday 25th November, at the local Mennonite pastoral training college, courses on the Gospels, and on Biblical interpretation. Musoma in Tanzania is one of my ‘home from home’ places.

Official Date

6th February is to be the official handing over to new leadership, launching of the new website, and registration, of the Alliance for Vulnerable Mission as a Verein (charity) in Germany. Details pending. An online-event, by invitation only due to limited places, will celebrate this. Another event in German will happen later on the same day. (If you specifically want an invite to either of these, let me know!)

An Inspiring Christian Testimony

Really encouraged to hear this testimony, of a Somali woman going from being a Muslim, to an atheist, to a Christian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEXymLAqqIs

Jim