A Successful Mission Trip

Eight short term missionaries were met at the Kilimanjaro Airport by Patti and Laurence in January.  They started their journeys from Kansas, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin and arrived in Tanzania about 30 hours later.  Their mission:  Bring sight to the blind.  Next Life Foundation was the site for this life changing eyeglass clinic.  This MOST (Mission Opportunities Short Term) Ministry team brought over 1000 eyeglasses and hundreds of people had their eyes tested. 370 folks were fitted with appropriate eyewear. Everyone received sunglasses along with education about how to care for their glasses and the damage the sun can do to their eyes.

As each participant registered, Pastor Emmanuel, a local pastor, enthusiastically proclaimed the Gospel to each one using witness bracelets and witness finger puppets

Jesus Feeds the Eight Hundred

Jesus took a few loaves of bread and fishes to feed thousand in the Middle East thousands of years ago.  In January he took some corn and beans (Makande) to feed hundreds in Mbuguni!  Due to the severe drought in East Africa the Tanzania Next Life Foundation Board of Directors wanted to provide lunch for anyone that came to the Eyeglass Clinic.  Thanks to donations from St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Hamburg, MI, Trinity Lutheran in Pinckney, MI, and some anonymous individual donors we were able to make this happen.

Mary, our director, was overseeing the lunch crowds and stated that many were coming just asking for food.  No one was turned away.  No one could have ever anticipated these kinds of numbers but God provided.  It is a distressing situation.  We must never neglect to thank God, the one who meets all our needs.

Safari Time

The shift from a third world country back to the States can be a tough thing so it’s always nice to have a transition time.  The MOST Ministry Team was able to enjoy the breathtaking beauty and awe of God’s handiwork at two national parks, Tarangire National Park, and Ngorongoro Conservation Area.  They felt like they got a glimpse of the Garden of Eden seeing all the animals cohabitating in one big place.  It was an indescribable experience.

Laurence and Patti went on safari at the same time with some of the NLF staff and those that helped with the eyeglass clinic.  Arusha National Park was their destination.  Despite living just miles from this park, this was the first time many of these friends had ever been to a national park.  Patti heard Elias say, “This is a great day.  I will remember it forever.”

Life without Rain

Life just continues to get more difficult as Mbuguni and the surrounding area wait for rain.  It has been over 2 years since they have had any measurable precipitation.  Agriculture is the primary source of income for the majority of people in this area.  With no water, there are no gardens, no crops, the livestock are struggling and food is becoming more and more scarce.

Thanks to our generous donors Next Life has been able to give our students food for their families.  Many of these families have already sold the few items they have of value to buy food.  God willing, we will continue to provide corn, beans, and cooking oil periodically.

Another MOST Mission Trip to NLF

May 12-21 MOST Ministries will be partnering with Next Life Foundation to do a Clean Water Ministry at Next Life Campus.  What a thrill to teach the people of Mbuguni about Christ through water.  How significant is it to correlate Jesus and clean water?!  The Holy Spirit can use this opportunity to make another huge impact on this Muslim village.  He is definitely very active on the Next Life campus.  Would you like to be part of this ministry trip?  Either check it out at MOST Ministries, https://mostministries.itraveliq.com/trips/ or contact Patti at nextlifefound@gmail.com

Message From Next Life Foundation Board of Directors

Guiding and supporting a Christian Ministry in a foreign country is not easy and has been an ongoing difficulty as the NLF Board seeks to do God’s will in a vastly different culture from our “ideal American culture.”  With the guidance from the American board, the final decisions are made by the Tanzania NLF Board of Directors. We seek to be true to our original mission if we can. Doing this with steadfast reserve would be limiting to God and stifling to the ministry. Over the life of Next Life, we have put the mission first but always looked for God’s leading when the needs in Tanzania caused us to do things that did not fit the mission statement. In each instance, following God away from the mission temporarily has remarkably expanded and strengthened the mission to the entire community. Our pledge to you, our donors, is that we will always try to follow God’s will as it is revealed to us. We also pledge to always keep the original mission as our guiding principle. 

Next Life Foundation’s mission is:

“To provide Christian and vocational training skills to the community, focusing on the unprivileged mamas and young people of Tanzania.”

As the Next Life organization matures and grows, we realize that, just like any ministry, it is not as simple as it sounds.  People’s lives are messy.  Life is messy.  Ministry is messy.  As much as we’d like to build more buildings and expand our offerings of vocations, we need to take care of the physical needs of our students.  How can you hear the Gospel when your stomach is growling so loud that your ears don’t hear anything?  How do you concentrate at school when you’re responsible for your younger siblings, at home alone, because your parents have left, trying to find work somewhere?!  Or when you’re afraid your mud house might collapse while you are away?!  We definitely don’t want any of our students witnessing the death of a family member from starvation. Nor do we want any to die if their home collapses.

Next Life Foundation chose to be a vocational school for the neediest of the needy.  This brings with it so many challenges.  But it also brings monumental hope.  These young people have an opportunity to provide for their families with the skills they’re learning and with the relationship they’re building with the Messiah that has known them since before they were born and has planned each one of their days.  But we cannot ignore the imminent danger they are in today. As NLF continues to grow and evolve, please pray that we always follow His leading and trust His will over that of ours.

Thank you to each and every one of you for how you have chosen to support NLF ministry.

Prayer Requests:

• Rain, Rain, Rain
• Many of our students and their families are struggling with major physical needs
• Discernment and wisdom for our Boards of Directors and staff
• The Holy Spirit open the hearts to Jesus’ saving grace

---

Patti always enjoys telling how God is working to touch the lives of the people in Tanzania.  Do you need a guest speaker at your small group, Sunday School, a special event, your civic club (Rotary, Kiwanis, etc.), or will your pastor be gone and you need pulpit supply.  Contact her at NextLifeFound@gmail.com

Interested in Giving to Next Life?

You may make a donation at NextLifeFound.org