Ohana Christian Fellowship in West Linn, Ore., recently sent a mission team to Mbeya, Tanzania, where the team preached the gospel at five different sites daily and held a Vacation Bible School for more than 325 children.
Team members also staffed medical and dental clinics and helped to add a multipurpose room, ultimately named Ohana Hall, to the existing Adventist school. The team included members from Ohana, Rockwood and Canby churches, all in the Portland, Ore., area, as well as a few from California.
"I was really proud of our team members," says Doug Franzke, Ohana pastor. "All of them stepped out of their comfort zones at one point or another and did things that they had not done in the past. As a result, many people were blessed as well as the team members themselves."
Bible workers from the Tanzania Conference had been sent to the area two months before the team's arrival to lead individual baptismal students and train other members to give Bible studies. A fundraising campaign provided a Swahili Bible for each baptismal candidate. Hundreds of individual studies continued as the Bible workers stayed by for more than four months after the Ohana team's departure.
"We had over 300 people give their hearts to Jesus and be baptized just while we were there. Many more are preparing for baptism with the Bible workers and local church members," says Franzke. "The medical and dental teams treated a great number of patients, and I know that the work done in VBS will have eternal results.”
The Ohana Christian Fellowship mission team preached at five different sites each day and presented a Vacation Bible School for more than 325 children in Mbeya, Tanzania.
Ron Franzke unveils the dedication plaque at Ohana Hall — a multipurpose room added to the local Adventist school during Ohana's mission trip.
Children in the Mbeya Adventist Elementary School will benefit from a new multipurpose room added during the Ohana mission trip to Tanzania.
More than 300 people gave their hearts to Jesus and were baptized while the Ohana mission team was in Mbeya, Tanzania.
