The year 2006 has drawn to a close and we are beginning a bright new year… 2007.  Thank you for faithfully standing with us in this ministry through 2006.  It was a very busy year and full of challenges, yet God has been faithful and we can trust Him for the future. 

The last time we communicated with you, we were dealing with new immigration laws that affected the Kenyan church planters  Six of the eight Maasai church planters are Kenyan and so they had to return to Kenya to begin the paperwork process of obtaining Tanzanian residence permits.  It is going to take time and money and money for them to obtain residence permits for Tanzania.  When the church planters had to return to Kenya, we and the rest of the CMF team were discouraged and heartbroken.  Since that time, Robert has been visiting  the Matale area to encourage Peter and Solomon and their families as they continue to minister in Matale B, and as they help teach and encourage the new Christians in the other areas of Matale, in the absence of the other church planters.  Robert reports that the new Christians in Matale C , Matale A, and Matale B2 continue to meet and that there are identified new leaders emerging among them that Peter and Solomon are suggesting will be excellent candidates for training. Robert related the following from his most recent trip to Matale.  He was in Matale B with Peter and Solomon when….

“…a demon possessed man came and he said he wanted to be prayed for because demons were torturing him and were threatening to kill him. Solomon, Peter and myself (Robert) started the work by interrogating the man for a while then started the prayer process by worshiping. It was after just a little while the man started making noises ranging from roaring like a lion, then like a hyena, and hissing like a python. We started rebuking the demon(s) out of the man, and he started saying in kimasai, “we won’t get out”, then noises, then silence. We persisted and eventually the man, “the demon(s) in that man”. started saying, “ we will go now, we are finished, the Church has come to finish us up.”

So, in spite of Satan’s attempts to destroy God’s work in Matale, the Church continues and Satan knows he is defeated.  Please pray for deep discipleship and leadership training to take place in the emerging churches of the Matale area in remote northern Tanzania.  Thank you for faithfully giving and praying to “establish a beach head” in an area that was under the dominion of Satan.  We must not retreat now but must continue the war until the whole area is taken for the Kingdom of God.  Pray for wholistic individual and thus community transformation.

Pray for the CMF Team in Tanzania, both the missionaries and the nationals, who are working daily, continuing the ministry.  Pray that they will find the time to celebrate Christmas together and with their families and that they will be refreshed in body and spirit.  Lorivi, the CHE Trainer/Program Manager, and his wife are expecting their first child any day.  Please pray for a safe delivery for both baby and mama and for a healthy, strong baby.

Scott came to the US to attend the CMF Team Leader Workshop in Mexico the first week of November.  Then he did all the prep medical workup for his shoulder surgery which occurred on 21 November.  Since that time, he has been doing physical therapy daily and making twice a week visits to the hospital for evaluation by the physical therapist and surgeon.  His healing is progressing rapidly and assuming that this progress continues, the doctor will release him mid January to return to Tanzania.  We give glory to God for healing his rotator cuff before the surgery.  This has made a huge difference in the progress of his recovery.  By MRI last February, his rotator cuff was shown to be torn; MRI in November, showed that God had healed it!

We were provided the opportunity to attend the National Missions Convention in Indianapolis in November.  At that time we were able to visit furloughing team members, Todd and Tami Carter and their children and future team members, Kendra Woods and Teresa Palvadore.  It was great to visit with Todd and Tami and discuss ministry vision and strategy. Please pray for Kendra, Teresa and future team members, Ron and Jane Ann Richmond, that they will be encouraged and continue to step in faith as God shows them the way.

Being here has brought the blessing of being with our kids and grandkids.  Thanksgiving brought four of our kids here and five grandchildren!  We have also been able to visit some individual supporters and a couple of local churches.  We have not been able to go far from Colorado Springs just because of time constraints for traveling, imposed by frequent medical appointments.  We regret this as we would love to see each of you!  We were also able to experience the blizzard that hit Colorado yesterday….brrrr…it is going to be a shock to return to ninety-degree heat in Arusha in a few weeks!  When we return, we will be living in the just completed staff house on the mission center!  What a blessing that will be…we’ll be able to completely unpack…it will be interesting to see what we backed away 2 ½ years ago.  A BIG “thank you” to each of you for making this house a reality.

Blessings for a wonderful 2007,

Scott and Annelle