Shipes2Datooga

Busy But Blessed!

2012-01-29T22:38:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a very busy day for us, but God's blessing was evident. We were blessed to have 6 of our neighbors, who have been interacting with us almost daily for the last year, come to church with us. Four of them stayed with us for all three services, and at the end of the youth service in the afternoon, two of the young men expressed concern for their souls and later that evening made a profession of faith! Their names are Saidi (which means "to help") and Michael. In the picture of the four boys, Saidi is on the right and Michael is third from the right. Please keep these young men in your prayers. Saidi comes from a very nominal Muslim home (His father is Muslim and his mother is "Christian"). Pray that they become rooted and grounded in the faith and that they learn to follow the Lord and His Word.

After the morning service we were blessed to have 8 of the ladies from our church come over to welcome little Hudson into the world and share a meal with us. It was a beautiful time of relationship building and cultural exchange, as the discussion ranged around the different methods of caring for children within our two cultures. I have learned that nothing brings out conversation from women quite like the topic of child rearing!! Thank you for your prayers for us. Please continue to pray for our young church, that we would grow in faith and a true knowledgeable love for our Savior.

Our First Anniversary

2011-12-01T10:44:00.000-08:00

God has been so good to us this past year! He has protected us from many dangers, and given us a love for the people and the land He has called us to. Thank you for your prayers!

God's Strength in Our Weakness

2011-11-22T21:08:00.000-08:00

A beautiful conclusion to a trying week:
There I sat at the funeral of the 10 month old daughter of a national GFF pastor friend, wondering what words of comfort I could give in my faltering Swahili (This was the third child they had lost in the last few years due in large part to the harshness of the land God has called them to minister in), when suddenly I realize that the man leading the service is asking me to stand up and speak a message of comfort to the family and those gathered. What I wanted was a few minutes to prepare my thoughts and my words, but no time was given. Oh, at times like those it is a comfort to know God has said, “My strength is made perfect in weakness”.

The very next day, the need for God’s strength in weakness was again felt keenly as I sat preparing my message for Sunday on New Testament “grace giving” from II Corinthians 8 & 9. How was I going to make these truths clear in Swahili, and how was I going to preach on giving to those who make less than $40 per month? Well, God’s grace was sufficient, and the people graciously and enthusiastically received His Word. As we were driving the 2 hours back home that evening from the sister church I had preached at, we were tired, but thankful to be serving God. It was then that I received the phone call that would give us the capstone to the whole week. Rodney Myers called and said that Pasqueli Stephano, a young man we had been praying for for several months, accepted Christ as His Savior! Please continue to pray for Pasqueli as he begins his walk with the Lord. He will have some very important decisions to make in the coming days. But that day there was rejoicing in Tanzania and in heaven!!

We can’t thank you enough for your continued prayer for us as a family and the ministry in Ndatu. In September, we began a Sunday evening prayer service and question and answer time followed by a youth service. The question and answer time has revealed a great deal of ingrained false teaching, but has also provided a good opportunity to carefully teach the Bible on those subjects. Next month, we will be traveling 10 hours to Dar es Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, for the delivery of our 7th child. Please pray for safety for Nicole and the baby, as well as her comfort as we travel the bumpy roads to get there.

Serving a Gracious God,

Aaron & Nicole Shipe & family

Language learning humor: While talking with two sisters who live together while in college (“Chuoni”), I told them about the 2 years that my brother and I lived together in the bathroom (Chooni”). You can image the smiles and outright laughter that clued me in to my mistake!

Please also consider viewing a video we prepared about our first year in Tanzania at http://youtu.be/wes6340-XO0

O Death Where is Thy Sting?

2011-11-16T11:25:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow, Rodney and I will be traveling to the border of Kenya and Tanzania to attend the funeral of a child of on our national GFF pastors (Pastor Lawi). For Pastor Lawi and his wife, this is the 3rd child that they have lost due to the harshness of the land they live in. Please pray for Pastor Lawi and his wife as they mourn the loss of their baby girl. Please pray for God's grace to minister to them at this time. Thank you.

Above is a picture of Rodney holding this precious little one a few months ago with Pastor Lawi.

O Death Where is Thy Sting?

2011-11-16T10:59:00.000-08:00

Time

2011-08-19T03:04:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

“Time is free, but it is priceless. You can’t own it, but you can use it. You can’t keep it, but you can spend it. Once you’ve lost it, you can never get it back.” Quotes like this fill the Western mindset, but are rather foreign to the way of thinking here in Tanzania. Here there is always time to stop and greet a perfect stranger and ask about his day, his health, his family, his work, his church, etc. In fact, failure to do so is often considered rude and insensitive. The transition from a time sensitive culture to a relationship sensitive culture has not been the easiest for me. From time to time, I am greeted with the phrase, “Pole na shughuli nyingi,” which literally means “Sorry for your much business”. While I feel like my day is just normal, my neighbors see me coming and going and feel sorry for my busy lifestyle. As I look around me, I realize that it is not unusual for a man or woman to spend several hours of a day sitting on a bench by the road and talking to any and all who happen by. Please pray for wisdom as how to embrace this cultural mindset without abandoning the Biblical injunction of “redeeming the time” and “numbering our days”.

On the subject of time, it is hard to believe that we have been in Tanzania for over 8 months already. It is exciting to think about all that God has done in this short time. Language is increasing day by day, and now we can often hold significant and somewhat lengthy conversations in Swahili. Recently, I have begun reading through the book of Genesis in Swahili and writing down every word I don’t know. Through the first four chapters, I was surprised to discover that I am averaging only one word per verse that needs to be looked-up in the dictionary. The church in Ndatu is progressing steadily. We are making plans to have our first service in the church building in just two weeks. Over the last several weeks, we have leveled the ground around the church, built benches, fixed doors, hung tarps to cover the holes in the walls where the termites ate, and spruced up the outhouse. It is exciting to see the church grow, not only in number, but especially in unity and spiritual maturity.

It has only been a few months since Verdiana and Edgar made professions of faith earlier this year. Edgar went away from the Lord after just a short time, but Verdiana has continued to remain faithful. Although her family is pressuring her to marry Edgar because of a large proposed dowry (despite his dishonesty and theft), she has thus far refused their pressure because she believes it is not God’s will. Recently, she has been bringing visitors from work to church with her. Please pray for Verdiana to continue to grow in Christ and remain faithful to the Lord in the face of strong family pressures. Please also pray for her job situation. She is from a tribe distant to this area, and they have threatened to replace her with someone of a more local tribe.

As I began to write this letter, I had just returned from the airport where Anna and I dropped-off Nick Mauer (a gifted and godly seminary student from our home church in Maryland). We had the privilege of having Nick come preach for a youth conference in the village of Bonga, where around 300 young people from the surrounding GFF churches attended. The Lord greatly used him to challenge the young people toward a life that is consumed with knowing and loving Christ, and therefore not consumed with the passing pleasures of sin. As I sat and listened to him preach, I was rebuked by my own failure to be consumed with Christ. I have been consumed with trying to learn Swahili; with trying to figure out a solution to our continuing electrical problems (we average about 6 hours of power a day); with trying to figure out a solution to our inconsistent water supply, with wrangling over our residence permit; with helping start a church; etc., but I have not being consumed with Christ. I would appreciate your prayers for me in this area.

One of Satan’s very effective lies that he plants for believers on the mission field is that, “Your cultures are so different that you will never be able to minister to people in a way that is understood in a foreign culture.” After months of observing differences in culture, sometimes stark, you begin to believe that lie. With that background, perhaps one of the most encouraging events in recent months took place a couple weeks ago. We had asked a Lutheran seminary student named Mathayo Sanga to stay with us in our home for a week and help us with our language studies. During that week he slept in our home, ate with our family, played with our kids, participated in our family devotions, and taught us during the days. It really was a blessing as well as a help linguistically. After Mathayo returned to his family, he called and said that he had learned so much during his time with us, and that now he was reading the Bible to his children on a daily basis and was hoping to implement several changes in his family based upon what he observed in our home. The Lord knew the right encouragement to give at the right time.

Serving the Alpha and Omega,

Aaron & Nicole Shipe & family

Thank You for Your Prayers

2011-06-27T11:42:00.001-07:00

Just by way of a short update, I want to thank you all for your prayers as I attempted to preach for the first time in Swahili two weeks ago. I felt more comfortable preaching than I thought I would, and truly felt God's help. Thank you truly for your prayers for us. Lord-willing we will be moving from the home we have been meeting in to our currently dilapidated church building by mid-July. We have begun to raise funds from within our church family to build a new church building on the current sight. It is exciting to see our small church taking challenging steps to move forward. We continue to covet your prayers for us and our young church here in Tanzania.

Serving the God of the Ages,
The Shipes

First Swahili Sermon

2011-06-07T23:51:00.000-07:00

Things have been rather busy these past few weeks as life and ministry here in Tanzania continue to progress. The church in Ndatu is growing in unity and spiritual maturity, as well as in numbers (albeit slowly). This coming Sunday, Rodney Myers and his family will be in Kenya for some well deserved R & R, and I have been given the frightening opportunity to preach my first Swahili message without an interpreter. This past week has been spent in preparing and honing a message on the evidences of true faith from the life of Joseph. What would normally take about a day took five days, and even so, I feel like a five year-old talking about college level topics. Please pray this Sunday (Saturday night for you)that God would enable me to speak with clarity and power by His Spirit.

Two weeks ago (as seen in the pictures above), Pastor Chris Luppino from Kissimmee, FL came and taught a week long seminar on Spiritual Gifts for the pastors and leaders of the 25 GFF churches here in Tanzania; around 60 men were in attendance for this vital time of instruction and refreshment in the Word of God. The Charismatic movement has literally wreaked havoc upon the churches in our area. Many say that if they are not seeing "miracles" and speaking in tongues in their churches that they are not true churches, and many have left good churches for the excitement of charismatic churches. Please pray that God would use this instruction to strengthen and ground the believers in His Word.

Prior to that we had the blessing of Nicole's parents and younger brother here for 10days. It was a delight to see them again and show them some of the sights of Tanzania! We thank God for the blessing of family and the marvel of international travel!

On the health front, Anna has completely recovered from her earlier infection which we believed was Typhoid, however, recently the doctor here indicated that it may have been viral Meningitis due to a recent outbreak with similar symptoms. We, however, are just praising God for her recovery. Please continue to pray for her though as she has an itchy rash on her upper body, she is being treated, but the doctors are uncertain as to it's origin. We also learned a valuable lesson about the dangers of mango flies. Last week Eden (our 2 year-old) got a bug bite on her eyelid, and in just a couple days her eye was completely swollen shut. Apparently the mango fly leaves a larvae in the bite, which grows inside the body of it's victim. We were able to lance the wound and remove the larvae without incident and her eye is now almost completely recovered (Pictures were taken, but are not included because of the disgusting nature of the episode).

Thank you for your continued prayer for us. Please pray for our continued language acquisition, and for evangelistic and discipleship opportunities in Ndatu.

Serving a Great God,

The Shipe Family

News From Ndatu

2011-04-17T13:26:00.001-07:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

“Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”
Jesus, in the Parable of the Soils, described four common reactions to the preaching of the Gospel. I fear that one of those unfortunately appears to fit with the response of Edgar, who I mentioned in our last letter. Initially, he appeared to make some decisions of faith, but before too long the pressure of culture and the love of money scorched the plant of faith. Truly no one but God knows the heart of man, so please continue to pray for Edgar that he would repent of his sins and turn back to the Savior of the wayward. Please also pray for Verdiana; she is continuing to go forward in her new faith despite the heartache of Edgar’s failures.

In other news, the church re-plant in Ndatu is making steady progress. We have two families (Stephano and his wife and children and Elbariki and his wife and children) who have decided to join us for Sunday morning Bible studies which began today (see pictures of our first service above). Each of the lessons is designed not only to be merely academic, but also to bring each person to a place of confrontation with a specific truth of God’s Word. Please pray that these families will continue to respond in obedience to the Word of God as it is taught. Please also pray for our evangelistic efforts in the village of Ndatu. Many listen only because they think that they can gain access to our American money by befriending us. We need boldness with the Gospel and discernment in our relationships.

As a family we have been trying to reach out to our neighbors as well. Every few days, the neighborhood children (often between 20-30 children at a time) come over and play on our swings, play soccer in the yard, or play basketball on the hoop we had made. This has helped open up many relationships within the community. As parents see us care for their children, many of their suspicions of us as outsiders have diminished significantly. We hope to be able to turn these “play times” into a Bible club as we become more comfortable in Swahili. In other family news, Anna seems to have fully recovered from a serious bout with Typhoid last month. My parents (Aaron’s) were able to visit us two weeks ago to spend time with grandchildren and help set up several swings for the kids to play on. It was a very special time for all of us as we enjoyed the blessing of family. Although power blackouts continue several days a week, the rains have begun and the power is a little more consistent that just a month ago.

Serving a soon coming King,

Aaron & Nicole Shipe & family

Thank you for your prayers

2011-03-04T12:27:00.000-08:00

I want to thank each of you for your prayers for us today. God blessed with a great opportunity to open the Word over steaming hot milk and fried bananas (like those pictured below), and we are scheduled to return for additional Bible study next week! Please pray for Elisante and his family that they would respond in obedience to the Gospel.

Flat Tire Follow-up

2011-03-03T12:09:00.000-08:00

This past Tuesday Rodney and I again returned to Ndatu for further evangelism. Providentially we picked up a young boy walking home from school and gave him a ride up the mountain. His home was a little further up the mountain than we normally go, but as we arrived at his home, the Lord prompted Rodney to go and witness to a man sitting by the side of the road. As soon as Rodney got out of the truck to go and witness to this man, a motorcycle taxi pulled up and it looked like the opportunity had evaporated. However, just at that moment the motorcycle driver recognized Rodney and called out "Mchungaji njoo hapa" (Pastor come here). Rodney soon discovered that this man had seen Rodney and I and heard our conversations with others the night we had a flat tire. He listened in the background, but determined he was going to learn more. After hearing the Gospel presented by Rodney, he asked, "What do I have to do to be saved." Rodney took the opportunity to share more, and the man asked for Rodney and I to come to his home tomorrow, March 4th at 2pm our time to share the Gospel with his entire family and his brother's family. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would convict them and that the Word of God would fall on good soil. Pray for Rodney as he seeks to accurately and clearly present the message of God's salvation in Jesus Christ. Thank you for laboring with us.

Flat Tire Blessings

2011-02-23T06:27:00.001-08:00

Rodney and I had been visiting in the village of Ndatu for a few hours yesterday and were just planning on jumping on his motorcycle and riding for home. As we were walking towards our bike, a new friend named Baba Elia noticed that our rear tire was flat. We had planned on being home within the next few minutes, but that all changed with this news. Thankfully, we had parked not 30 feet from a small Duka (shop) that specialized in motorcycle parts for the numerous motorcycles that ferry villagers up and down Mt. Meru to and from the local market. As we settled on the slab of wood for a bench outside the duka, we were able to engage several people in conversation. One particular older gentleman named James spent about 30-40 minutes conversing with me in my unrefined Swahili. Of all the practice I did that day, this unexpected delay turned out to be some of the most valuable of all. Although it was getting dark by the time we arrived home, it was exciting to see God's blessing in the interruptions of our lives.

Thank you for your prayers for us. Please pray for me as I venture to preach some of this Sunday's message in Swahili.

Two Months In Country

2011-02-10T19:52:00.000-08:00

First I must apologize for not adding to this sooner. I would give a bunch of excuses about how busy things have been here since we moved, but that really is no excuse. Many of you have been very busy as well, but yet you have prayed earnestly for us. I know this because the first two months in country have doubtlessly been full of challenges, but in spite of them things have gone exceptionally well. After spending a few weeks setting up our home here in the midst of severe power outages, we had several weeks of language school. We were anticipating being placed in the beginner Swahili course, but because of some study in Swahili while still in the States, we were able to skip the beginner course and move directly into intermediate. Not only were we able to learn at a much more rapid pace, but it also enabled us to save several thousand dollars of tuition fees. We have also had the privilege of learning from a number of veteran African missionaries about various cultural challenges and differences with African ministry.

Starting this week, now that language school is over for the time being, I will be joining with Rodney Myers as we focus on evangelism in one village in particular. Please pray for several items as we labor to plant a church in the village of Ndotu. First is a man named Stefano. Rodney has begun discipleship with this man already, but his work schedule has recently kept him away from Ndotu for almost 2 months. Second, is a man named Edgar and his fiance Verdiana. They both, after several weeks of Bible study, recognized that they were on the wide road that leads to destruction, repented of their sins, and trusted in Christ for salvation. Please pray for them that they would obey the commands of the Lord with regards to marriage. Third, please pray that the Lord would prepare the hearts of many in that village to receive the Gospel of Christ. This leads me to my last request. We have recently felt the great frustration of having a wonderful message to tell, but minimal ability to share it. Would you pray with us that we would quickly be able to grasp the language of Swahili and be able to communicate this life saving treasure to those who are lost.

On the family front, the kids are adjusting well to life here in TZ. They have made a number of friends and seem to be increasing in their Swahili every day. Thankfully we have not had to deal with any Malaria or other serious illnesses in our time here thus far. The kids have already enjoyed seeing monkeys of every sort, giraffe, zebra, cape buffalo, a black mamba (thankfully killed by our dogs), and some of the most beautiful (and noisy) birds you could imagine. The picture above is taken at Arusha National Park, which is just a few miles down the road from our home. We went on a safari there for Christmas Eve.

Thank you for your prayers

Aaron & Nicole Shipe

He is God, Even of the Housing Market!

2010-10-30T08:33:00.000-07:00

Praise the Lord!! We went to closing yeterday afternoon and settled on our former home. Thank you for your prayers, and now it is time to give thanks and praise to God for His abundant provision! He has guided and superintended every step of the way to make this possible! Thank you for your labors in prayer for this. Truly God is good and faithful to answer prayer.

God's Continued Provision

2010-10-11T09:05:00.001-07:00

We are nearing our departure for Tanzania, and God is faithfully opening doors in preparation for our arrival. Two things that needed to be accomplished before we arrived in Tanzania were the sale of our home in Maryland, and the purchase of a reliable 4x4 vehicle in Tanzania that would seat at least 8. At this point, it seems that both of these requests have been answered. Two weeks ago, our home went under contract with a proposed closing for the end of October, and just two days ago, Rodney Myers was able to acquire for us a very good Toyota Land Cruiser (pictured above). Everyone I spoke to recommended this vehicle for it's reliability and durability, but finding one with low mileage and "gentle" treatment for a reasonable price was very tricky. We praise God for His faithfulness in continuing to open doors at just the right time! Thank you also for your prayers to this end! Please continue to pray that the home would sell without any complications.

Yours for Christ,

The Shipe Family

2010-08-17T06:42:00.000-07:00

I am just about to board a plane to Ethiopia and then to Tanzania where for the next two weeks, I will be making plans for moving to Tanzania this fall. Our partners, Rodney and Lynn Myers, have been making plans for us so that we can purchase a reliable used 4x4 vehicle, get our residence visas, arrange for housing, and prepare for a thousand other details that need to be thought through before we leave. Thank you for your faithful prayers for us. Please continue to labor for us in prayer that we would be wise in our preparations, and that God would fill us with His grace so that we can be the most effective missionaries that God would have us to be. Thank you

A Mountain Top Experience

2010-07-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

Dear Prayer Partners,

This morning at language school outside of Denver, CO, I had the privilege of hiking to the 9,063 foot summit of Mt. Herman with two fellow missionaries. While gazing out from the summit in the early morning, with the sun just peeking above the horizon, we sang together I Sing the Mighty Power of God. The second verse says, “while all that borrows life from Thee is ever in Thy care and everywhere that man can be Thou God art present there.” What a delight it is to remember that we are “ever” in the care of our loving Father, and to know that no matter where it is God leads us—whether in our neighborhood or around the world in some foreign country—God’s care and power are not diminished! He remains the Almighty God no matter when or where we roam.

As we look towards Tanzania, it feels many days like we are on a train that is rapidly gaining steam. Truly things are progressing as we prepare to move to Tanzania this fall. Our support has reached 90%, the children’s passports are being processed, and the next 3 years of homeschooling curriculum has been purchased and packed. Beginning August 17th, I will be traveling to Tanzania for two weeks seeking to purchase a reliable vehicle, arrange housing for the first year, and acquire resident visas from the Tanzanian government. I also hope to discern whether it would be more cost effective to send a container or purchase all items in country. As you can see, much has been accomplished, but much still remains to be done. We truly thank you for your labors in prayer for us, and covet them now more than ever.

Praises:
1. For several great meetings and increased support!
2. For safety in our travels!
3. For 4 professions of faith!
4. For growth in our efforts to learn Swahili!
5. For increased interest in our home.

Prayer Requests:
1. For the TZ government to grant us resident visas.
2. For wisdom about 2 acres of land that has been made available to our teammates very near the Datooga.
3. For our home to sell.
4. For the remaining 10% of our support.
5. For a Tanzania woman who will come along-side my wife in that first year to help her learn the language and the culture.

Every Man Heard Them Speak In His Own Language

2010-05-03T08:16:00.000-07:00

John 3:16 in Swahili "Maana Mungu aliupenda ulimwengu hivi hata akamtoa Mwana wake wa pekee, ili kila amwaminiye asipotee, bali awe na uzima wa milele."

Acts 2 recounts the miracle of the day of Pentecost where the disciples proclaimed the message of faith in Christ for salvation. On that day, the "unlearned" disciples were miraculously and instantly empowered by the Holy Spirit to speak in at least 15 different languages. That sign-gift of the Holy Spirit fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 28:11-12, and enabled the Gospel of Jesus Christ to spread to many peoples very rapidly. However, for missionaries since the cessation of the sign-gifts, the process of learning a language and translating the Bible into another language has been one of the greatest challenges to proclaiming God's salvation cross-culturally.

Recently we received word that the translation of the New Testament into the Datooga language has been completed. For the first time the Datooga people can hear the Word of God and the message of salvation in their own language!! Although there is still a great deal of work that needs to be done to proclaim His salvation among the Datooga people and establish indigenous churches, we rejoice in God's faithfulness to bring them His Word. This exciting development makes us that much more eager to get to Tanzania and get started.

Prayerfully, we are making plans to move to Tanzania this November. We have rejoiced in God's continued faithfulness to bring in our support. Currently we are around 84% of our needed support and are praying for God to bring in the remaining 16%. We want to personally thank each of you that have given and prayed to bring us to this point. We pray that God will richly reward you for your willingness to sacrifice for His glory among the Datooga. Thank you.

Praises:
1. For several great meetings and increased support!
2. For safety in our travels!
3. For God's faithfulness to call young people into missions!
4. For growth in our efforts to learn Swahili!

Prayer Requests:
1. For continued growth in learning Swahili, especially as I take a language
course in Denver this summer.
2. For our home to sell.
3. For the remaining 16% of our support.
4. For God to use use us as we minister in churches to call men, women, boys,
and girls to follow God's will for their life.
5. For a Tanzania woman who will come along-side my wife in that first year to help her learn the language and the culture.

The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.

2010-01-26T10:03:00.000-08:00

The past few weeks have been exciting weeks as we have just begun full-time deputation. Our prayer all along has been to be in Tanzania by the end of 2010. Over the past few weeks, we have seen a significant increase in our support level, making it look all the more likely. At the beginning of 2010, we were around 53% of our needed support; that has increased to about 66-67% of our support. We know that many of you have been praying earnestly for us, and we want to express our deep appreciation for your labor in prayer. This, however, brings several new prayer requests into focus. First, would you please pray for us as we labor in earnest to learn Swahili so that we will be able to "hit the ground running" when we arrive in Tanzania. Second, would you pray for wisdom as we begin to make moving plans and seek passports and visas for ministering in country. Third, would pray for the sale of our home. We intend to put it on the market this Spring. Fourth, would you pray for our partners, Rodney and Lynn Myers and family. They are returning to Tanzania on February 3rd with only a short-term housing situation worked out. Please pray that God would provide affordable housing in an area that would enable the most affective ministry among the Datooga people.

Thank you again for your prayers. I am reminded of what James says in James 5:16 "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

Joy to the World!

2009-12-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

Dear Ones in Christ,
This special season of year, when we celebrate the coming of our Lord into this world to be our Savior, is a vivid reminder of the importance of missions. When Isaac Watts wrote his famous Christmas carol, Joy to the World based on Psalm 98, he noticed the repeated emphasis in that psalm of the universal significance of Christ’s coming. That is reflected in words like: “He comes to make His blessings known, far as the curse is found” and “Let every heart prepare Him room”. A gift so amazing as God the Son coming in human flesh and offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin, is something that must be proclaimed far and wide. To this end, we want to thank you for your prayers and financial support of our ministry to the Datooga Tribe. It is your sacrificial prayers and support that make this ministry possible.
Starting on January 1st, I will no longer be employed by our home church (Calvary Baptist in Westminster, MD). We prayed fervently over the course of this past year that God would enable us to be at 50% by the end of 2009, and we were overjoyed this past week when we received word that another supporter had joined the team raising our support level to 50%!! I know many of you participated in praying for this goal, and I wanted to inform you so that you can participate in rejoicing with us and praising God. In the midst of this economic recession, God demonstrated that His ability to provide is not hindered by the weakness of man!
Prayer Requests:
1. Would you continue to pray for the salvation of Mike Haley—God is clearly convicting him, but he is afraid to trust in Christ for fear of what God will change.
2. Our 2010 schedule is beginning to fill-up, but it is still not as full as I would like to see it. Would you please pray that God would lead us to churches which would be willing and able to support our ministry?
3. Pray for a great and effectual door for the Gospel among the Datooga.
4. Pray for our partners, the Myers family. They will be making plans to return to TZ in the New Year!
Praises:
1. We are now at 50% of our support!
2. We remained healthy throughout the turbulent fall season of travels!
3. Mike Haley has increased his attendance at church!

Yours in Christ,
Aaron and Nicole Shipe and family

P.S. We would love to be able to assist with your VBS program or any other youth programs you might have this summer.

Our New Van

2009-11-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

Or 1995 Astro mini-van held 8 passengers (for a family of 8-with 5 in car seats) and often left barely enough room for luggage and missions display stuff. We began to pray and God directed us to this 2004 Ford 12 passenger van with low mileage. We also prayed for a specific price and God once again answered our prayers! Thank you to all who prayed for us in this matter. May God be praised as He even supplies our mundane physical needs like a vehicle!!

"So Shall My Words Be . . ."

2009-10-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

This past month my wife and I had the privilege of visiting Valley of Fire State Park outside of Las Vegas, Nevada--where we had been for a Missions Conference with Southern Hills Baptist Church. While traveling through the desert park, we came across a historical marker which marked the location of the death of Sgt. John J. Clark in June of 1915. He died of dehydration after he ran out of water in that fierce desert land. As my wife and I continued to travel on, just a few miles further we came upon a place where water was literally bubbling out of the rocks into a fresh water pond and then flowing down hill from there. All around that stream in the desert was life; with lush green grass, palm trees, and even a myriad of fish. If only Sgt. Clark had made it a few miles further he would have had all the water he needed to live.

I was reminded of this sight when my Pastor, Tim Leaman, preached out of Isaiah 55:6-13 to open our Missions Conference. The conference theme was "Living Water for a Thirsty World". In those verses, the Lord compares the life giving power of water on thirsty ground to the life giving power of the Word of God to thirsty souls. Peter Steveson in his commentary on that passage says,

"Isaiah now illustrates the certainty of God's promise to receive those who come to Him. Moisture, "rain" and "snow," comes from the sky to water the earth and bring forth fruit. From this we gain seed for future crops and food to sustain life, v.10. In the same way, God's Word will bring forth fruit. The fruit of God's Word is redemption, drawing men away from their sin to Him."

This is tremendously encouraging to me because currently many of the Datooga are in an even worse condition than Sgt. John J. Clark, but the Word of God has not lost its life giving power. In fact, verse 11 tells us that God's Word will not return unto Him void, but will accomplish that which He pleases, and we already know that it is God's decreed will to save a people to the praise of His Son from every kindred, tongue, people, and nation! Oh to see the Word of God pour out like rain upon the Datooga people!

Thank you for all of your prayers on our behalf. Here are some prayer requests and praises in and for our ministry.

Prayer
1. Pray that God's Holy Spirit would be active convicting the Datooga of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.

2. Pray for the Myers family as they continue to travel on furlough and make preparations to return to TZ early next year. Pray for safety, wisdom, health, grace, and a break-through in bringing the Gospel to the Datooga.

3. Pray for a great and effectual door for all who are faithful with the Word of God as they minister among the Datooga.

4. Pray for us to remain safe and healthy in our travels and to be able to be in TZ by the end of 2010.

5. Pray for the salvation of a local man named Mike Haley.

Praise

1. We decided not to get a motor home, but began to pray for a larger vehicle and God answered some very specific prayer requests and provided us with a 12 passenger Ford van with low miles for a great price!

2. We are currently around 40% and praying to be at 50% by the end of this year.

3. We have had a great fall being a part of several Missions Conferences at great churches!

Our Calendar

2009-10-06T13:31:00.000-07:00

Who Will Tell Them?

2009-09-04T13:12:00.000-07:00

Recently as I was speaking to Rodney Myers, the veteran missionary we will be partnering with, he informed me that the number of Datooga is far greater than I had formerly thought. He said the best estimates are between 250,000-400,000! What a thought! There are over a quarter million people spread over thousands of square miles with no knowledge of the Gospel, and no churches to take the Gospel to them. In contrast, as we travel we are regularly amazed by the number of churches we pass. Although we know that many, if not most, of those churches no longer preach the Gospel, many still do! We can't even fathom a city of a quarter million people without a single church.

Currently the situation is made even more dire because the Myers are home on a much needed furlough, and we are still months from raising the necessary support to move to Tanzania. Would you pray for us that we might quickly be able to raise our support so we can bring the Good News of Jesus Christ to the Datooga who now sit in darkness? Would you also pray that God would, even now, send His Holy Spirit and convict the Datooga of their sins and prepare them to receive the Gospel when it is brought to them? Would you pray that one day soon, the Datooga territory would be dotted with churches much like we see as we travel around the United States?

Count It All Joy!

2009-08-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Many of you can probably say along with us, "Wow! What a busy summer!" We went from a three day evangelistic youth rally called The Cola Wars, to a week at The Wilds Camp with the teens from our church, to our Vacation Bible School, to the ordination of my brother, Greg. Not to mention visiting numerous churches and a week of vacation with my whole family in Georgia. But as busy as these past months have been, the next 3 months appear even more so.

This becomes even more critical with the new year of school beginning in September. Traveling with 6 young kids is exciting enough, but the added stress of school for the oldest three, including 2 days a week in a local homeschool academy, can be very challenging. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for wisdom, strength, grace, and patience as we navigate the challenges of the coming months. Also, we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom with regard to a specialized language school in Texas we are considering. We want to know the Lord's will and timing about this additional language training. And one final prayer request: our van has served us well for several years, but during the past month it left us stranded beside the highway twice. Praise God that it is up and running again thanks to the honest and capable work of our generous mechanic, Lou Mielke, but would you pray for God's direction about purchasing a different vehicle. We are prayerfully considering a C class motorhome, but truly want to be wise stewards of the Lord's finances. Would you pray for us that we might know God's direction.

Praises:

3 professions of faith in the Cola Wars and VBS.

A faithful and knowledgeable Christian mechanic

A kind State Trooper (Trooper Cooper in VA.) who assisted us after our van broke down for the second time in 8 days.

Continued increase in support.

My God Is So Big!!

2009-06-02T08:30:00.000-07:00

"The mountains are His. The valleys are His. The stars are His handiwork too. My God is so BIG, so STRONG, and so MIGHTY, there's nothing my God cannot do--FOR YOU!!"

My children were singing this song as we drove down the road to Fellowship Baptist Church in Ferndale, MD this week. That song fit so well with lessons that God has been teaching me these past few months.

I must confess that initially when I surrendered to God's call to the Datooga I was nervous about the financial situation that our country was entering in to. I began to wonder whether it was a bad time to begin the deputation process. Would we be merely setting ourselves up for failure? The Lord brought numerous Scripture verses to mind such as, Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the LORD'S, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Also, Psalm 50:10-12 "Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof." Along with Haggai 2:8 "The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the LORD of hosts." All of these speak of God's infinite power to provide for His people regardless of the financial climate.

Over the past 5 months, we have seen God provide in amazing ways. Just yesterday I received notice that of our Outfit and Passage expenses, our passage expenses have come in. Also, we are at roughly 1/3 of our needed monthly support! Praise God! Hudson Taylor rightly said, "God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supplies."

We are keenly aware that this would not be possible without the sacrificial support of many of you. Thank you for your love for our Savior demonstrated in this very tangible way. We believe with Paul that your giving is "an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God."

Prayer Requests:

Would you continue to pray that God would raise up the additional support needed so that we might quickly get to Tanzania and begin the much needed work among the Datooga?
Please pray for continued health and safety as we travel.
Please pray that we would be able to effectively communicate to God's people the surpassing value of knowing Christ and renouncing the things of this world to know Him more.

Praises:

Increased support
Health and safety
Many friendships in Christ established and others strengthened

The Most Vital of Weapons

2009-04-01T11:48:00.000-07:00

Andrew Murray, the great South Africa pastor of the 19th and early 20th century, in his book The Prayer Life gave a compelling illustration about the importance of prayer. Prayer, Murray said, is like when,

"Two persons quarrel over a certain point. We call them Christian and Apollyon. Apollyon notices that Christian has a certain weapon which would give him a sure victory. They meet in deadly strife, and Apollyon resolves to take away the weapon from his opponent and destroy it. For the moment the main cause of the strife has become subordinate; the great point now is who shall get possession of the weapon on which everything depends? It is of vital importance to get hold of that. So it is in the conflict between Satan and the believer. God's child can conquer everything by prayer. Is it any wonder that Satan does his utmost to snatch that weapon from the Christian, or to hinder him in the use of it?"

Oh how vital is the tool of prayer, but oh how quick we are to relinquish the use of this vital tool. I am more and more persuaded that the evangelization of the Datooga will not happen apart from the prayers of God's people. II Corinthians 4:4 says that "the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." Satan has blinded the hearts and minds of this lost world to the glorious truth of Christ, and he will not release them from this blindness willingly. But praise God, there is One to whom even Satan must bow, and He it is who has urged us "
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
Mat 7:8 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." Would you join with us in the use of this most crucial of weapons by praying for the salvation of the Datooga?

To that end, I would encourage you to follow this link http://www.scribd.com/full/13861908?access_key=key-qigw4stai0trjlm89g0 to download a list of Scriptural prayers that you can pray for us and other missionaries. I would also request prayer for Rodney and Lynn Myers, our future partners in this ministry to the Datooga. They are even now engaged in the front lines of the spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of the Datooga. For more information as to their ministry needs, please see http://rodney-mydayinthebush.blogspot.com/. Pray that God's Spirit would be at work to open the eyes of the Datooga by convicting them of sin, righteousness, and judgment. And pray for us that God would enable us to raise the funds we need so that we can quickly arrive in Tanzania and begin partnering with Rodney and Lynn.

Because He Lives,

Aaron and Nicole Shipe and family

P.S. On another note, Nicole and Eden continue to do extremely well! Many nights she is sleeping for seven hours at a stretch!! What a gem!

Contact Information

2009-03-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

Contact Information:

Home:
2235 Bowersox Rd.
New Windsor, MD 21776

Church:
Calvary Baptist Church
2127 Old Liberty Rd. W.
Westminster, MD 21157

Phone:
410-259-9339

E-mail:
aaron.shipe@gmail.com

Mission Board:
Gospel Furthering Fellowship
221 Hamilton Ave.
Myerstown, PA 17067
717-866-1964
gff@gffministries.com

To Donate:
www.gffministries.com/donate.asp

It's a Girl!

2009-02-24T08:16:00.000-08:00

We have been told that we are taking the tribe of Shipe to reach the tribe of the Datooga . . . well, the tribe of Shipe has grown by one. On saturday morning February 21st, we welcomed Eden Joy Shipe into the world. She was a healthy 6lbs. 15.5oz. and 20.25 inches long. The kids are enjoying holding and kissing on their new baby sister. How much she is enjoying the attention is still up for debate!

We praise God that both Mother and Baby are doing great! Thank you all for your prayers.

If you are in God's will everything will go well?

2009-01-29T10:09:00.000-08:00

Just before Christmas I was meditating on the Christmas story and something struck me that I had never thought about before. So, that night I shared with my wife the truth I had been pondering, how Mary and Joseph were absolutely in the center of God's will and they still had problems. They had to move to Bethlehem because of a census; when they arrived there was no room for them in the inn and they were forced to give birth to Jesus the Christ in a stable. It would be tempting from our human perspective to think that since they were such key players in God's plan for the ages that things would have gone well for them, but such was not the case. That means, I continued to Nicole, that being in the center of God's will does not assure us that things are going to go well (This can also be seen very clearly in the life of Joseph in the Old Testament).

Well, little did I know we would be set to prove that truth. Just two days later, my laptop was stolen from the church* (read below to hear "the rest of the story") with all my valuable "missions contacts". When I was sitting in my house frustrated about the "bad luck" that had come my way, my wife encouraged me by reminding me of the truth I had shared with her just two days earlier. It seems in some sense that our first few weeks on the deputation trail have also proved this truth. At our first church, New Southwest Baptist Church in Baltimore (a wonderfully vibrant church), we arrived to find the basement flooded and then shortly thereafter our projector died on us. When we finally presented the Powerpoint on my computer screen, the sound and pictures did not "sync up" (though it worked perfectly the night before).

When we arrived at Berean Bible Church the next Sunday instead of the basement flooding, the sanctuary was without heat and it was 46 degrees inside (Although we joked that this was the coldest welcome we had ever received, in truth the people of Berean were warm and loving). And then, yesterday it snowed and sleeted and rained all day as we prepared to travel to Red Lion Bible Church. And on top of all this, Nicole was probably the sickest I have ever seen her all last week.

Wouldn't it seem that since we are trying to do God's will that everything should go well? Well, not if the examples of Mary and Joseph in the New Testament and Joseph, and David, and the prophets in the Old Testament hold true for us today. Jesus said plainly what we are to expect in John 16:33 "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Admittedly my projector not working and my computer being stolen don't quite reach the level of tribulation that others have faced, but the principle still applies. We would be careful not to equate troubles with God's frown upon us. William Cowper, the great hymn writer, put it best, "Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust Him for His grace; Behind a frowning providence, He hides a smiling face."

On the whole, however, deputation has been a positive experience thus far. We have had the privilege this year of presenting our ministry in 3 churches in the MD and PA area (New Southwest Baptist Church in Baltimore; Berean Bible Church in Greencastle, PA; and Red Lion Bible Church in Red Lion, PA). At each church we have had the privilege of worshipping, praying, and fellowshiping with fellow believers. One of the dangers (and I use that term loosely) of serving in a local church is that it is easy to get tunnel vision and imagine that the work of God in one's church is all that God is doing. Deputation has reminded me that God's kingdom is broad and is advancing still and that the gates of hell are still unable to stop that great advance.

* Now about the computer-- We began to pray that God would convict the person who stole the computer and that they would return it. Today I am writing on the once stolen computer because God answered out prayers and it was returned to the church. Praise God that He controls even the thief!

Prayer Requests:
For us that we would quickly make a full recovery to good health
To have safety in our travels
That we would quickly raise our support
That we would be able to encourage the people of God to evangelize for the glory of God!
That the hearts of the Datooga would be opened to the Gospel
That our calendar would fill up.

Thank you for your prayers.

Letter of Recommendation

2008-11-07T08:52:00.000-08:00

Paul said in II Corinthians 3:1-2 "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:" The Apostle Paul did not need letters of recommendation to the Corinthians because he had ministered among them for over 18 months. Unfortunately, many of you have never experienced our ministry and therefore we thought it would be helpful to provide for pastors and churches a letter of recommendation to evaluate our ministry. Our Pastor, Tim Leaman, has written a letter which you can access through this link http://www.scribd.com/doc/7809249/Letter-of-Recomendation1. It is our prayer that this will be beneficial to you. Thank you for taking the time to review this information.

Aaron Shipe

Introductory Letter

2008-11-05T12:31:00.000-08:00

Dear Pastor,

I want to thank you for the opportunity to share with you the ministry God has called my family and me to. As a pastor myself, I know that your time is valuable so I trust this information will be helpful in getting to know us and our ministry.

After completing college and seminary at Pensacola Christian College, I had the opportunity of serving as assistant pastor at Pensacola Baptist Temple where I was ordained in 2002. In September of 2003 we moved to Maryland and for the past five years my wife and I have served at the church we both grew up in, Calvary Baptist Church in Westminster, MD. I have had the privilege of serving as assistant pastor under the godly leadership of Pastor Tim Leaman. We had every intention of continuing to serve there indefinitely, but through a missions trip to Tanzania and several Scripture passages like Psalm 67:1-5 and Revelation 5:9-10, God has directed us to the unreached Datooga tribe in Tanzania.

The Datooga are a distinct tribal group with a population around 150,000. They are separated from the population at large by language, culture, and location, and as a result, less than 1% actually knows who Jesus Christ is. It is our desire to preach among the Datooga “the unsearchable riches of Christ”, so that in the ages to come all the peoples of the earth will praise His name. Lord willing we will be partnering with veteran missionaries Rodney and Lynn Myers as they continue their strategic ministry to the Datooga.

We are just beginning the deputation process and would greatly appreciate the opportunity to present our ministry to you and your church. We would love to minister to your church in any way you would desire.

Thank you for your service to our Lord and please feel free to call on us at any time.

Yours in Christ,

Aaron Shipe

Doctrinal Statement

2008-11-04T11:39:00.000-08:00

I believe . . . What follows those words is of utmost importance, for what we believe determines how we live. To that end, I have uploaded a pdf of my doctrinal statement. I trust this will be helpful in understanding our desired ministry to the Datooga. Click on the following link to download the pdf http://www.scribd.com/doc/7769628/Aarons-Doctrinal-Statement

The Shipe Family Brochure

2008-10-21T07:20:00.000-07:00

Click on this link to access a brochure about the Shipe Family and the ministry God has called us to. http://www.scribd.com/doc/7431894/Brochure-Updated-Font

"Here am I send me"

2008-10-08T09:31:00.001-07:00

"Lord, here am I send me."
Those words uttered by the prophet Isaiah were the theme for our just finished missions conference at our home church, Calvary Baptist Church in Westminster, MD. What a great weekend with several great missionaries! We praise God to see the quality of missionaries He is calling and equipping for the foreign field. Veteran missionaries like Bob and Becky Hein to Australia as well as "fresh recruits" like Matt and Michelle Conrad to Hong Kong, Daniel and Jennifer Arnold to Germany, and David and Stephanie Gross to Moldova. We also praise God for the many benefits of modern technology. On Friday evening we had the privilege of having a video conference call with our missionaries Ron and Heidi Caasi in Indonesia--Skype is a beautiful thing! What a blessing to so freely communicate with those serving God half-way around the world!
Well, Lord willing we will begin our deputation process in just a few short weeks as we prepare to reach the Datooga tribe in Tanzania. Perhaps my next post will explain more about the Datooga and why we feel God is calling us to reach them with the Gospel. Until then, Maranatha!