A Mountain Top Experience

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

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.

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!

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

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 . . ."

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!

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