God's Continued Provision

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

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

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!!