Jez & Carina Simpson

It was getting hot. Again. Having been in Tanzania for 64 days apparently this is winter. We know this because the locals complain about how cold it is! Today it was 28c. Still, the day was going to have its challenges; the aim was to celebrate MAF’s 50 plus years in Tanzania and at the same time encourage 62 locally employed staff who are being made redundant to look to the future and trust in our Father for his guidance, protection and provision in what will be for them a difficult time of change.

As we walked towards the hangar the plan was to have a farewell party with a time of worship, a short word, then some presentations and speeches followed by a fellowship meal. The base manager Ruben Meder from Switzerland had done a fantastic job with Carina and team, organising the logistics and the ‘old hangar’ was looking very fine indeed, a brilliant blaze of red, white and blue acknowledging the MAF colours. Phew!... the caterers had turned up so that meant employees and their families would enjoy a meal before returning home. It has to be said that until something or somebody turns up in Tanzania you can never really be sure if it is going to happen.


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So, off we go, starting with worship, soon it was my turn to say something. The parachuted-in Programme Manager who had been here 5 minutes and was going to tell us all how to buck up our ideas and not feel sorry for ourselves. All right for him! He’s from Europe.

What I felt that the Lord wanted to me say though was something from my life. Testimony of how God had provided for us (me and Carina) over the years. We have worked in missions for some 12 years and I shared 3 stories of how our Father had provided for us in difficult, every-day and simply pipedream situations.



I hoped that it had been received well but how to tell? What happened next was simply thrilling, the Lord had meant for many testimonies to be told on this day…
Baba* Kampanga came as a boy (sometime in the 1950’s) to the old hangar which was in a state of disrepair… just the steel uprights rusting away left over from the war perhaps. He was 11 years old and worked during the day re-building the hangar by scrapping the rust off the uprights and worked in the evenings studying for his secondary school studies. He then went on to work with MAF for 16 years learning skills in building, carpentry, electrics and plumbing. He was very grateful for the training he had at the “MAFU College”. He was sad to leave the college and as he went on to do ministry work with his wife in the very poor areas of Tanzania, MAF continued to help him with safaris into these places when in it was totally impossible by road.


Ruben with Eradi the terrific translator and the Kampanga's


Kampanga said that he understood the reasons for change and praised God that MAF was continuing on in the even more remote parts of Tanzania and described his feelings that it is like the time the early church was scattered, with the first wave of persecutions. He imagined that perhaps the people then felt sad and it was all over but of course it was actually just the beginning and the Lord used those circumstances mightily to bring about salvation for many across the ancient world.

Mama* Kampanga also gave testimony about how a witch became a Christian and has since been an enthusiastic preacher of the gospel and taught many women and children about the way of Christ. Also how a grand-mother was blind and was in need of medical treatment and our Father healed her before MAF even had a chance to take her to the hospital run by one of MAF’s partners! This was a miracle but if MAF wasn’t there then nobody would have known about it.

Bibles and certificates were presented:


Then followed lunch for all... 220 had signed up. More testimonies were shared as we lined up, and ate. Guess who found a little 'un to hold! (in the sunshine, between the tents)



All staff were given a MAF t-shirt as a thank you parting gift, a memory ... here's Jez organising everyone for the line up of most of the staff - some already needed to leave for their 8 hour bus journey back to Dar es Salaam where work continues for a few more weeks.



Thanks so much if you've prayed for us for these final weeks .. there's one more official working week to go for the local, national staff ... prayers appreciated for them - the majority have no job to go to, tricky for them to pay off debts and provide for their families - its' not like they can pop into a job centre, or apply to another company ....so we look to our Heavenly Father with them.

Sending our love to you and our thanks to God for you xx