www.sangaretreatcentre.org https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443 News for www.sangaretreatcentre.org en-gb Sat, 07 Nov 2020 07:32:00 +0000 Copyright: (C) IBM & SC 15 Tausi House is open! institute-tanzania_10039 Sat, 07 Nov 2020 07:32:00 +0000 Our new accommodation, Tausi House, is now open!  These three new rooms, all self-contained, can accommodate up to 6 people (in bunk beds).  We are grateful to our friends at Corsham Baptist Church and Oak Hall for the funding to be able to build and complete this new accommodation.  It increases our capacity to 55 beds.

Karibuni wote!

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/39/Tausi-House-is-open Celebrating 125 years! institute-tanzania_8613 Sun, 28 Jun 2020 14:09:00 +0100 Steve and Ruth Lancaster share this message with you from Africa Inland Mission:

“In humble dependence upon God, we have moved steadily forward, no doubt in our blindness making many mistakes, but we ascribe all praise to him for anything that has been done which can bring glory to his name and honour to his cause."

The words above were written by our founder, Peter Cameron Scott after the first AIM base was established in Nzawi, Kenya. This year we mark our 125-year celebration, and look back with the same mindset. Despite our human frailties, God has done great things in and through those who have served AIM over our history.

Originally we’d planned to have celebrations in Edinburgh and London, but these have now moved online. We are currently compiling stories, videos which allow us to worship together remotely and thoughts from both missionaries, Africans and our International Office on our past and our future. There are two ways for you to watch all that we put together:

  • Sign up to get a password details of our Vimeo stream, which will go live on 26 September and remain accessible for a while afterwards.
  • Sign up to receive a DVD through the post.

We hope that you all sign up for one of the above options, and that the event will be an encouragement to you. It would also be great if you could share about the event with your prayer supporters, so that they too can gain a wider insight into the work of AIM and our thoughts for the future. You can sign up, and point them to sign up, at http://eu.aimint.org/125

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/38/18 Why bother with church planting institute-tanzania_8243 Thu, 28 May 2020 13:43:00 +0100 Back in 2017 Evangelist Francis Manungu, who works at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre, wrote an article for Africa Inland Mission on church planting.  Here is the link to that article:

https://eu.aimint.org/why-bother-church-planting/

 

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/36/Why-bother-with-church-planting How AIM is supporting the African Church institute-tanzania_7845 Thu, 14 May 2020 10:16:00 +0100 AIM (Africa Inland Mission) has been supporting the Church in Africa since 1895.  Please watch this short video explaining the ministry of AIM:

 

Partnering with the African church

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/35/How-AIM-is-supporting-the-African-Church How COVID-19 is affecting us...and other news institute-tanzania_7519 Mon, 04 May 2020 10:58:00 +0100 Along with much of the world, Tanzania is feeling the effects of Covid-19.  International flights ceased in early April.  Face masks are appearing on the streets and handwashing facilities placed outside all shops.  Large gatherings have been prohibited.  So far only 16 deaths have been officially reported with around 300 cases.  Please join us in praying that the virus won't take hold in Tanzania - as you can imagine, the medical facilities here would be totally overwhelmed, and many people just can't afford to seek treatment at the best of times.  Social distancing is almost impossible in a culture where extended families live together and community is highly valued.
 
We are also feeling the effects at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre.  Bookings have been cancelled and we've had to reduce the number of days and hours our staff work in order to reduce expenses.  But we are grateful that a number of supporters have given financially in response and these gifts will help us to weather the storm of these uncertain days.  We will be using some of the funds for purchasing sacks of sembe flour (used in making ugali) to give to our workers to help them support their families. 
 
Steve Lancaster has been busy preparing teaching materials for this year's Bible teaching seminars.  At this stage we're not sure if these seminars will go ahead as planned or if we will need to postpone or cancel them.
 
Although we don't have any guests at the moment, we are having plenty of rain and our agricultural plots are flourishing!  We've been harvesting sweet potatoes, maize and papaya and selling them in the local community.  Our missionary Joel Wildasin has been busy training our workers in conservation agriculture and planting literally thousands of trees!  We hope these will provide fruit and firewood for us for many years to come.
 
Work has ceased temporarily on our new 'hostel' - the additional accommodation that our friends from Corsham Baptist Church came to help us build last autumn.  We hope to be able to complete this work when funds become available.  If you would like to give towards this project please see the box below.
 
Points for prayer:
 
  • Pray for God's mercy upon Tanzania and that Covid-19 will not cause the devastation seen in other countries.
  • Praise God for the financial gifts that we've received recently.
  • We are seeking an accountant for IBM - pray that God will guide us to the right person.

 

Thank you so much for your support and prayers - you are an encouragement to us!

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/34/How-COVID-19-is-affecting-usand-other-news New accommodation institute-tanzania_4857 Thu, 10 Oct 2019 17:34:00 +0100 We were delighted to see Tony & Cath Swanson back at Sanga Sanga last month as they headed up a team from the UK who came to assist in building new accommodation on site.  Three new en-suite bedrooms have been built and three more are planned when finances are available.  The team came from Corsham Baptist Church (the Lancasters' sending church).  They threw themselves into the work with gusto, such that they were also able tackle other maintenance issues during their time at Sanga Sanga.  A big thanks to them!

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/32/New-accommodation Welcome to the Wildasins! institute-tanzania_4856 Thu, 10 Oct 2019 16:46:00 +0100 We are delighted to welcome a new family to the team at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre - Joel & Lauren Wildasin and their children Treth, Nya, Ada and Taite.  The Wildasins have some good experience of Tanzania already, having spent a number of years in different locations working with Mavuno Village and Kilimo Timilifu.

Joel will be developing the agricultural work at Sanga Sanga and will also be involved, outside of Sanga Sanga, in mobilising Africans into mission.  Lauren will be home schooling the children and making sure her family is happy and healthy!

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/31/Welcome-to-the-Wildasins Oak Hall 2018 institute-tanzania_1561 Wed, 12 Sep 2018 11:11:00 +0100 In August we were delighted to welcome another Oak Hall trip to Sanga Sanga.  Twenty-two intrepid travellers joined us for a taste of culture and of mission.  Many of them commented on how much they enjoyed staying at Sanga Sanga and that it soon felt like home.  They helped us out around the site in painting and fixing and sewing (cushion covers for the conference centre furniture).  Those with the technical know-how assisted Tony Swanson in establishing a new system for pumping water from the borehole up to the Retreat House with an automatic cut-off.  So far it is working beautifully!

As is the Oak Hall way, every evening we met around the campfire for a time of worship and Bible Study under the stars, lead by Steve Lancaster from 1 Peter.

We took the opportunity to visit a nearby orphanage and bless them with a day of painting one of the family homes on site.  It was hot work in the sun but we were rewarded with lunch and an opportunity to meet the children and find out more about the ministry from Tina, a German missionary who has worked there for many years.

Our guests certainly got a taste of culture with the walking tour through Morogoro town ending up at the market where you can buy anything from pots to potatoes, spices to sticks of earth (yes, really).  We also took them to visit a local Masai village which was fascinating.

We spent a day on safari at Mikumi National Park and  were excited to see lion - three, close up.  The hippos and elephants were another highlight for many but, for one of our group, it was the giraffes that were the main attraction!

On the Sunday we attended the morning service at AIC Kiloka, a village about an hour's drive from Morogoro.  This is the church that Francis Manungu, the caretaker at Sanga Sanga, leads.  Far off the tourist trail, this is real Tanzania.  How wonderful and humbling it was to be able to worship with these few Christians in a village which is almost completely non-Christian.  The sound of 'How Great Thou Art' sung in Swahili and English resounding out into the surrounding community was a special memory.  We were truly blessed to be there and to receive gifts of bananas and a cockerel, given by the church out of their small resources.

We finished the trip with a couple of days on the coast and spent one day on a deserted island.  What a contrast to the hustle and bustle of Dar-es-Salaam that we saw on the way to our beach hotel!  How lovely it was to swim in the clear blue waters of the Indian Ocean and to eat freshly caught fish.  

It was a real pleasure to host the Oak Hall group and to show them what life and ministry are like here.  Karibuni tena!

 

 

 

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/29/Oak-Hall-2018 Guests get their feet wet at Sanga! institute-tanzania_1396 Tue, 31 Jul 2018 07:53:00 +0100 We are enjoying the visit of guests from All Souls' Church, Langham Place, London (the church of John Stott) who have come to learn about the ministry of the Institute and get a taste of life in Tanzania.  All Soul's calls this group the Wetfoot team - and they are 'getting their feet wet' by helping us out with some odd jobs around the Retreat Centre and visiting ministries that we are linked with.  Pray that God would use this experience to call some of them into mission, whether in Tanzania or elsewhere.

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/28/Guests-get-their-feet-wet-at-Sanga The Conference Centre is officially opened! institute-tanzania_1392 Sat, 28 Jul 2018 14:52:00 +0100 Saturday 7th July was a day of celebration and thanksgiving as the conference centre was officially opened by Bishop Charles Salalah.  The Board of the Institute, other invited guests, pastors, evangelists, workers and missionaries joined together to witness the cutting of the ribbon and take part in a time of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord who has enabled us to arrive at this day.  Tony Swanson took us through a visual presentation history of the building project.  The choir from AICT Morogoro led us in praise and the Bishop later planted a commemorative mango tree just outside the centre.

The main meeting room of the centre has been named the 'Oak Hall' in recognition of the generous support of friends in the UK who run Oak Hall, a Christian tour operator and who are like-minded in making Bible teaching available to all.

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/27/The-Conference-Centre-is-officially-opened Happy campers at Sanga Sanga! institute-tanzania_1245 Mon, 11 Jun 2018 07:33:00 +0100 This month we are hosting four children's camps from AICT Chang'ombe, Morogoro, Kigamboni and Kibaha.  The camps will run back-to-back across the month and we are delighted to welcome between 40-80 children and their teachers each week.  The camps will have the whole site to themselves and no doubt the kids will enjoy expending some energy on the sports fields after their lessons.

Pray that young lives will be changed and committed to Jesus; pray that the teachers will have all the energy they need, and pray too for our staff as they serve them this week.

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/26/Happy-campers-at-Sanga-Sanga The blessing of rain! institute-tanzania_1101 Sat, 21 Apr 2018 10:28:00 +0100 We've been enjoying the rainy season here at Sanga Sanga and one can really see the difference it makes.  The trees are flourishing, bringing a sense of coolness and peace around the site.  The crops in our agricultural plots are growing well too and our cows are enjoying all the fresh grass that is available.  Look at the difference between the photos - one of the dry season and the other of the wet season.  Thank you Lord!

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/23/The-blessing-of-rain Latest newsletter available institute-tanzania_741 Tue, 16 Jan 2018 10:45:00 +0000 We produce a newsletter every quarter which highlights some of the developments at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre and the work of the Institute.

If you would like to get this newsletter in your inbox contact us to let us know.

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/15/Latest-newsletter-available Courses at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre institute-tanzania_740 Tue, 16 Jan 2018 10:43:00 +0000 This year we have been able to offer various educational and vocational courses at Sanga Sanga Retreat Centre. One of them was a cookery course aimed at Tanzanians working in wazungu or ex-pat households. Morogoro has a large contingent of non-Tanzanian families—mission workers, NGO and business employees and teachers in the local International School. Eight ladies and one man attended the course. The aim was to increase their culinary knowledge by enabling them to cook western food, and give them transferable skills. Francisca, one of our housekeepers, taught them to make lasagna, pizzas, bread, muffins, biscuits etc. The graduation ceremony was also a highlight as they received their certificates. The employer of two of the participants wrote to us afterwards saying, “Please pass on our thanks to all who were involved in the cooking course. Hawa and Joyce are both beaming with pride and happiness. They brought some of their goodies to work this morning and are very pleased to share what they learnt with us.”

We have also run a couple of English courses which have been very well received and have strengthened connections with the local community. The next English course will be held in January 2018.

One lady who attended an English course and the cookery course has benefitted hugely. As her employer told us, "She's doing very well and she loves practising. Both courses have made a large impact in our relationship too. Thanks again for your ministry!"

]]> https://www.sangaretreatcentre.org:443/14/Courses-at-Sanga-Sanga-Retreat-Centre Oak Hall comes to Sanga Sanga! institute-tanzania_739 Tue, 16 Jan 2018 10:29:00 +0000 Oak Hall is a Christian tour company based in the UK. Steve and Ruth Lancaster have worked for Oak Hall in the past and lead many of their trips abroad. So it was a pleasure to be able to host the first Oak Hall trip to Tanzania in August. Twenty-four men and women came for a taste of mission and culture. Part of their time was spent doing some practical work at Sanga Sanga - painting the outside of the conference centre and working on the hydroponics shed. Tony Swanson commented, "It was great having the Oak Hall team with us at Sanga Sanga. They were a delight to host, so willing and flexible to muck in and get involved where needed. They certainly made a lasting impact on the staff and have encouraged us that, even though we are over 4000 miles apart, we are not alone in implementing our vision."

One of many highlights for the group was meeting Martha Komanya and hearing her testimony. Martha runs a small sewing project called Sewing Hope. She said, "I enjoyed meeting all the visitors from Oak Hall – they listened to my story of how God has helped me. They gave me good ideas about how to improve the sewing business – for example, making men’s ties or table mats. I sold many things and was so encouraged!"

The trip also included visits to two AICT churches, experiencing a local Maasai market, an eye-opening tour of Morogoro town, a day on safari and time at the beach. One of the participants reflected on the trip saying, "“It was a wonderful opportunity to see the real Tanzania and its people; the challenges, the beauty, the colour, and the true character of this amazing country. Meeting and working alongside those who are putting projects in place to support local people was inspirational. These projects are really making a difference to the future of this country.”

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