(a recent prayer letter from Mitch & Beth Calmes, Kenya)

Tanzania News

In 2013, we had our first BTCP (Bible Training Center for Pastors) class in Tanzania with six students. It was a small beginning, and we had no idea if it would grow or be a “one-off” class. We just knew that we had a few men that needed a more intensive Bible training program.

Now, fast forward to January 2021. Our latest class has 25 pastors and church leaders attending. We are struggling to keep up with the demand, and we even had to turn a few students away due to class size this year. We are considering starting another class in January 2022 to create more space. This recent uptick in enrollment is a reflection of the great need for theological training in Tanzania.

In May of this year, we will host a Teacher Training Workshop for the purpose of equipping and training Tanzanian teachers to teach this program. We are intently working toward a model that will have all Tanzanian teachers. Many thanks to my ministry partners in this endeavor, Bob Dodson of the US and Jessie Tingson of the Philippines.

Kenya News

Moving to Kenya has opened up some new doors for pastoral training. After moving to Kenya, I was given the task of leading the BTCP program for Kenya and Tanzania. This is a blessing and greatly enlarges the platform for pastoral education in Tanzania and Kenya.

In September of last year, one of our Kenyan missionary friends, Chris Moore, passed away. His wife, Lisa, asked me to help educate the pastors within their network of churches. Of course, I was honored to help. For one week in March we brought this group of 18 pastors together to continue their pastoral education; they came with a great hunger to learn. Beth will be discipling and teaching their wives. Please pray for these pastors.

Sifa Threads (Beth’s News)

I am continuing with Sifa Threads from Kenya. We are praying for future training opportunities here. I will return to Tanzania for two weeks in May to help lead our Sifa Centers training seminary. We are recruiting teams of Tanzanian women who plan to go into their communities and launch micro centers. Currently there are about 12 centers in Tanzania and we hope to train up to seven new teams this spring. These centers teach our Bible curriculum, a vocational skill, and business techniques. If you are interested in launching a center through a one-time donation, please let me know.

The doors have also opened for me to train pastors’ wives here on the coast. This will complement what Mitch does with the pastors. Later this month I will have the first of, hopefully many day-long training sessions. These women have no training in the Bible or ministry, their husbands are begging me to teach their wives. Please pray that God encourages these ladies to learn and grow so that they can one day be teachers too.