Hello, my dears,
It was a great joy for us to see many of you again during our time in Germany, and to meet some of you for the first time!
Thank you:Thank you for your interest in our life and ministry ❦ for coming to hear about us at mission talks across the country ❦ for the invitation to preach in various churches ❦ for the encouraging words and the many promises to continue supporting us in prayer ❦ for your hospitality, lovingly prepared food, and fellowship at the table ❦ for deep conversations and praying together ❦ for the cars that transported us from A to B ❦ and thank you for allowing yourselves to be moved by Jesus to be connected with us – in friendship, spirituality, devotion, prayer, giving, and faith.
And thank you, Jesus, for placing so many wonderful people by our side! Thank you for keeping us safe during our approximately 8,500 km journey on German roads, some of which were quite wintry, over 10 weeks. Thank you for all the blessings we received and were able to take with us to Tanzania!
We have now arrived safely and are already in the midst of enjoyable and challenging work.
Together for the healing of broken hearts
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
(John 8:36)
One important ministry we want to invest in is trauma healing. I have a very specific question: Would you, with your congregation or even privately, like to participate in training courses for 60 pastors and leaders on trauma recovery, which are taking place this March? We see a great need here in Tanzania to support churches and congregations with our expertise, especially now after all the unrest at the end of 2025. In many Tanzanian cultures, some terrible life experiences are swept under the rug. Even in churches and congregations, a deeply hurt or grieving person is often quickly told, "Stop crying!" How different we have come to know the God of the Bible, who counts our tears and comforts us like a mother comforts her child, whose good Spirit inspired lamentations and intercedes for us before God with inexpressible groans! Thus, staff from our organization SIL developed a Bible-based program for people with traumatic experiences. Participants meet in small groups to discuss examples from life and the Bible. They are invited to engage in the healing process of forgiveness and renewal.
From March 16th to 20th, we were able to invite 27 leaders to our SIL office in Mbeya for training. From March 22nd to 27th, there was another training week in Dar es Salaam, to which we have extended invitations from all over Tanzania. The 54 participants in total will need to cover approximately one-third of the costs themselves. We would like to support them with two-thirds of the costs. In this way, we want to equip leaders to begin this trauma healing ministry in their communities and help many people heal in their relationship with God and with one another. We need approximately €7,500 for these first two training sessions.
If you as a community or as individuals would like to participate, that would be a great help. Donations will go to:
Wycliffe eV
IBAN: DE10 3506 0190 1013 440014
Bank for Church and Diakonia
Note: Project 387090 Trauma Healing Tanzania
If we receive more than 7,500 euros, we would like to use the donations for a third training course, scheduled for mid-year. In this course, the leaders who were trained in March will, based on their initial experience leading groups, be trained as trainers themselves, so that they can spread this valuable program beyond their own congregations, within their denominations and regions, and so that many more people can experience God's Word and the healing power of fellowship among Christians.
Damaris and I, along with a team of volunteers, would like to start a trauma healing group in our community in Mbeya. Please pray that we will see God's work, that people will find solace in Jesus and that we can manage all of this successfully in Swahili.
We so deeply desire that many people will welcome Jesus into their lives, just as we read in the Gospel of John: “But to all who did receive him, who believed in him, he gave the right to become children of God.” And that as such they may also experience this “glorious freedom of the children of God” (Romans 8:19) that the Bible speaks of.
Back home
Damaris and Daniel at their wedding weekend
It feels so good to be home again and settle back into our daily routine. Samuel and Lea are back at it again as our tutors and even took over a whole weekend in mid-February, so Damaris and I were able to retreat for a weekend together as a couple. It was so wonderful to unwind in a lovely hotel, enjoy a good breakfast, read together, and talk and pray about things that are on our minds. We want to consciously make time for these quality moments regularly. Our goal is to also set aside extra time each week.
We see it in Germany, but also here: marriages and families are so under threat and peace at home is so important that we, our children and our ministry are strong.
Pray for us as a family, that we may all find our way back into all the tasks that God has given us here.
From left to right: Learning assistant Samuel, Samuel, Rebekka, learning assistant Lea and Elia playing Uno
Joint project: super delicious pizza and Tanzanian red wine
New opportunities for the Sangu
In mid-February, the Sangu leadership team came to Mbeya for a meeting. Two congregations from Germany donated funds for the purchase of two motorcycles and two projectors so that Bibles, the Jesus film, and the Joseph films can be delivered to all the villages in the Sangu territory. We discussed how this could be implemented practically and how we can continue training the Sangu in 2026. Now we pray:
- that we find two places where the materials can be stored safely,
- that everyone takes responsibility, that progress is made among the Sangu people,
- that more Bible study groups are founded and grow,
- that the Sangu language is increasingly used for songs and sermons in the communities,
- and that the community of Jesus grows in depth and breadth.
New films on important topics
Andreas Ernst from Cameroon (far left in the picture) taught us how to develop, produce and distribute videos.
During the last week of February and the first week of March, Damaris and I, along with our colleagues Mwasandube and Emmanuel, as well as other SIL staff, had the opportunity to participate in another media training course here in Mbeya. Andreas Ernst from Cameroon taught us how to collaboratively develop and produce videos on relevant topics and then effectively distribute them. Participants also came from Burkina Faso, Nigeria, and the Tanzanian Ngoreme, Nyika, and Sangu peoples.
The participants from these three nations already had prior knowledge and were able to further develop their skills. We are very excited about the results of this training, when we will soon be able to see films in which God's Word is applied to the questions of people in these different languages and cultures.
You are welcome to pray for all course participants that they produce valuable videos that glorify God, help people, and find wide distribution among the nations.
The theme for the film and the story are found and developed jointly by the large group.
Damaris is practicing with her team for an interview video.
During the filming of the first scene for our movie about a woman who clings to a false prophet
Editing is a big challenge for many participants, but some have achieved good results. The half-hour film "Nabii wa Tumbo" is finished and can be found on YouTube.
Addiction support for the Ndali
In mid-April, we are planning to travel with our EthnoArts team to the Ndali people again to encourage the leaders of addiction support groups through several workshops. Please pray that the 101 group leaders trained for this ministry in 2025 will faithfully lead their groups and receive the strength to lovingly guide the participants.
Pray that the chains of addiction will be broken and that people, through a renewed relationship with Jesus, will be completely free to do what God wants to accomplish in and through them. Also pray for all the members of our church who have been trained as addiction support group leaders, that we may soon begin our addiction support work here as well.
May the Lord Jesus Christ guide you, bless you abundantly, and grant you his peace.
all love,
Daniel & Damaris with Samuel, Rebekka and Elia
