» Bishop Liberatus Sangu holds a fetal model used in Pro-Life presentations.

This marked Renewal Ministries’ seventeenth consecutive year in Tanzania. Bishop Liberatus Sangu invited us to present the first Renewal events in Shinyanga, which has a population of 100,000. We conducted an outdoor rally of several days on the cathedral’s grounds. We also conducted workshops for laity, a priests’ retreat, and a sisters’ retreat.

We were blessed with a team of fifteen people from the USA, Canada, Slovakia, and Tanzania. We had the perfect mix of clergy, religious, and laity—a team with a multitude of talents, eager for the task at hand. Bishop Liberatus greeted us warmly upon arrival. He was involved with the Renewal as a parish priest and was overjoyed that we accepted his invitation.

When the bishop held our fetal models for the pro-life workshops, he was shocked at their life-like appearance and feel. He had never seen such visual aids (abortion is rampant and no formal pro-life teaching exists there), and he was delighted. He blessed the models, and that blessing carried into the pro-life workshops. All who attended received the teaching with great zeal.

Men and women attended the pro-life workshop in nearly equal numbers (which isn’t typical). The participants had an intense hunger and knew the need for these teachings. The diocese has never had any pro-life movement or education. Secular forces sponsored by Western governments have come in like a flood and established pro-abortion clinics that are administering many kinds of contraceptive devices (often with no education given to the recipients regarding side-effects).

Jean Marie Thompson led the pro-life workshops, with the assistance of Nancy Van Ryswyck and Bohdan Novak. They provided in-depth teaching, with three hour sessions each morning for five days.

The following are a few of the testimonies from our team:

“They have no pro-life groups and were ready to devour all the information we presented. We had lively discussions, and participants took pages and pages of detailed notes. They continually expressed their deep gratitude for the teachings. It was beautiful to see the Holy Spirit bring them such joy and truth through His Word. May He continue to bless them in this way!”

—Jean Marie

“I spoke to one man a word of prophesy that God was calling him to serve men who are bound by the sin of impurity and women who are considering abortion. I had a strong sense that God was going to protect him at every step and send him people. He was surprised, but he accepted it. He took a bicycle and went home. On his way home, a motorcycle crashed into him—his wheels were broken, and it seemed he should have died. But he was not harmed. The man on the motorbike gave him money to get his bike fixed. He came back, praising God for His faithfulness. Later that evening, he spoke and prayed with a woman who was going to abort her child, and she decided to give birth to her child. Alleluia! God is faithful!”

—Bohdan

“Without your team, many parts of Tanzania could not have been reached by the Word of God. God bless and keep you strong!”

—Louisa (from Tanzania)

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This article originally appeared in Renewal Ministries’ November 2017 newsletter. Check it out for more details on this mission including outreach at a Priests’ retreat, a Sister’s retreat, and efforts to bring clean water to the area.