THE LION'S

"See the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has triumphed"

BOB & DAWN BAIRD

Elizabeth, Rachel & Joshua

Mid Year 1996

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COMMITMENTVERSUS CONVENIENCE
Therefore I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy,
to offer your bodies as livingsacrifices, holy and pleasing
to God - this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not
conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you
willbe able to test and approve what God's willis - His
good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:1 &2, NIV

Before coming to Tanzania we were told that the people group

called the Makua were a people that had not been reached for
Christ. So, of course, we had visions of what that would mean. We

remembered the witch doctors from Zaire and expected them here,
and maybe more. We had heard also that many of the people here
were Muslims, and that brought pictures to our imaginations also.
Mostly pictures of bombed out buses and suicide bombers and
religious fanatics? We came with preconceived ideas about what
the people would be likespiritually.
To date we have visited and taught at a Makua village called
Msikala three times and have had the opportunity to talk with many
people here in Masasi with various "religious" backgrounds. We
have found that, although these people may be classified as
"unreached," it does not mean that they do not have some form of
Christianity among them. For example, at our very first visit to

Msikala we spoke
to about 60 men,
women and chil

dren. The majority

were adult males

and a good num

ber of them were

wearing the tradi

tional Islamic hat.

Most of the village

leaders make a
claim to Islam. Af

ter our teachings

we had a question
and answer time.

Most of the ques

tions we received
were about tradi

tional Christian
Joshua and Shadrack on the mountain above Masasi.
practices: infant
baptism, church
leaders at Msikala, one of them wearing the Islamic
authority structure, and when would we be putting
hat, was that if we buy thema.grJnding machine for
up a building?
their corn and they have full bellies, then they will
be better able to hear our message. Another man,
We have found that almost all the people here
align themselves with some religion- Islam, Chris
our contact person there, said that we need to build
tianity, or Traditional. They are a very "religious"
a building and they will fill it. Show strength, show
people - just like the people in Athens who wor
wealth, do something for us and your "religion" will
be the religion of the hour, the popular one for
shiped an "Unknown God" so that they would have
now.
all of the bases covered. I think that many of them
believe from what they know of Islamand Christian
ity, and from what they see in their traditional
We attended two funerals since coming to
Masasi. One was an Islamic funeral, where the
religion that they can put these beliefs into any
women do not attend, and the other was a funeral
combination that is appropriate for a specific physi
of a Christian man from the Anglican Church. The
cal or spiritual need. The greatest value of their
Islamic funeral was all in Arabic. The leader first said
religion is Its convenience.
his lines and then some of the people responded. I
could see that very few of the people there under
This Romans passage tells us that Christianity,
stood Arabic. If there were any words of encour
Christ, is our life. We give ourselves to IT, to HIM,
agement or instructions, most of them did not
and we do not take our lives back, ever! We are
changed, we are renewed by Himto face each and
understand them. At the Anglican service the
every circumstance, seeking Hiswill in everything.
words were in Kiswahili. The leader read them from
We don't change Him, or add to Him, or put Him
a book and, again, some of the people responded.
The same words are spoken probably at every
together with others to get the whole picture. He
funeral, with little or no meaning or hope for the
Is the whole picture. A comment by one of the

want to know what he Is sleeping on now.

people listening.

The people here may have heard part of the

Gospel, but most of them are still unreached. They

Please pray for Mzee Mgumbwe that we can

are still living ina worldwithout sacrifice-without the

make his life easier here at the end of it, and that we

sacrifice of Jesus to save them from their sins -

can helphimto understand about the Savior who has

eternity all ready for him.

without their own living sacrifice to the Christ. They

are living in a world where the center of their world
istheir stomach. Pray for the Makua people, for the
people of Masasi as we teach them about the only
acceptable"religion"-oneofcompletecommitment.

GOD BLESS YOU

Bob and Iwant to say a verybig THANK YOU"
to those of you who have responded to our recent
callfor help. Thanks especiallyto you at Bettendorf

MZEE (ELDER)
Since moving into this side of town with the

Christian Church who so generously responded to

the special offering taken for us and to the Missions

Carters, we have met a very elderly gentleman

Committee of the First Christian Church of Council

named Mgumbwe. He isall bent up with age and

Bluffs for sharing with us. Thanks also to all of you

who have written to say you are praying for us.

has a hard time walking around. His hands are

gnarled and he has just enough teeth on the

bottom to fit into the space on the top. He is
originally from Malawi. He came to Tanzania years
ago to work and has been here ever since. He

There are not words to describe the encourage

ment gleaned from your actions. We know that

there are many of you who pray and give and only
God knows and we are very grateful for you also.

married and had children and now he is the only

one of his family left alive. He lives in a little run

down house and has no one that really cares for
him. Well,at least, he did not have anyone untilwe
got here.

Please continue to pray for us in these two

areas. We are still short of funds to finish building
our house here. We are currently using our work

We went and visited him at his

home and were shocked. Wewould

not put our pets inthe home that he

lived in. We are now feeding
Mgumbwe and building him a new
house. One of the men who works

on our building project isdoing over

time for me building a new home for
Mgumbwe. Wehaveallthepolesup
and tied together, the rafters are on
and the mud walls will be finished
soon. We have to wait a bit for the

roof because the grass they use for

roofingis not dried out enough yet.

We will also be getting him a bed,
mattress, and blanket. You don't

The Bairds putting their heads together to send their thanks.

funds and salary to keep building. Also, since Janu

ary, we have lost around $500.00 a month regular
support, which has drained both our furlough fund
and Joshua's education fund. It is really difficult to do
anything about this from Tanzania. Ifany of you are
aware of a church looking for a work to support,
please contact us or our forwarding agent, Lynn
Kohlhagen at 810 Grove Ave., Morris, IL 60450.
Our last great big thank you goes to those of you
who have sent our family packages. When we go to
the Post Office to check our box we are always on the
lookout for little white slips of paper saying we have
a package awaiting us insidel

ENGLISH AS A

SECOND LANGUAGE
English is one of two official languages
here in Tanzania.

The other, of course, is

Kiswahili. Every school child learns to say,

"GoodMorningTeacher" so that they can begin
their school day correctly. It usually sounds like
"Gud Mornig Teecha." Once this phrase is
learned it isused on each and every person the
kidsseethatthey think might understand them.
And it is used any time of the day or night. So
when Iwas walkinghome from our building site
one day and saw two little boys in the path

We pray that all of you feel and understand that

you are in this work with us. Without your prayers
and funds the Mkua in the village of Msikala still

ahead waiting patiently for me, Ihad an idea of

what to expect. I was not disappointed! The
first boy said, "Gud Mornig" and the second

would not have heard the first word about what it

said, "Diz Is Da Winda." I think he must have

means to know Jesus Christ as one's personal Savior.

been in the advanced class.

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THE LION'S
See the Lion of the tribe of Judah . . . has triumphed"

IN

BOB & DAWN BAIRD

Elizabeth, Rachel & Joshua

AFRICA

December 1996

WE ARE GRATEFUL

5!

"Great and marvelous are your deeds,

Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways.
King of the ages."
Revelation 15:3

We are grateful for God's provisions. During the months of

November and December most Americans celebrate what is known

as the "HolidaySeason." It begins with Thanksgiving and ends with

New Years. In Masasi, Tanzania, the Baird family, along with the
rest of our teammates, join inthat celebration. We do this certainly
with the same fervor if not exactly with the same style as the rest
of you in America.
Thanksgivingand Christmas help us to bring to mind allthat we
have to be grateful for - everything from our physical blessings of

good health and daily provisions of food and clothing through to

the blessings of a precious familyand precious friends, all the way
to the best blessing of BabyJesus the Christ Child, Jesus our Savior,
to Jesus Christ our reigning God and King.
Bob and Iwould like to share with you from our first 20 months
in Tanzania, a list of very special "Thank Yous" to people to whom
we owe more than we can ever repay. People to whom we are
indeed grateful. Thislistwillnot be complete, of course. Allofyou

who have prayed for usandsupported usover this time have ourdeepest and most sincere thanks! But,
please join with us in praising God for these special blessings. Thank you:
Bill and Nellie Parker (Bob's Sister) for keeping Elizabeth.

Allen and Melody Shew for providing our familv with a place to stav.
The Familvthat gave us $12.500 toward building our house here.

Mark and Rachel Shew for ALWAYS being there whenever we need them.
Sherry Deckro. our praver partner, for always having us for the Wednesdav mornino
Bible Study at a time which ALWAYS seems to fall in August near Dawn's
birthday, which means a oartv with cake and presents.
Shirley Weaver for being Dawn's mentor and friend.

Jeff Nelson for keeping Bob ooina with great letters and Dave Berry.
Charlie and Lenora Sargent for buying Bob's bicycle.
Duke and Beth Morrison for helpino us get a video camera.
Lynn Kohlhaaen. our Forwardino Agent, for her patience and perseverance
through the touah times and the good.

The Sunday School Classes at Caoe Girardeau for great Christmas gifts.
Mission Committees at Churches in Bettendorf and Council Bluffs. Iowa:
Centralia and Moline. Illinois: and Dver. Indiana, for EVERYTHING.

Bernie and Karen Swanaer for always seeing in our needs ah opportunity to provide.
To The Person who anonymously deposits money in our checking account your left hand will never know what vour right hand is doing.

To All of the Churches and Individuals who have given us special donations toward our building fund.
With these Blessings to Recount
Oh Lord
Let Us Serve You Well!

CLASSES UNDER THE CASHEW TREES

I have always heard about and participated in
"Shade Tree" mechanics. Here in Tanzania we have

like a class. So1developed studyquestionsfor John

much like the Theological Education (TEE) bookswe

Cashew Tree ChristianEducation. Myfirst classwas

used inZaire. We had 10 weeks of class, two review

under the Cashew Tree in Tukae Wote. I now have

tests on the 3rd and 7th week, and then a final exam

a second class underthat tree and a third class under

on the 11th week.

a Cashew Tree in Mskala.

When Istarted the class In Tukae Wote Istarted

While we were going through the bookof John,

we, the Team, were scouting the horizons for any

itas a devotional typeof lessoninthe Gospel of John.

My students requested that we do something more

sign of availableteaching material. Ifound what we

needed through our fellow missionariesfrom ACM,

June and Howard Crowl, in Nairobi. Nairobi, Kenya

iswhere the Evangel Pressislocated and isthe source
of the TEE program. June and Howard rounded me
up a catalog and the class decided on the two-part

(without food); snapshots of your family, Sunday

School, etc.; cheese (it does not spoil); pepperoni;
candy bars (Snickers, Butterfingers, or M & Ms);
packetsof powdered whippingcream. Please put all

study of Acts. The Crowls did ail the footwork for us

food in zip lock bags.

to receive those books here in Masasi.

1b. Surface mail takes about three months, but

packages arrive in good shape.

Thatfirstdasshascompletedthe Gospelof John

and isnow starting into the book of Acts. The second
class isalso people from Tukae Wote who saw what
we were doing and wanted to join a study. Now
seven more people are studying the Gospel of John.
Jeff and LoisWhytsell are now in the States for
eight weeks doing their home service. Jeff had
started a class in Mskala,also inthe Gospel of John.
With Jeff there at home I am doing that class, too.
The people in Mskalaare very different from the ones
in Tukae Wote. We don't do a study. Iteach them
from the Gospel, using small portions of scriptures,
simpleapplications. We have a verysporadic turn out
and Ido not know where we will go with this.
InTukae Wote most of the people inthe classes
there are with the Anglican Church. I have asked
them about baptism and now know what their
practices are. Intwo weeks we will be doing the 3rd
chapterof Actsandtheywillseetheapplication of the
Great Commission. Then in the following week Iwill
be giving them allof their other scripturesconcerning
baptism. So around the 9th to the 16th of November
we will be seeking to reap a harvest among these
people for the Lord. Probably you will receive this

after the fact, but pray for the New Church.

QUESTIONS YOU ASKED

While home this last summer I came to realize

there are a few important questions to which many

of you wanted the answers. Ifwe missed anything,
please let us know, but we hope the following list
provides all of those answers.
la. Yes, the postal system works very well in
Tanzania. AirMail packages take onlythree weeks.
Ask the postal clerk to send your package "Small
Package" and do not put a letter inside. Ifyou put a
letter insideyou cannot get the "Small Package" rate.
Things you can send in small package: videos

1c. Yes, you can put little "goodies" in regular

letters... packages of red Koolaid, a Upton decaf tea
bag, a Folgers decaf coffee bag, or a package of
unflavored gelatin.
2. We are currently taking a five-year term.
This is two years on the field, six months Home
Service, two years on the field, six months Home
Service. We will be home the summer and fall of '97

on our first HomeService. Thisfive-year term takes us

to the middle of the year 2000.
3. Birthdays: Bob-January6th, Dawn-August
15th, Joshua - December 15th.

Anniversary: October 10,1970.

YOUKNOWYOU'RE

AN MK (Missionary Kid)
WHEN...
You speak two languages, but can't spell either.
You have a passport, but no driver's license.
Your lifestory uses the phrase, Then we
went to..." five times.

You watch nature documentaries and you think

about how good that would be if it were fried.
You speak with authority on the quality
of airline travel.

You sort your friends by continent.

"Where are you from?" has more than one

reasonable answer.

The majorityof your friends do not speak

Englishas a first language.
You watch a movie set in a foreign country,
and you know what the nationals are
REALLY saying into the camera.
-copied

Tiie iion'i uflE

Morris, IL 60450

Box 556

810 Grove Ave.

c/o Team Expansion

Forwarding Agent Address:

Lynn Kohlhagen

Field Address
Bob and Dawn Baird

Masasi, Tanzania
Beforeyou move,pleasesend the rnailing labelwith a copyof your r>ew address to
MISSION SERVICES ASSOCIATION. PO Box 2427, Knoxville, TN 37901-2427.

Mission Services Association

Non Profit Org.

PO Box 2427

3795(>9998

Knoxville, TN 37901-2427

U.S. Postage Paid

Knoxville, TN
Permit #374

ADDRESS CORRECTIONREQUESTED

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