TANZANIA DENTAL MISSION
PRAYER CALENDAR

February – March 2008

Team: Bob Zimmerman, Linda Zimmerman, Jennette Zimmerman, Mary Brown, Donna Dietrich, Mike Rea, Carl Hieber

Wednesday, February 27

- Bob, Linda, Donna, Mike and Carl are leaving Waynesboro at 1:00 p.m. heading for Dulles Airport. We will pick up Mary in Frederick, MD. Jennette is flying from Cleveland, Ohio to Dulles. Pray for safe travel for all of us as we meet and catch the 6:04 p.m. flight to Zurich, Switzerland. Pray for an easy and efficient check- in and that all the luggage is within the weight allowance. Pray for us as we separate from our families and put our faith and trust in God.

Thursday, Feb. 28

- We are landing about 8:10 a.m. in Zurich and have a 1 1/2 hour layover before catching the 9:35 a.m. flight to Dar es Salaam. We will land in Dar at 9:05 p.m. and will be met by Kathleen Quellmalz. We will stay at her home tonight and also the last week in Tanzania. Pray that all luggage and trunks have arrived and are in good condition. Pray that we get through customs without any major problems.

Pray for all the missionaries that we will work with during the next 14 days.

Pray for Andrew and Rachel Chard, Richard and Shalea Priebe, Mary Elmore, Heather Patterson and Katy, who minister to the Digo people in Pande and surrounding villages. The Digo were previously an unreached Muslim group and will be our patients in the first week. (extractions only)

Pray for Kathleen who works with the Street children in Dar. She operates a drop in center where the children receive a meal and can find a friend to talk to. The center has moved 3 times in the last 7 months as buildings are demolished for redevelopment. We will treat the children in the second week (extractions and restorations).

Pray for Mark and Jan Halstrom and Steve and Carol Lyons. These are missionaries who are affliated with Evangelical Free Church. Lyons are involved in church planting in the Muslim community and in training new missionaries. Halstroms are involved with outreach to Tanzanians of Indian descent (Hindus) and involved with a Christian school in Dar es Salaam. We will be doing extractions and restorations on both Indian and Zaramo people. The Zaramo Tribe is also an unchurched group of Muslims.

Friday, Feb. 29

– Following breakfast and devotions we will unpack and repack supplies needed for the first week. We left 6 trunks of equipment and supplies at Kathleen’s one year ago. The new and old all need to be sorted into categories. Then we pack the supplies we need to take along to Pande. We are taking a public bus to Tanga. We need to leave Kathleen’s at 9:30 to get across Dar es Salaam to the bus station by 11:00 to catch our bus. This will be a 5 hour ride and certainly a cultural experience for the first timers on the trip. The Chards wanted to come pick us up in Dar, but Andrew is recovering from double pneumonia and Rachel fell and hurt her shoulder and can’t drive. Their biggest worry is that we arrive on time and plans are not delayed. In Pande we will stay in five missionary homes. We will have devotions after breakfast each day. Pray for those leading devotions and pray that the trip is a time for spiritual growth for all.

Saturday, March 1

– This will be our first day of clinic in Pande. We will set up our clinic and see patients as soon as possible. Pray that we have remembered all necessary supplies. Pray that we are careful not to puncture skin handling needles, scalpels, bone and tooth fragments as Aids is prevalent in Pande.

Sunday, March 2

- We will worship in the morning with all missionaries and the Digo people who are believers. Most of the service will be in the Digo language. One of our team members will be asked to pray for the Digo people. It will be a time of Christian fellowship and cultural exchange for our team. We will treat patients in the afternoon.

Monday, March 3 - Tuesday, March 4 - Wednesday, March 5

- We will have clinic each day. Pray that pain and suffering is relieved for many people but more importantly, that our mission is seen as an example of God’s love for the Digo people. Each day Mary, Jennette and Rachel will go to the local schools to demonstrate proper brushing technique and hand out tooth brushes.

Thursday, March 6

– We will pack our luggage and trunks and travel back to Dar by bus where Kathleen will meet us. Pray that the good things that we were able to accomplish in Pande will be nourished by the missionary team. Pray that we travel safely. While in Dar we will have devotions following breakfast and dinner. In the evening we will be visiting local families who have invited us for dinner and Christian fellowship.

Friday, March 7 and Saturday, March 8

- Linda, Mary, Donna and Jennette will leave early for a safari at the Mikumi Game Park. Pray for a safe trip. They will see many of God’s amazing animals. Hopefully they will see a lion pride.

Bob, Mike and Carl will set up a clinic in the ghetto of Vingunguti with Steve and Carol Lyons and the Zamoro tribe. We will be doing extractions on Friday all day and Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon we will travel with Kathleen to various locations just to do examinations. This will enable Kathleen to know which street kids need to be transported during the week to clinic and how much time we need with each patient. The women will return from the safari late Sat.

Sunday, March 9

– We will worship either in the morning or evening. At some point we will need to get all the trunks (new and old total about 15) to the E Free center to set up the restorative clinic. This involves about 3 hours of work to sort it all out, hook up air compressors and connect portable dental units. Pray for patience for the team, as this can be stressful. Patients will be seen in the afternoon. We will treat many of the Indian people doing extractions and restorations.

Monday, March 10 - Tuesday, March 11 – Wednesday, March 12 – Thursday, March 13

-Pray for endurance and strength for us since these 4 days are full days of clinic. Pray for us to adapt to the culture and situations that surround us. Pray that we are testimony to others and the opportunities continue for us to share God’s love. Pray that treatments are successful and that we we able to provide post-operative treatment. Pray for health and safety for the team. Pray that the equipment continues to run smoothly as we near the end of our mission. Monday Tuesday and Wednesday we will be seeing Kathleen’s kids. Thursday and Friday morning we will be seeing the Indian Christians and seekers.

Friday, March 14

– We will see patients in the morning especially those needing post-operative treatment. Pray that the patients with the greatest needs have been treated. We will pack and prepare to depart. This is another stressful day. There are always folks who you can’t see that you wanted to be able to help. The packing involves deciding what will stay and what will go. Everything left behind has to be accurately inventoried, so we know next trip what is already there.

Pray for a safe flight out of Dar at 10:15 p.m. and a smooth landing at Zurich Sat. morning. Pray that we meet our final flight at 10:55 a.m. (short layover!) and that it will be safe and smooth.

Saturday, March 15

- We will land at 3:30 p.m. at Dulles. Pray that no problems arise when going through customs and that we all receive our luggage and trunks. Pray that we share our experiences in ways that impact others to God’s love and mercy.

Special thanks to our drivers to and from the airport: Dean Dietrich, Don Fry, Monty Westmeyer, Tim McFarland.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS.