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Our Calling

We would like to take this opportunity to explain the history of our calling to become missionaries and to describe some of the work we will be doing in Africa.

Crystal’s family became acquainted with the International Evangelism Centre while she attended high school in Helena, Montana. Eliudi, the founder of the Bible training school, came to her school and church to preach. In the summer of 1992, the third of Eliudi’s six children, Rogathe, moved to Helena to live with Crystal’s family and attend high school. When Rogathe returned to Tanzania in the summer of 1995, Crystal accompanied her. By the end of the one-month visit, the people of Tanzania had forever found a place in her heart.

David first met Eliudi in February of 1998 through Crystal’s family. It was then, just one month before our wedding date, that his strong desire to go to Africa took root and he knew we would one day be a part of this ministry.

The International Evangelism Centre was not the dream of a Western church or denomination, but the vision of a poor native farmer in a small village. Eliudi received his call into ministry in the early 1970s. He sold his farm, attended Bible school training in San Diego, and began trusting God to establish an African training center. In 1983, the doors opened to the International Evangelism Centre with 20 students. Today more than 3,000 students have graduated from the intensive training.

The Centre has many ministries, but the primary objective is to reach the people of East Africa both spiritually and physically. Each year the Centre trains and sends approximately 200 pastors, teachers, and evangelists into the eight nations of Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zaire, Mozambique, and the Congo. More than 900 churches have been planted in these countries by graduates of the Centre.

The Centre, which began with four small buildings and one acre of land, has grown by the grace of God to a 14-acre compound in the village of Sakila, Tanzania. The Centre also has a 100-acre farm to help feed the staff and students.

In 1994, the centre began a new phase in its vision by opening a second school in the Congo and by acquiring land in Kenya. In 1995, after years of praying and planning, students of the Centre planted a church on the island of Zanzibar (just off the coast of Tanzania), where 99% of the population is Muslim and professing Christians are persecuted. Today, the church has 45 members. In 1998, a third school began training students in Zaire.

In addition, the facilities at the main Centre in Sakila, where we will be working, have expanded to include a trade school where students study carpentry, masonry, or sewing and are also presented with the Gospel before returning to the work force with new skills that enable them to be self-sufficient and productive.

In 2000, the well-known child sponsorship organization Compassion International planted its ministry in the village of Sakila on the Centre’s campus as well. Approximately 250 children are enrolled to receive school supplies, clothing, and health care through sponsorships, and each Saturday a vacation Bible school is offered for the children.

Finally, although the Centre now includes medical clinics for villagers in the area, the population has created the need for a local hospital as most people do not have transportation to reach hospitals in the cities and cannot be treated for serious injuries or illnesses at the clinics. The foundation has been laid and plans are now being made for a modern hospital to be built.

As you can tell by now, there is no shortage of work for us to do. With the expansion of the schools and churches, Eliudi would like for David to set up a computer network and update office equipment and technology, training the staff members as he does so. David will also be involved in planning and building of the hospital. Eliudi is also making plans for a small runway and hopes that the Centre will one day be able to afford a plane for church visits and supply delivery. David is in the process of obtaining his private pilot’s license and his Airframe and Power plant Certification to be able to help in this area as well.

Crystal’s primary focus will be on children’s ministry and administrative work. She has a strong desire to help teach the young people of Tanzania about Jesus as they are often ignored by society and are not specifically ministered to in most churches. Crystal also plans to help with fundraising for the hospital, and she will assist with communicating details of the Centre’s work back to the United States and Canada.

God has also put on our hearts that we should plan to set aside funds to purchase Bibles as in most churches only the pastor can afford a Bible. We are excited to be able to distribute Bibles to the people of Tanzania.

 Currently we are in Tulsa, Oklahoma, following a 5-week trip to Tanzania and the revelation that David should attend aviation and airplane maintenance training in preparation for a new airport ministry in Sakila that is currently in preliminary planning stages. We hope to return to Tanzania in August of 2004 during David's fall break, and he will finish his training in June of 2005. Please pray for the Lord's provision, guidance, and wisdom as we seek His will and His timing in all these things.