Women's Ministries in Africa - October 2018 Update
First Tumekutana Prayer Letter After 2018 Gathering
Tumekutana, which means “we have come together,” is a conference of Presbyterian women leaders in Africa who gather to support each other and to unite with the global church. The Outreach Foundation supported Tumkekutana in Ghana in 2015 and did so again in Johannesburg, South Africa, September 15-21, 2018. We recently received this note from the Tumekutana President, Rev. Dr. Bridget Ben-Naimah:
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
Let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol God with music and song.
For the Lord is a great God, the great King over all gods…
Come let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the Lord our maker
for God is our God and we are the people of God’s pasture,
the flock under God’s care. (Couched from Psalm 95)
Reflecting on Tumekutana a few weeks after the gathering in Johannesburg, one is inclined to do nothing except praise the living God for God’s faithfulness and grace that saw us through a successful meeting.
Please join us in thanking God for traveling mercies to and from Johannesburg for all participants. By God’s grace, each participant arrived home safely.
We give thanks to God for our hosting churches in South Africa, led by the Uniting Presbyterian Church, for their hospitality and readiness to help in whichever way possible to ensure that everything went well before and during our stay.
Despite the fact that a few of our sisters were indisposed at some point, we give thanks to God for generally keeping participants safe and well throughout the period we were away from home.
We praise God for the resource persons who performed their assignments creditably and conscientiously under the direction of the Holy Spirit. We praise God for the presence of the Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. Her participation made a huge impact on Tumekutana.
We give God thanks for the beautiful, quiet, and peaceful eMseni Christian Centre where we lodged and for the workers there who took care of us during our stay.
We thank God for our lovely partners from the U.S.A., Canada and Scotland who played supportive roles throughout the meeting. We also thank God for the generosity of women, men and children who raised funds to support our 2018 gathering.
We give God praise for those who sent us greetings and continued to pray for us while we were engaged in the various activities of the gathering.
Please join us to thank God for the newly elected Regional Coordinators who are expected to keep Tumekutana networks alive in the regions by staying in touch with all Tumekutana members.
As we give God thanks for the many blessings we have received, we pray for grace to accomplish all tasks assigned to the leadership for the next three years. Please pray with us for the growth and sustenance of Tumekutana.
Let us keep Cameroon, which is the proposed venue for our next gathering, in our prayers and ask God for peace in all African countries. Let us pray for DR Congo which continues to fight the Ebola scourge.
Let us also keep our first President of Tumekutana, Mme. Monique Misenga of DR Congo, in our prayers. Her mother, who was living in South Africa, passed away on the 23rd of September, just after Tumekutana. We thank God for her life, and that Monique was able to be with her in South Africa even as she passed on to glory. May our Lord be very present with all Monique’s family.
Thank you so much for keeping faith in praying for Tumekutana. God richly bless you.
Bridget Ben-Naimah (Rev. Dr. Mrs.), President
Read more about Women’s Ministries in Africa HERE.
THE NEED
The Outreach Foundation is seeking $20,000 for women’s conferences, training including Bibles, retreats, and small income-generating projects.