September, 2026
Dear fellow workers in missions,
We pray that you continue to live in the Lord’s unchanging grace and mercy. We would like to share the grace the Lord has given us over the past few months. Please continue to pray for our ministry in Tanzania.
[1] Bible College of East Africa Tanzania
By God’s grace, we completed the graduation service at the end of April. This time, five students graduated. Some went to Kenya for further study, and others left to serve in the ministries assigned to them. Please pray that God will give grace to every graduate and make them faithful workers of His Word for His Kingdom.
This semester (pictured above) began with 35 students, including six new students. Sadly, one student has paused his studies for a time. We are now studying diligently with 34 Bible College students. Please pray that all students will learn God’s Word faithfully, understand its truth deeply, and handle it correctly. Please also pray that they will clearly experience the living and active power of God’s Word in their lives (Hebrews 4:12). We pray that the Lord’s Word will be shown powerfully in their preaching and ministry.
[2] Chemchem Kindergarten
The children at Chemchem Kindergarten are doing well and are happy. This term, we have 71 children. God has sent more children, and they are being diligently taught, based on God’s Word.
Before the end of the last semester, we completely renewed the kindergarten playground. This was the first playground renovation since the kindergarten was founded. We expanded the front yard and made new play equipment. Because manufactured goods are hard to find, we used materials from the school and designed and made some items ourselves. The kindergarten, Sunday school, and other children on campus enjoy the playground. Seeing their happiness brings us great joy. We hope that all the children connected with our ministry, from the kindergarten to Sunday school, will grow closer to the church and to God’s Word through the playground. We also continue to provide one meal a day, deworming medicine, and vitamins.
Starting this semester, we are preparing two new ministries using the kindergarten building. First, we are preparing an after-school program: There is almost no extra support or tutoring after school, so many are left without care. We are praying to run an after-school program together with the Bible College students, and hope it will help students improve their schoolwork and, above all, become a way to share the gospel. Each time we meet, we plan to begin by sharing God’s Word and learning hymns. Then, we will teach important school subjects.
Secondly, we are preparing a children’s library: We plan to use the same space for the after-school program and the children’s library. The main question is how to buy good books for children. Except in private schools, even textbooks are still difficult to provide. The publishing industry is also weak. There is a great need for children’s Christian books and school-related books in English and Swahili. Donations of books from English-speaking countries or churches would also be very helpful.
Raising funds for these new projects is also one of our prayer requests. We hope that these new education ministries will become a good opportunity to share the gospel with children in the kindergarten, Sunday school, and nearby villages through learning.
[3] Glory Bible Presbyterian Church
After praying for several years, Dr Ra Chae-won has focused on Sunday school education since last September. Training Sunday school teachers is very important for building a good and joyful Sunday school based on the Bible. In Tanzanian churches, there are very few systems for training such teachers. Therefore, there is a great need for teacher training. This is not only a matter of training lay teachers. Bibles are scarce, and there is no organized teacher-training system. As a result, pastors and seminary students often have little knowledge or experience of how to run a Sunday school.
For this reason, we began teacher training with the Bible College students, who are future pastors, before training lay teachers. We believe that pastors need to understand the importance and structure of Sunday school so that they can also teach lay teachers. Since last September, we have run an intensive teacher-training program for the Bible College students every Friday night for three hours. Then, together with Rev. Ma Young-jin, a cooperating missionary and a part-time lecturer, we send the trained teachers to local churches that ask for help. There, they lead Saturday children’s Bible schools.
By God’s grace, this Saturday children’s ministry is bearing much fruit. The Sunday school of Glory Bible Presbyterian Church at the Bible College is also seeing much growth and fruit. Please continue to pray that more children will hear God’s Word on Saturdays and Sundays through these trained student teachers, have faith, and believe in Jesus. We also pray that, when circumstances allow, we can run a training program for lay Sunday school teachers.
[4] Family News
On term break, we visited Korea where we met brothers and sisters in Christ and enjoyed fellowship with them. It was a great comfort to us. We also had medical checkups. We are thankful that no serious problems were found.
Soon after returning to the mission field from Korea, they attended the 22nd World Congress of the International Council of Christian Churches (ICCC). It would have been difficult to attend if it had been held on another continent, but it was held in Nakuru, Kenya. Dr Ra Chae-won served as the main accompanist, and Rev. Dr. SeungKyu Park gave a lecture on 2 Timothy 2:15, “rightly handling the word of truth.” A few days ago, he also gave three lectures at a Bible conference for graduates in Kenya. The theme was “The Bible: God’s Word.” It was a time that benefited the preacher more than the graduates.
They have an urgent prayer request. Dr. Park applied for his Tanzanian visa, but it has not yet been issued because of a complicated process. Therefore, he is unable to teach at the BCEA Tanzania this semester. Please pray that the visa will be issued soon so that he can faithfully carry out the work the Lord has entrusted to him.
Their older daughter, Park JongHwi, serves as a children’s ministry worker at Ancheon Presbyterian Church in Korea and is also in charge of the English worship service. This semester, she is working on her Master of Theology thesis at Far Eastern Bible College (FEBC) in Singapore to complete her studies. At the same time, she must also work on her Master of Theology thesis at Seoul University of Bible and Theology in Korea. Please pray that God will give her patience and heavenly wisdom.
Their younger daughter, Park JongEun, finished the first semester of her third year well at the school she transferred to, by God’s grace. Please pray that she will do well next semester too. She is preparing to study as an exchange student at the National University of Singapore next year. Please pray that God will give her grace and wisdom and make everything go smoothly.
We sincerely thank you for always praying for our family and this ministry in Tanzania and for supporting us in many ways. We believe and pray that God will richly answer and repay your prayers and helping hands.
We also pray that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of Truth, will work wonderfully through His Word each day in the lives of both missionaries who are sent and believers who send them.
Thank you.
In Christ’s service,
Rev. Dr. SeungKyu Park and Dr. ChaeWon Ra