Tanzania: peace in difficult decisions

After a period of careful and prayerful discernment, Dave and Tricia Rollett have made the decision not to proceed with their CMS mission placement to Zanzibar. Our prayers are with them as they consider their next steps as a family.

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Tanzania: sharing the gospel despite challenges

CMS partners in Tanzania ask for prayer for Christians in Zanzibar, who are in a minority and suffer persecution from people of other faiths. Last weekend, a church building was vandalised and some church members were injured. Our partners write, “Despite all that has happened, we continue to stand in faith, knowing that God still reigns.” Give thanks for their dedication in the face of adversity and pray for encouragement as they continue to build God’s church in Zanzibar.

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Video transcript

Hello everyone and welcome to Hope from the Edges. I’m Andy Roberts, CEO for CMS.

In the next few minutes, we’ll bring you inspiring news from three edges in our world. Stories that you are making possible through your gifts and prayers.

First, we will go to South East Asia for the story of an inspiring woman who is reaching her village with the love of Jesus.

From there we’ll go to Paraguay. And celebrate one mission partner’s remarkable 44 years of service and a linguistic legacy that will live on for generations to come.

Finally, we’ll go to Tanzania and zoom in on places where it’s tough to be a Christian, and we’ll meet our newest mission partners who are preparing to serve there.

First, meet Grace, whose name we’ve changed for security reasons.

Grace grew up in a remote village in a jungle area of South East Asia. When she was seven years old, Grace’s grandfather told her about Jesus. At age 14, Grace left school to help her family farm rice. A few years later, she signed on with a housekeeping agency and went to Malaysia to work for a family there. Though the housekeeping agency tried to take Grace’s Bible away from her, the family she worked for fought for her to keep it.

Over the next few years, she grew in her faith, through praying and reading her precious Bible. After several years of working in Malaysia, Grace felt the Lord telling her to return to her country for something new.

Back in her village, she worked odd jobs for the next two years, and looked for God’s purpose in bringing her back home. Grace got involved in her local church, and she realised how deeply the people in her district needed Jesus. She began praying that God would use her.

In 2025, church leaders offered her training to help her become more effective in her ministry. This is how Grace met Patrick, whose name we’ve also changed for security reasons. Patrick is an Asia-CMS partner who works with a local institute, training local mission workers and rural church leaders in discipleship, evangelism, and church planting.

Following her training, Grace returned to her village. Today, Grace is a pastor and is training 25 leaders in her church for mission and ministry. She also travels to other villages to share the good news of Jesus and work with local children and young people.

God is using CMS partners in Asia to transform vast numbers of lives across the region.

Now let’s go to the Chaco region of Paraguay where mission partner Tim Curtis is now retiring after an amazing 44 years in mission among Indigenous peoples.

Tim has spent 44 years helping translate the Bible into the Énxet languages and supporting the Indigenous Énxet people to interact with God’s Word. Tim first went to Paraguay in the early 1980s, teaching at Indigenous and Government schools.

He soon became involved in Bible translation, supporting a team of three indigenous translators to revise the Southern Énxet New Testament and translate the Old Testament from scratch. After many years’ hard work, the full Southern Énxet Bible was launched in 2016. In Tim’s words, “from start to finish it was surprising, even miraculous, how different people from different organisations, churches and institutions came together for the translation.”

In the years that followed, Tim and others worked to help people engage with the word through producing an audio version of the Southern Énxet Bible and dubbing the Jesus film into the language.

A related language group, the Northern Enlhet, also needed help translating the Bible into their language. In 2018, Tim joined their Bible translation team part-time as a consultant and continues support them from the UK even now. Northern Enlhet speakers hope to celebrate the completion of the Bible in their language in the late 2020s.

We’re so thankful for Tim’s hard work and the invaluable linguistic legacy that will live on among Indigenous peoples in Paraguay, empowering them for generations to come.

Now it’s my great pleasure and privilege to introduce to you our newly selected mission partners, Dave and Tricia Rollett, preparing to swap their life in the East Midlands for East Africa.

We believe God is calling Dave and Tricia’s family to Tanzania to support Christians who are in a minority to grow in their faith and work together to be a loving witness to their neighbours of other faiths.

They are hoping to move to Zanzibar this August so that they can get stuck into discipleship, partnership building and more as quickly as possible. We have faith that God will provide the money for them to move in this short time frame.

Could God be calling you to support the mission work they’ll be involved in? Dave and Tricia are featured partners in CMS’s Global Edge Church programme. This means if you sign up to support them, you’ll also be supporting other mission partners and local partners who are quipping and encouraging where followers of Jesus are in a minority. Go to churchmissionsociety.org/rollett to find out more.

And be sure to check the Trek for Tanzania sponsored challenge Dave will be doing, walking the length of Zanzibar to raise support.

Lastly, May is our recruitment month. Could God be calling you to go to the edges with CMS globally or locally? Go to churchmissionsociety.org/serve to discover more about how you could go to the edges with CMS.

Well, thank you all for joining me for these stories from the edges and for your prayerful support which makes them possible.

Please share this video with your church, small group or anyone you think could use some fuel for their faith.

Until next time, we are so grateful for your gifts and prayers as together we go:

With Jesus
With each other
To the edges

ENDS

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Tanzania: upcoming training

Local partner Paul Kibona asks for prayer for upcoming Islamic worldview training and trauma healing training for CMS partners and church leaders working in Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam. Pray for the training to help participants see how God is at work in their context and equip them to join in and be even more effective in their roles.

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Tanzania: youth work

Lift up young Jesus-followers growing up in Muslim-majority parts of Tanzania. Pray for God to raise up youth leaders who are passionate about inspiring young people to keep following Jesus and who will be good role models. Pray for great friendships to form between young Christians to encourage one another as they learn about Jesus together.

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Born profoundly deaf and with spina bifida, Josephat’s early life in Tanzania was a struggle.

People with disabilities in Tanzania are often considered a mistake, a curse. So, finding employment as a disabled person in Tanzania is virtually impossible. Many are reduced to begging in the streets or are hidden away by embarrassed family members. 

After losing both parents during childhood, Josephat was grudgingly looked after by extended family who made him feel like a burden. Trapped by a lack of opportunity and the belief that he would never be able to support himself, Josephat faced a future of dependency and stigma.

Everything changed for Josephat in 2003 when he became one of the first three trainees at Neema Crafts, a project started by the Anglican Diocese of Ruaha in Iringa. Neema means “grace” in Kiswahili. With help and guidance from pioneering Church Mission Society (CMS) mission partner Susie Hart, the centre was established to provide dignity and employment for people with disabilities. Today Neema has trained and employed over 100 deaf and disabled people. 

From “Hunchback” to “He is Able”

Deaf people in Iringia often use descriptive “sign names”. For years, Josephat was known simply as “Hunchback” due to the severe curvature of his spine caused by spina bifida. However, as his skills flourished at the centre, his peers soon saw a profound transformation.

Josephat became particularly adept at creating the centre’s renowned elephant dung paper, a process that involves boiling and processing elephant waste into high-quality stationery. His expertise eventually led his fellow trainees to officially change his sign name to “He is Able” – a title that reflects his skill. His whole identity and understanding of his worth changed. 

From dependency to dignity

Today, Josephat is a leader. He takes great pride in his work, especially in teaching others papermaking. This professional success has allowed him to earn a stable wage and achieve independence.

Beyond economic empowerment, the community has offered Josephat spiritual and emotional healing. Through the centre’s weekly Bible studies and the support of the local chaplain, Josephat has replaced the cultural stigma of being “cursed” with the understanding that he is loved and valued by God. 

Now comprising a crafts centre, cafe, tourist accommodation and a variety of workshops for making everything from textiles to prosthetic limbs, Neema is a beacon of light, showing the local community how much disabled people can do. 

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Tanzania: training for pastors

Paul Kibona, CMS-Africa’s country coordinator for Tanzania, disciples and mentors up-and-coming Christian leaders. We give thanks with Paul for a recent training course for pastors focused on discipleship. Pray for these pastors to continue to grow in the area of discipling others, and to pass on their learning to others, too.

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Tanzania: new work and residence permits needed

Mission partner Heather Johnstone works with women in crisis in Mara through the Rehema project, supporting them to earn a living and provide for their children. Her final work and residence permits expire in May and they can’t be renewed.

Pray for Heather as she begins the process of appealing to the labour commissioner to overturn the decision to not renew her permits.

Pray for God to dismantle bureaucratic barriers and cause the right people to make decisions that will enable Heather to stay in Mara and continue to support women in crisis for as long as God wants her there.

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In November 2025 I made a wonderful, and deeply encouraging, 10-day trip across Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar and Uganda. It became a living, breathing picture of what it means to follow Jesus to the edges.

by Andy Roberts,
CEO of Church Mission Society

In Tanzania and Zanzibar, I had a special opportunity to see firsthand how CMS work is developing among communities with significant Muslim populations. 

CMS projects in action in Arusha 

My first stop was in Arusha, Tanzania, where I spent the day with CMS mission partners Ben and Katy Ray. Having previously served with a CMS flagship pioneering disability project Neema Crafts in Iringa, they have recently begun a new project with SAFI (See Ability First International), and I was blown away by what they’ve managed to build.

They have created an incredibly professional and creative environment including:

• a cafe
• a carpentry workshop
• an atelier
• a shop selling high-quality handmade products

The unique feature of this ministry is that every single staff member is deaf.

In a world where people with disabilities are often marginalised, overlooked or forgotten, SAFI is doing the opposite – it is lifting people up, empowering them and releasing their God-given gifts.

Spending the day with the SAFI team was humbling. We heard powerful stories of transformation, shared lunch together and worshipped through signed worship songs. 

Ben and Katy are now exploring how SAFI’s holistic, dignifying approach can contribute to building bridges  between Christian and Muslim communities, especially as most of their staff come from Muslim backgrounds. 

They are dreaming of expanding to Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar, where CMS is beginning  cross-community, cross-faith work in a Muslim-majority area. Empowerment, relationship and compassion speak loudly in Muslim-majority contexts – and their model fits beautifully.

The dream for Dar es Salaam: Where the CMS cross-community, cross-faith work begins

We next flew to Dar es Salaam and were warmly welcomed by Rev Joseph Mayala who leads an enormous Africa Inland Church (AIC) congregation of more than 1,000 people right in the centre of the city.

In many places in Africa Christians are in the minority and under pressure for their faith. This persecution causes division, isolation, poverty and trauma. CMS partners are training church leaders to lead discipleship groups to support and encourage isolated believers. As well as offering economic empowerment training to give people the tools and confidence to lift themselves out of poverty through income generating projects. 

This training is for the whole community, not just Christians. CMS partners are training church leaders to help communities boldly live out their faith and to connect with Muslims around them. 

CMS has begun work in Dar es Salaam by working with Christian leaders, providing some training  to help them see Muslim people not as enemies or threats, but as people created in the image of God, worthy of friendship and love.

We met one pastor who shared how the training had totally reshaped his worldview. Previously he had considered Muslims “off limits”. But now his church has:

Over 40 small groups of Christians and Muslims meeting together building relationships, sharing meals, studying scripture, and learning from one another.

This is discipleship in its most surprising and beautiful form – the ministry of reconciliation made real in everyday life.

Women’s Groups: Grassroots community-transformation 

We then visited several women’s empowerment groups across Dar es Salaam – groups of Christian and Muslim women gathering together to receive economic training and support.

The impact was moving:

• Christian and Muslim women launching businesses together
• new friendships forming across deep divides
• families being lifted out of poverty
• women finding freedom from harmful spiritual practices
• many women coming to faith in Christ

One woman told us that she had previously turned to demonic practices to provide for her family. But after joining one of the empowerment groups she found faith in Jesus, received business training, started a flourishing enterprise and is now being discipled by her church to grow as a new believer.

This is holistic mission at its best – new disciples, transformed communities and emerging movements.

Across every group we visited, the refrain was the same:
“CMS has brought transformation to our communities.”

It is precious to see such direct, tangible appreciation for CMS’s work. It made me grateful for the vision, the prayers and the generosity that make it possible.

Get involved

Support the people at the edges like the SAFI team in Tanzania and disciple-makers in Zanzibar…

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Why this trip matters for CMS 

This trip to Tanzania reminded me of several things:

• CMS has credibility and favour in East Africa
• the cross-faith, cross-community work is already shaping lives, deepening discipleship and healing divisions
• holistic mission works – empowerment, friendship, shared life and practical love open doors in Muslim-majority contexts
• we have potential new mission partners interested in joining this work

God is doing something new and beautiful in Tanzania and also in  Zanzibar – and CMS is right at the heart of it.

People and relationships are at the centre of mission work 

While in Tanzania, it was strategically important to visit the Archbishop of Tanzania, Archbishop Maimbo. Archbishop Maimbo is also the Bishop of Zanzibar, one of the key areas we’re hoping to develop further. CMS has deep historic ties with the Anglican Church in Zanzibar, and we’re eager for the church to join in the new cross-community, cross-faith work we are embarking upon. 

There was just one small complication: finding him! 

An Archbishop on Pilgrimage

Every now and again, the Archbishop goes on a pilgrimage through remote parts of Tanzania, walking hundreds of kilometres over about ten days, moving from village to village.

He prefers walking to travelling by car because: “You meet more people on the road – and you really meet them.”

It’s a powerful philosophy of ministry.

He travels with a substantial group of people making up a walking procession: 

• clergy
• youth
• members of the Mothers’ Union
• musicians
• dancers
• a security team 

The whole procession moves like a joyful parade – singing, drumming, blowing trumpets, waving flags. They arrive in a village and immediately hold an open-air service with baptisms, marriages and plenty of dancing.

The eight-hour hunt for the Archbishop 

We had a rough idea where Archbishop Maimbo might be, so very early in the morning we boarded a tiny minibus and began the eight-hour journey into the hills to find him.

As many will know, Tanzanian roads are  narrow, winding, and overflowing with lorries.

Hours later, after only a few navigational misadventures, we finally heard drumming in the distance. And then – there they were: the Archbishop and his colourful procession singing their way into a village.

Welcomed, paraded and put to work

We were warmly welcomed, paraded to the front and immediately swept into the middle of an open-air service.

There were baptisms, marriages, dance groups, music… everything joyous and loud and alive.

Then I was asked to preach. (It’s always wise to keep a sermon up your sleeve!) I spoke on the very first question in the Bible:

“Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9)

I shared how God continues to search for each of us. Even when we walk our own way, hide, or turn our backs, God still calls out: “Where are you?” Still seeking. Still loving. Still inviting.

New connections and opening doors for CMS

After the service, we were able to speak with the Archbishop about CMS’s work in the region.

He responded warmly and opened the doors for CMS in both the Diocese of Zanzibar, and of Dar es Salaam.

We then joined his procession for the next stretch of the journey to another village – singing, clapping and dancing all the way.

Along the way, we visited several homes where people with disabilities lived. We prayed with families and offered simple gifts of food and money – small acts of compassion, but deeply appreciated.

After all that, we hopped back into the minibus for the eight-hour return journey – with a roadside stop for roasted goat.

Relationship building in Zanzibar 

The next morning we were back at the airport, boarding a small plane en route to Zanzibar. The local Anglican diocese welcomed us warmly.

Zanzibar is about 98 per cent Muslim, which made visiting the early work of the cross-community, cross-faith project especially meaningful. While the ministry is not as developed here as in Dar es Salaam, the potential is clear – and I can already see how some of Ben and Katy Ray’s holistic work could fit beautifully in this context.

A joyful, unexpected, kingdom-filled adventure

I travelled across four countries, and the people left the deepest impression:

• deaf artisans signing worship songs
• pastors building bridges across religious divides
• Muslim and Christian women launching businesses together
• new disciples taking their first steps of faith
• local leaders saying, “CMS – you have changed our community.”

It was a privilege to witness it firsthand.

These are exciting times – and I’m grateful to God for allowing CMS to play even a small part in his unfolding story.

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Tanzania: SAFI cafe and crafts shop

We give thanks with Ben and Katy Ray that the SAFI (See Ability First International) cafe and crafts shop opened its doors to the public in October and is a great success!

Ben and Katy are based in Usa River, near Arusha, where they are building a community for people with disabilities to belong, explore faith and receive training so they can earn a living.

The SAFI cafe and crafts shop is run by a team of deaf waiters and staff, who are earning a living while reducing stigma around disabilities.

Pray for staff to continue to grow in their skills and to feel loved by the community, and for those who visit the cafe and shop to also feel welcome and valued.

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Tanzania: life returning to normal

Give thanks that life is slowly returning to normal across the country following recent violent demonstrations in connection with the country’s general election. Please lift up in prayer those who are grieving the loss of loved ones or who still don’t feel safe. Ask God to keep lines of communication between CMS staff and mission partners in Tanzania clear and easily accessible.

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Tanzania: violent protests

Pray for people in Tanzania, where violent demonstrations broke out this week as the country held a general election. It has been reported that government critics have been arrested, abducted and even killed. Please pray for continued safety for all our partners and people in mission in Tanzania and for calm in the country as a whole.

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