In the Rukwa Region of Tanzania, GMI team member Ted Rabenold shares about an exciting milestone in the ministry:

I am happy to report that the dream has become a reality! The pottery studio at our plateau training venue has done four (4) firings of locally
processed clay. We have had a lovely visit by potters Paul and Sianna who have come from North Carolina, USA to do clay demos and help us in our quest to make a glaze using 100 percent locally sourced Tanzanian products.

Although beautiful, we are still in the experimental stage in the pottery we are producing. In the USA you buy standardized clay in 25-pound boxes and often premixed glazes. Here, everything is from scratch. The clay is quarried from our clay pit in a local village and processed in at least 8 different steps until ready for use. The ingredients for the glaze come from various places in Tanzania, like Tanga and Songwe.

Local village and government leaders are amazed that beautiful things can come from (as they say) dirt. We were able to remind them that God formed us from clay and made us in His image. We are so happy to take what He has created and use it to produce artistic, functional beauty.

Pray for this novel and important outreach as Ted and Kim impact lives for Christ by using the resources He has provided their Tanzanian neighbors.

Picture above: Ted Rabenold demonstrating the pottery wheel.