"Dr. Livingstone I presume?"
Every heard the famous question that New York Herald reporter Henry Stanley asked when meeting the famous explorer for the first time? He had been tracking him down for over year through the interior of Tanzania. Livingstone would pass away just a few months after this famous question.
Two of Livingstone's most trusted personal attendants during his East African wanderings were Chuma and Susi. In order to preserve their beloved patron's body for the 4 month haul back from the lake area to Bagamoyo they cut out his heart and buried it on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. His body was later shipped to Zanzibar before being buried in Westminister Abby. In remuneration for their heroic feat both men were given a sum of money.
One of the porters invested his money to buy a little piece of land on the island of Zanzibar just outside of the capital city- Stone Town. There an Anglican church was built as well as a cemetery for him to be buried. He received Christ through the witness of Dr. Livingstone and could no longer be buried in the Islamic cemetery's of Zanzibar.
Fast-forward history 100 some years.
In the late 1990's, the T.A.G was offered this piece of land by the Anglican church due to a lack of funds as well as increasing pressure from the Islamic neighbors. They regarded the little Christian cemetery and church as an eye-sore. The T.A.G accepted the offer- bought the land, and planted a small church.
I first visited this piece of land in 1999- 10 years ago and preached my very first sermon in Tanzania. The church was running somewhere around 70 people. I was 19 years old having just completed my freshman year at ORU. Over the past decade, I have often wondered how the little church was doing.
Last week my brother Adam and I had the chance to visit and to paint the recently completed primary and English learning school on the property. Fittingly, it is named Livingstone Academy. To my shock the church has grown to over 900 and has planted 6 other churches on the island. We were told that almost everyday someone comes to the property asking how to be born-again. The Presence of God was very strong. Clearly, The Lord is doing something great on the island!
I marveled as I put on the primer inside the school building: "Livingstone's life is still touching people over a hundred and thirty years later!" "What a legacy in missions!" Please pray that God will continue to do a powerful work on the island of Zanzibar.
And may each of our lives be trans-generational: Impacting people both here and now as well as for the future with Christ's love!
