Global Alpha Training

Never could I have imagined that, within 18 months, we would be hosting the very thing I was sending my wife off to in Dar Es Salaam.
We were sitting in the waiting room of the little airport in Arusha. It hosts about four terminals, each little more than a single room or little restaurant area for the particular 'airline' concerned.
Judi and our friend Serena were off to the Global Alpha Training event in Dar, led by a team from, of all places, Vancouver ... the lovely city we'd just moved from.
The experience was quite challenging and launched Arusha Vineyard into a whole new season of exciting outreach.
One of the early attenders of our course, was Purnima and her daughter Niki. These were recent Hindu converts who loved the course and brought numerous friends.
Since then, in a few short months, Purnima attended an Alpha conference at Holy Trinity (the Alpha Church) in London, met Nicky Gumbel and invited a team to come to Arusha. Last week it happened!
We had a good cross-section of folk from different cultures and tribes (39 guests in all). What excited me most was a group from Karatu (nr Ngorongoro), made up of pastors and leaders from 5 different churches; almost unheard of in cultural environment where there is still little association between groups and denominations.
The GAT (Global Alpha Training) team was made up of 6 folk from London, teaching a solid three days worth of material, most of which was translated into Swahili as they spoke. They did a great job and left us feeling encouraged, envisioned and better equipped for the next season of sharing Christ in a relevant and inviting way. (Pictures to come).