Mbeya, Tanzania

Super Harvest!

Our Gospel Campaign here in Mbeya, Tanzania has just come to an end. Nearly 300,000 people attended this week’s Crusade, with many thousands surrendering their lives to Jesus. The pastors here are beaming. They said that they have never seen crowds in Mbeya as we have seen this week. Tonight, the field was overflowing. The pastors also said that their churches were overflowing this morning. Praise the Lord!

Wonderful miracles took place again tonight.

• A man who was paralyzed and bedridden, unable to stand or walk, and that couldn’t use his arms nor legs, marched across the platform tonight! When I asked him who had healed him, he answered, “God.” I said, “Yes, but I want you to be more specific.” I asked the crowd if they knew the name of the one who had healed him. They thundered back, “Yesu!”

• A woman with a fist sized tumor was healed. She said that during the prayer, the tumor instantly vanished!

• A precious elderly woman, who could not walk without a wheeled walker for the last 10 years, can now walk perfectly and without pain.

This is just a small sampling of the many miracles that took place. All the glory goes to Jesus!

Now we begin the very long and tiring journey home. Everyone is looking forward to seeing their families.

Next, we head to Oklahoma City where Evangelist Bonnke and I will hold a Crusade in the Cox Convention Center. We are believing that the same kind of outpouring will take place there. Please pray for that.

I also want to send a very heartfelt “Thank You” to everyone who prayed for us, and to those who have given to make this Campaign possible. You are a shareholder in this super-harvest. Thank you for sending us.

Yours in the Gospel,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

On behalf of Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Pictures by O. Volyk

Amazing Hunger

I’ve just returned from the field here in Mbeya, Tanzania. Today has been a day of Holy Spirit outpouring both this morning and again tonight. This morning, pastors and leaders from the region gathered before the sun came up on a Saturday morning. It was very cold and about 6 degrees (Celsius), yet the people sat outside in the dark, in the cold, waiting to receive from the Lord. The hunger of these precious people is amazing. What a privilege it has been to minister here. Peter Vandenberg preached in the first session, and by the time I took the microphone it was like trying to hold back a bursting dam. I needed only to pray, and the Holy Spirit was poured out.

Tonight, after preaching the Gospel, we once again prayed for the people to receive the Fire of God. Many were filled with the Holy Spirit, demons manifested, and healing and deliverance took place. This is the full Gospel in action. The name of Jesus is being uplifted, and the Kingdom is being demonstrated in power here in Mbeya.

Tomorrow, the final meeting will take place. Please continue to pray for one more big harvest to come in.

Yours in the Gospel,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

On behalf of Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Pictures by O. Volyk

She Crawled to the Meeting

What a glorious day we have had here in Mbeya, Tanzania. Tonight, I preached on the Blood of Jesus. Thousands responded to the Gospel. We broke curses. We burned drums filled with idols and witchcraft fetishes like they did in Acts 19. In fact, one young lady testified tonight that as a little girl she had been given a necklace by the witch-doctor who had told her it would protect her and give her good sleep. Instead, she has been tormented for many years with demonic night terrors. Tonight, she cut that necklace off and gave her life to Jesus (pictured)!

Many cripples were healed tonight. In fact, most of the testimonies we heard were from cripples who can now walk! We even heard from a young lady (pictured) who had been crawling on her hands and knees for the past three years.

She crawled on the ground to the meeting tonight. But as I prayed for the sick, the power of God touched her, she stood to her feet and walked perfectly !

Tomorrow, is the conclusion of the Fire Conference when we will pray for the pastors and church leaders. Please pray for a mighty outpouring of the Holy Spirit here in Mbeya. The best is yet to come!


Yours in the Gospel,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

On Behalf of Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Pictures by O. Volyk

Tears of Joy

The first day of our Gospel Campaign here in Mbeya, Tanzania has just come to an end. The journey into Mbeya was very long and exhausting. We are surrounded by wilderness and beautiful mountains as far as the eye can see. It feels like Jesus was talking about Mbeya when He said to go to the, “uttermost parts of the earth.”

It is surprisingly cold here. In fact, this morning when I arrived on the field, some of our European technicians were warming their hands over a toaster. Yet, the field was full of pastors and church workers, many of whom had come out before the sun had risen, sitting in the freezing cold, waiting to hear the Word of God. The people here are hungry for God, and full of faith for what He will do this week. It has already been worth every effort to get here.

Tonight, after I preached the Gospel and prayed for the sick, we heard wonderful miracles. Among them was a blind woman and another woman who was deaf in her left ear.

A man with a terrible disease in his feet had not been able to walk for a year. He went to local doctors who said they did not understand the problem and could not help him. Tonight, Jesus touched him and healed him. He wept tears of joy as he gave his testimony. Then we danced together on the platform.

When I called for testimonies, so many people came forward that it was chaos for a while. Many demons manifested as I prayed for the sick and many thousands received Jesus tonight.

Please continue to pray for us. Our work here has just begun and I believe the best is yet to come!

Yours in the Harvest,

Evangelist Daniel Kolenda

On Behalf of Reinhard Bonnke, Peter Vandenberg and the whole CfaN team

Pictures by O. Volyk

Safe Landing in Mbeya

The journey to Mbeya, Tanzania has been very long and physically exhausting, but we have finally arrived. These beautiful hillsides will soon ring with the Gospel and multitudes will gather as they did in Galilee 2000 years ago. That same Jesus will meet them here and change their lives forever. The crusade starts here in a few hours. Please pray for me, for our whole team and for the people of Mbeya!

Watch this short video of our team preparing for the Crusade and our arrival!

Mbeya, Tanzania

Geography & History

Surrounded by mountains in southwest Tanzania, Mbeya Region spans 62,420 square kilometers (24,100 sq. mi) and is made up of 8 districts.  The capital of the region is Mbeya City and local tribes for the Mbeya region include: Nyakyusa, Ndali, Nyiha, Nyamwanga, Bungu and Safwa. Colloquial Swahili is the main language and English is widely taught in the schools.

Following the 1905 gold rush, Mbeya was founded as a gold mining town in the 1920s. The TAZARA railway later attracted farming migrants and small entrepreneurs to the area. Mbeya and its district was administered by the British until 1961.

The city is well connected with an all-weather road that forms part of the "Great North Road" running from Cape Town to Alexandria.  Average highs and lows during August are 22/9 Celsius and 72/48 Fahrenheit. Mbeya City is a growing metropolis and business center for the southern regions and the neighboring countries of Malawi, Zambia and Congo. The economy relies heavily on agriculture, but also depends on mining, trade, and tourism as well.

Places of Interest in Mbeya Region- Mbozi meteorite, Kitulo National Park, Ruaha National Park, Lake Nyasa, Mwalalo Water Falls, and the Sokoine Stadium, home of the Mbeya City Council Football Club.

Overivew of Tanzania

“Unlike in other African countries, most people identify themselves as Tanzanian first and foremost. From a young age, Tanzanian children are taught how to be polite and respectful. They will normally greet their elders with the phrase shikamoo, which literally translates as ‘I hold your feet’.

Tanzania’s population includes more than 120 different indigenous African peoples, most of whom are clustered into larger groupings. Today the majority of Tanzanians are of Bantu descent. The population for Tanzania is approximately 50 million.

Tanzania is an East African country known for its vast wilderness areas. Tanzania, officially the "United Republic of Tanzania," is situated just south of the Equator, within the African Great Lakes region and formed as a sovereign state in 1964, through the union of the theretofore separate states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar.

Housing- Across rural areas of Tanzania, houses are often traditionally built of stone or earthen construction, with roofs of thatch or corrugated iron. The shape varies by region. On the shores of Lake Victoria, traditional houses are beehive-shaped. In other regions, they’re rectangular. They’re usually surrounded by a smallholding or shamba, where families plant crops and keep livestock such as chickens or goats.

Economy- As well as growing crops for the domestic market, commercial farms also produce harvests for export. Coffee, tobacco and cotton are the highest-earning crops for export. Others include cashew nuts, tea and sisal. Gold is the country’s most valuable export and other important sources of national income are gemstones such as tanzanite, diamonds and tin.”

Sources: Our Africa ; Wikipedia