An Update from Joel & Katie Gerberich
It has been close to two months since Joel & Katie Gerberich’s commissioning service at the Cheektowaga Campus!
This past month, they experienced a truly unique and joyful Easter celebration alongside the local church. Services spanned four days—Thursday through Sunday—with a special midnight Saturday service filled with singing and dancing as they celebrated the resurrection of Jesus. While much of the service was in a language they're still learning, they were moved by the joy and worship of believers there.
But outside the church walls, the spiritual need remains great—especially among the Ndengereko people. Many, like their driver Omari, have little to no understanding of Easter or who Jesus is. Here is what Joel shared, “I asked our [taxi] driver, Omari, if he knows about Easter, or “Pasaka”…Somewhat surprisingly, he said he didn’t know Pasaka. So we tried our best to tell him that it is the day that Jesus rose from the dead. He sat silently as I talked of Yesu (Swahili) and Isa Masih (Arabic) in relation to Easter… We are beginning to better understand our work here…The Ndengereko people are living in spiritual darkness.” A simple conversation about the resurrection opened their eyes to the deep purpose of their calling: to live among and love a people who have yet to see the light of Christ.
They've just completed four weeks of intensive Swahili language learning and are now working to apply that in everyday conversations. There are challenges—heat rashes, bug bites, fatigue, and the slow work of settling in—but even in those struggles, they are finding unexpected joys. Something as simple as finally getting couches to sit on has been a sweet reminder of God’s grace in the small things.
They also had a brief trip to Dar es Salaam, where God provided in big ways—a car within budget, a supply restock, a needed doctor’s appointment, and confirmation of their residence permits—all while preparing to welcome a new baby very soon!
They asked that we continue to pray for them: for endurance, language learning, deepening relationships with their neighbors, and most of all, for the light of Christ to break through the spiritual darkness around them.