Returning to Tanzania: A Story of Transformation

Written by: Melissa Heiland - Executive Director

Nine years ago, in 2016, the Lord opened the door for us to travel to Tanzania for the first time. It was a trip marked by both hope and hardship. We were met with strong opposition from many pastors and church leaders who held the common belief that women and girls who became pregnant outside of marriage should be cast out of the church. To them, this was a way of upholding the value of sexual purity.

As we began teaching about the importance of caring for women in unplanned pregnancies and extending grace instead of rejection, many were resistant. Some said the message would never work in their communities. But the Holy Spirit moved in powerful ways. By the end of that first training, pastors who had opposed the message stood up to confess that their hearts had been changed. They committed to finding the very girls they had cast out and bringing them back into fellowship. They promised to begin teaching others about grace, forgiveness, and the sanctity of life.

A Full Circle Moment

This summer, the Lord allowed us to return to Tanzania—this time to the very same church building, looking into the faces of many of the same pastors. What a difference nine years can make when the Spirit of God is at work!

Instead of resistance, we were greeted with testimonies. Pastors shared stories of women who had been embraced by the church instead of rejected, of babies who had been saved, and of ministries that had been born from that first training. We learned that since 2016, 60 pregnancy ministries have been started in Tanzania. What was once met with opposition is now a movement of grace, compassion, and the gospel.

One pastor stood and said: “Because we are changed, our communities are changed.” What a beautiful testimony of the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.

The Work Continues

We left Tanzania deeply encouraged, but also aware that the work is far from finished. Pastors asked us to continue praying—for their churches, for mothers and their babies, and for the gospel to spread far and wide across their nation.

As one pastor, who had once stood in opposition, said to the group: “We used to throw these women and girls out of our churches. But it was a mistake. We are so thankful for what God is doing.”

We echo his words. We are thankful for what God has done, what He is doing, and what He will continue to do in Tanzania and beyond.

Please join us in prayer for:

• Continued strength and courage for pastors to lead with grace.

• Protection for the unborn and compassion for their mothers.

• The gospel to be proclaimed and lived out across Tanzania.

  
  

The story of Tanzania is a reminder that when the Lord changes hearts, He changes communities—and ultimately, He changes the world.