For the first time ever, the Church is organizing a branch outside the capital of Tanzania. A branch will be organized in the city of Arusha (population 270,000), located in the northern portion of the country near Mt. Kilimanjaro. Senior couple missionaries report that over 20 members and those learning about the Church met for the first time in a hotel where a room has been rented for worship services. Before then, members met in a member's home. This is a very exciting development because this branch will be the first located in an area where the population is predominately Christian (the coastal areas of Tanzania are predominately Muslim). This has the potential for providing rapid growth in the near future. It also sounds like the Mission President of the Kenya Nairobi Mission, which includes Tanzania, will open the city for proselyting missionaries as well. There are still 15-20 cities with over 100,000 inhabitants without a congregation of the Church in Tanzania.
Tanzania's first district was created a couple years ago in Dar-Es-Salaam and a zone of missionaries currently serve there. The new branch will bring the total of branches in Tanzania to five and further reinforces the trend of the Church is expanding its influence into areas it has not previously been in Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. Tanzania's membership stands at over 800.
A city in Albania was also recently opened for missionary work just outside of Tirana in Kamez and a new proselyting area in Maputo, Mozambique opened as well.
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