"If you had come one week earlier, my son would still be alive."

When I heard these words at our e3 World Conference, they pierced my heart. An e3 Tanzania trip leader shared this story of how a Zinza man heard about Jesus for the first time and burst into tears. The man showed him a fresh grave behind his hut. A week before, his son had been sacrificed to appease a pagan deity.

The Lord has been whispering to me about going on an e3 trip to Tanzania for over a year now. That whisper has now become a shout. Now is the time. I have to go!

Along the remote southwestern shores of Lake Victoria in northwest Tanzania, over 80,000 Zinza people reside on Kome Island. Many are fishermen, working at night and living a semi-nomadic lifestyle. The remainder are farmers, growing a variety of crops such as millet, beans, plantains, and a wide range of tropical fruit. They also raise cattle, sheep, and goats.

The Zinza religion is rather secretive, following traditional animism. Their faith, which attempts to appease their deities through worship and sacrifices, is one of the strongest traditional faiths in Africa. Many of these deities are admittedly demonic. Although there are some churches in the populated towns, many in the villages and rural areas have never heard the truth and hope of Jesus' grace and forgiveness. Traditional religion, rooted in ancestral worship and witchcraft, still has a grasp on much of the population.

On this June 4-16, 2017 expedition, we will work alongside local believers to show Christ’s love to the Zinza people on Kome Island. Through hut to hut evangelism, public health education, and community transformation workshops, we will have the opportunity to meet some of their most basic needs while sharing the Gospel. Our team will be camping in tents on the island, which adds an exciting new experience to this trip.

Please join me in praying for the Zinza people and for our team. If you would like to support me financially on this expedition, click the donate button above. To join my prayer team or to send a check, please email me at jbloodwtpe@gmail.com and I will send you instructions.