Another great week!

Hi all!

Today marks 3 months since I set foot on African soil! In one way it seems like forever ago, and in another way it feels like time has flown!

Last Saturday night was Coffee Bar, and it was awesome! So there I was playing darts with some guys, when I saw a couple other guys staring at a drawing we have posted that depicts the gospel message. They were looking at it for awhile, and talking to each other, so I felt led to ask if they had any questions. “What does this mean??’ was their reply. I started sharing with them and then answering their various questions. We ended up sitting down and talking, and then a few other guys stopped playing the games available to them and pulled up chairs to enter into the conversation.

None of these guys had trusted in Christ and repented (turned from living for their own desires). That was actually a main focus of the conversation that they brought up, and they were struggling with turning from or letting go of things in their lives they know aren’t right in order to repent and follow Christ. They shared how strong the temptations are and how it would be so hard to follow Christ’s way. I explained to them that Jesus never said it would be easy; in fact, he said, “The gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Matthew 7:13-14). But I shared that when people trust in Christ and repent, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside them – the very same power that raised Christ from the dead comes to reside inside them! Through that power of Christ inside them, they can withstand the temptations – “Greater is He that is in us, than he who is in the world.” God’s grace is sufficient to enable His followers to follow and live in obedience.

We went through several Scriptures and discussed many questions they had, and we talked for about 2 hours! When it was time to close up shop, they said that they understand the gospel message and what it would mean to trust Christ and repent…they just weren’t ready to let go of their harmful habits yet. It was evident that they were really thinking about it and debating on whether they would trust Christ – I could see the wheels turning in their minds and their hearts stirring.

Amazingly, the message Sara had prepared to share to everyone at Coffee Bar that night (at a perfect time in my conversation with these guys) was about how some of them are holding back from trusting Christ because they are still holding onto some things…that they aren’t willing to let those things go in order to fully embrace Christ and His way.

Back in our conversation after Sara shared, I said quite bluntly with these guys that it basically comes down to a decision between Christ and [their sinful habit]. I assured them that it’s more than worth it to choose Christ and let go of their harmful (albeit pleasurable) habits – knowing Christ far outweighs the pleasures of this world. But I also shared that regardless of the benefit to us of choosing Christ (i.e. peace, joy, fulfillment, purpose…eventually heaven), we should be motivated to worship Christ with our hearts and lives because He is worthy of all our worship. We respond in loving awe to His sacrificial love for us.

I could go on and on, but suffice it to say it was a great opportunity to “be real” with these guys and to help them realize their need for repentance. Ultimately, though, that is nothing I or my words could ever cause, but only the Holy Spirit’s conviction of their hearts. I pray that the Lord will continue to draw them to Himself and draw them to repentance and redemption.

After a great restful Sunday, Monday it was an “all-hands-on-deck” kind of work-day. Unexpectedly last week, we discovered that termites had eaten through the rafters of the ceiling at the YFC daycare for orphans and vulnerable children! So the ceiling had collapsed during the recent school break, and was fixed over the weekend. So our job was to paint the new ceiling, clean up all the mess, and put the classrooms back together again in time for the daycare/preschool to start on Tuesday. Mission accomplished! Despite our usual planning time for the Scripture Union club being taken up by the manual labor at the daycare, it was amazing how the pieces came together and God really guided what we shared with the students at the local school. It was awesome and powerful.

I had a busy week in terms of driving – drove to Gaborone Tuesday through Friday, mainly in attempts to get all the paperwork needed to apply for a Botswana’s driver’s license (don’t worry – my American one is still valid so I’m not driving illegally). This involved two trips to the U.S. Embassy, 3 trips to the Department of Road and Transport, two trips to police stations, and a trip to the Immigration office! Let’s just say I know my way around Gabs (Gaborone) much better now!

Thursday I drove to Gabs to attend a luncheon at the church I’ve been attending there. An AIDS prevention program called Face the Nation was started by the church in 2006 and now has the government’s blessing to teach for 5 weeks in every Senior Secondary School in all of Botswana (reaching 55,000 students!). About 130 Christian students from the University of Botswana (from 62 different churches) are trained for 5 weeks in a school of discipleship at the church, and then go out in groups of about 4-5 to each school to teach an abstinence/AIDS prevention curriculum for 5 weeks (this is possible because the University break is now, when the secondary schools are in session). The 5-week school of discipleship started this week.

Thursday was the Prayer Partners Luncheon for those who have volunteered and committed to pray for the volunteers at a particular school. I volunteered to pray for the team at Molefi School in Mochudi (which I either walk or drive past every day on the way to the YFC office). So Thursday at lunch, I got to meet the 4 students I will be praying for, as well as the two other prayer partners. I am excited for this opportunity to mentor and pray for these four: Sethunya, Maatla, Oaitse, and Rocky. The first three are young women who just finished their second year at University, and Rocky is a young guy who just finished his first year. His pastor is actually one of the other prayer partners. If you feel so led, you can also join in praying for them and the Molefi students.

And in other news, we got tickets today to go to the World Cup!!! So three of us are going to the New Zealand vs. Slovakia game on June 15 (the U.S. vs. England match was sold-out). It is only about 3.5 hours away in South Africa! Several of the other YFC staff are going to another game that they got tickets for using their South African citizenship before I arrived in February. Soccer, well…football, is huge over here so it is fun to be able to go to the World Cup! We are hoping to broadcast many of the World Cup games on a big projector screen here at the YFC office, which will likely be the only place the public can watch it on a big screen. At the mission conference we gained access to hours of DVD clips that we can show during the half-times, such as DVD testimonies of Christian footballers.

Alright, well tonight is Coffee Bar again, and I am sharing the short message. So if you happen to read this, prayers are appreciated (I usually speak around 2:30 EST). And also prayers for conversations with the teens, perhaps continuing the conversations from last week.

Blessings!
Em

P.S. And finally, just a reflection: I feel like Forrest Gump. The last couple times I’ve gone running in Mochudi, including this morning, I end up having 3 or more little kids running barefoot behind or alongside me for several minutes!