Overwhelmed...then Encouraged

Hello again!

So in the middle of the night, I was attacked by my mosquito net that dive-bombed me when gravity won the battle with the screw that affixed it to the ceiling above my bed. It was slightly disorienting and disturbing. I felt kinda like a hunted animal caught unsuspecting in a net. Just another day in Africa…

Tuesday this week was uneventful…literally. We got an invitation at YFC on Monday to send representatives to a government Vision 2016 council meeting the next day at the main kgotla (traditional tribal court) focusing on youth and eliminating AIDS. Vision 2016 is the national vision of Botswana drafted in 1996 of what they want the country to look like in various sectors by 2016. I just read through it last night. Regarding AIDS it states, “By the year 2016, the spread of the HIV virus that causes AIDS will have stopped, so that there will be no new infections by the virus in that year.” So I donned a long skirt, as is the custom to go to the kgotla, and drove there alone (none of the other YFC staff could come).

When I arrived, there was a big top tent set up but nothing had started. So I sat down and pulled out a book. Then they set up another big top, strung banners, set up chairs, tables, even drinking water. I kept reading and chatting with the woman next to me who had driven over an hour to come (apparently this was the only meeting like this in the country, not just a regional one). Eventually we sat inside the tent and were each given an orange to munch on. After ingesting the orange and sitting there waiting a bit longer (now it was 1.5 hours after the scheduled starting time), they told us that the meeting was postponed to June! Apparently some of the important people in the council had not shown up, and they realized they had not spread the word effectively. I think this may have been the meeting referred to in the Vision 2016 booklet they gave me: “There will be a national conference to review the Vision every two years to allow stakeholder participation, and to review the progress.” They called us ‘stakeholders’ so perhaps that was what it was? If I can go in a month, I’ll let you know ;). So that’s why Tuesday was uneventful, literally.

Yesterday (Thursday) we learned of another stakeholder meeting to discuss issues relating youth in Mochudi. It was at 11:00 am the same day. With the late notice, none of us could attend. However, I read the minutes from the last quarterly meeting, and it discussed many of the problems and issues relating to youth and families here in Mochudi. They were issues that YFC doesn’t directly address as yet but are definite problems. I won’t go into details here, but as I drove to Gaborone I was feeling kind of overwhelmed thinking of those issues in addition to the need for AIDS prevention and other behavior changes. Feeling my own sense of inadequacy in the face of these challenges and needs, Psalm 121:1 came to mind – “I lift my eyes up to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.” Then minutes later when I was waiting for some photos to be printed, I wandered into the lone book store in the mall. I read a devotional and this was the scripture at the top—“Psalm 121:1 – I lift my eyes to the mountains…” and then in another book, I opened randomly to read this:

“I was not born or created to do everything--
It is very easy to become concerned about the many problems we face in this world. Compassion is not only an admirable quality but it is also an essential element of vision. However, you cannot try to meet every need around you and still be effective in helping people. The more needs you attempt to meet the less attention you’ll be able to devote to each individual need.

All the needs that you see in your nation cannot be met by you. All the trouble that you see in your community cannot be solved by you. All the problems that you see on your street cannot be addressed by you. This reality is why you must discover your personal vision from God and then stay on track with it. You were meant to meet certain needs, not every need. God created you for a purpose and that purpose is supposed to be your focus. It is what must motivate you and keep you centered on what is most important for you to be involved in. While you should be open to the various ways in which God may direct you to help others, you must not become sidetracked by a myriad of needs because there will always be more needs than you can personally handle.” –from The Principles and Power of Vision by Myles Munroe

That seemed like a reassurance from the Lord to not be overburdened by ALL the different needs, but to focus on those that He has called me to address, namely the spiritual needs of youth and fighting HIV/AIDS (which is enough to be overwhelmed by!). And right after that, I had lunch with the Face the Nation volunteers who I am praying for who will start teaching in 2 weeks about abstinence, HIV/AIDS, and Christ at the Molefi Senoir Secondary School just minutes from the YFC office. I meet with them at least every Thursday for lunch to encourage and pray with them, and then we text message (they call it SMS here) throughout the week. Last week, I heard more of their personal stories, and learned that 2 of the 3 lost their mothers as pre-teens. I left that day feeling like they just inspired me – continuing on despite many challenges to now be in university studying law and media studies and rising up to be leaders speaking to their younger countrymen about HIV/AIDS and the hope in Christ. They shared that they’ve learned to give thanks in all circumstances, and that one of the good things that God has brought out of their own loss is that they can relate to and counsel others. Last year one of them ended up counseling many other volunteers who had a similar background. As I listened to them, I was reminded of the quote I read just before I left the States:

“The next generation of African leaders is going to rise up from these millions of orphans as Dreamers who will slay the great Giants of the continent. But time is running out. In Botswana, just three hours north of where we live, four out of every ten adults are dying of AIDS. Churches, agencies, and willing families in the region cannot keep up with the need. Still, I believe we are going to see one of the greatest miracles in modern history. Why? Just look at the size of our Giants! And dedicated Warriors are rising up and attacking them.” --Bruce Wilkinson, The Dream Giver

And I read this in late April, regarding African AIDS orphans: “Some of society’s most incredible mighty men (and women) of the future are currently devastated orphans.”—Johnny Enlow.

Directly after lunch, I headed to the school where I help lead the PACT (peer-counseling) club because the same organization, Face the Nation (which is a program of the church I attend in Gaborone), was testing out with the PACT club a new computer curriculum developed by partners in the U.S. which could potentially standardize the HIV/AIDS and abstinence curriculum being taught in the schools in Botswana. I got to meet the developers of it from Georgia, and one of them has connections with top leaders, including the former Botswana president Festus Mogae. Mogae is supportive of the program, and the government seems to be supporting it so far. Yesterday was the pilot test run to see how effective the program is (the club members did a pre-test, watched the interactive lesson, then took a post-test).

It was encouraging to see how they are thinking so strategically in creating a way to reach all the schools in Botswana even though we don’t have enough missionaries or Face the Nation volunteers to be physically present in all those schools. The government wants to air some of the commercials they’ve made encouraging abstinence. And I shared how YFC has been given an opportunity to do an 8-week radio spot for 5 minutes each Sunday night. We can do whatever we want to encourage abstinence. I shared this with them, and they got me in touch with someone at our church who majored in media studies who could help us.

So…after feeling overwhelmed in the morning by all the needs and challenges, I felt like the Lord really encouraged me through those books, meeting with the Face the Nation volunteers, and then seeing the pilot run of what could become a curriculum that reaches every student in the government schools of Botswana with the message of abstinence and the gospel of Christ!

One of the Face the Nation leaders also encouraged me yesterday to think about the “one.” Reaching out and making a difference for this one, and this one… She also shared something she had just learned earlier that day – that on a public bus the other day, one of the students from Molefi School (in Mochudi) a couple years ago recognized one of the Face the Nation volunteers who had taught there and told her that because of her influence and encouragement to her and other pregnant girls to stay in school and finish their education, she did and so did all the other pregnant girls. So they all completed their education even though one even went into labor during her exams! It’s great to hear of the difference in these individual lives, and it was definitely exciting and encouraging to see the big strategies and visions that could reach tens of thousands.

Tomorrow I will focus on the “one” as I volunteer for the first time at the Baylor Teen Club for HIV positive kids in Gaborone. I am excited for the chance to just love on some kids, many of whom are likely orphans.

Blessings,
Em