Greetings all!
Lots of cool stories to share! One of the most exciting happened the other day, but first I’ll back up and share some other things. I left Friday the 13th to drive to the YFC conference center in Magaliesberg, South Africa with three other YFC Botswana staff for a weekend youth leader conference. It was a great, rejuvenating trip and I hope to share more in a future post about how it was meaningful to me spiritually.
The day after the conference in South Africa, Monday the 16th, we started a Youth Week camp at a church an hour away from Mochudi. It was every night last week, ending with a youth service Sunday morning. We, the YFC staff/volunteers, each took turns leading the program for a night (choosing songs, memory verse, games, bible quiz, and giving the talk). My night was Thursday, though all week I helped lead worship along with E.J., the national director. It was the first time I’ve gotten to use my guitar plugged into a sound system, so that was cool. My talk was on the Holy Spirit and sanctification (growing more and more like Christ). For part of it, I shared about how the Holy Spirit had led me to be a “messenger of mercy” and extend mercy in court to the man who caused our accident. The outreach camp went really well, and we can tell that the youth were impacted and learned a lot.
Last week I also organized a planning meeting for the abstinence club we have the go-ahead to start at the Senior Secondary School in Mochudi. Tomorrow we will meet again to continue planning the curriculum. The teacher from the school who I met with a couple weeks back is coming to these meetings, as well as two local young men who are graduates from that school and were both volunteers with Face the Nation, the AIDS prevention programme started by the church I attend in Gaborone that just finished working in that school (and every senior secondary school in the country). So it’s great to have all their input and insight in creating the curriculum to help encourage abstinence and support the 300+ students who made commitments to sexually abstain from now until their marriage and be faithful to their spouse in marriage.
Yesterday, Twila [a new YFC volunteer/housemate from Canada] and I went to a government meeting for all the NGOs [non-governmental organizations] in this district who are working to fight AIDS. We learned the latest statistics on the situation in our district and how we can work together collaboratively to address the needs here. One presenter said, “We can expect and desire that Youth for Christ will be working to promote abstinence…and not just telling youth to abstain, but helping them develop life-skills to be able to abstain.” Amen, sister. We’re on it!
And finally, it’s time for the best story! On Saturday, I felt I should go and pray on top of the lookout point in Mochudi, near the chief’s house and office [yes, there is tribal leadership here – a hereditary chief and his headman]. Anyway, I have been trying to go up to the lookout point once a week to pray for the people of Mochudi, especially the youth. However, this time, I felt like I should take my guitar and just worship God on the “mountain” [it’s like a craggy hill/cliff thing, but “mountain” is easier]. I’d never done that, and I thought, “Really, Lord? You want me to sing/worship up there?”, not knowing who might be around during this busy weekend of a traditional cultural ritual going on by the chief’s office [the women were being officially initiated into the tribe after weeks of initiation school where they do lots of traditional rituals. This hasn’t been done for decades here in Mochudi, but the new chief is reviving it again]. But I felt like I was supposed to go with my guitar anyway, so I grabbed it, drove there, and parked by the chief’s office. There was no one really around (I found out later that the big initiation ceremony had already happened earlier that day). I hiked up the “mountain” and just stood there overlooking Mochudi, singing songs to the King of kings and Lord of lords.
I played and sang for awhile, slightly amused by the donkeys rolling around on the path down below (scratching their backs?!). After I got done singing “How Great is Our God,” I was surprised to hear clapping coming from the rocks to my left. I bent down to see two boys sitting in the cleft of a massive rock, who had evidently been there listening for awhile. I smiled and said hi, but felt I should just keep worshipping, so I continued. A couple songs later, the boys crawled up behind me on the rocks and sat to listen. I introduced myself and learned their names—Moses and Laone, brothers. I asked if they wanted me to keep singing? Yes! So I sang another worship song or two and felt led to just start talking to them.
“I’ve been singing songs to Modimo [God] and Jesu [Jesus]. Do you know Modimo…or Jesus?” They said not really, or not well. I asked, “Would you like to know Modimo more…to know more about Jesu?” They both replied, “Yes.” I was kind of stunned for a second with this opportunity that just fell into my lap, but I was like, “Ok then..well…Modimo created the whole world, including you and me…”
And I went on for several minutes explaining the message of the gospel. I had some paper so I could draw out things to help them understand and read verses to them from my bible. We talked about what it means to repent, to truly trust in Christ, to let Him be Lord of your life, etc. I explained how just going to church and doing good things can’t restore a close relationship with God…only trusting in Christ and accepting His work on the cross can bring us close to God.
I felt I should ask them where they feel they are spiritually in regard to Christ. Moses, the older brother, said that he feels like he’s kinda in the middle—he hasn’t ever really trusted in Christ, though he goes to church. I told him if he ever wants to, to become a Christian, he can sincerely pray to God and trust Him and accept His forgiveness. I sort of demonstrated a prayer he could pray to God to start the journey of following Him. I made sure to emphasize that praying a prayer like that is not the end, but just the beginning of a life lived with God where he can follow His plans and will for him.
I felt I should ask him if he wants to trust Christ? He replied, “Yes I want to trust Christ.” I continued, “And let Him be Lord of your life, like the kgosi [chief], where you do what He says…read the bible and follow what it says?” “Yes.” I could sense his sincerity.
Again, I was kind of at a loss for words for a second and felt like I should ask if what I had said in that demonstrated prayer was what he felt he wanted to pray to God? Did it express what he felt in his heart? “Yes.” Ok…! so I asked, “Do you want me to just pray that again and you can repeat it after me?” Both brothers enthusiastically nodded and said yes. Ok…! So I led them in a prayer on top of the “mountain”!
I learned they were 12 and 15 years old and go to a solid biblical church here in Mochudi. I explained where our YFC office is (right near their church!) so they can stop by and we’ll connect them with our follow-up discipleship bible study program. I encouraged them to talk to God (pray), keep going to church, to read the bible (which they have at home), and to stop by YFC on Saturday nights for our coffee bar program as well. What an amazing experience! As someone told me last night, it was like another divine appointment. God is so cool.
To be honest, that’s not normally my “style” in terms of evangelism. True I’ve had several spiritual conversations with strangers in random places over the years…on airplanes [the first spiritual conversation I had with a stranger was a 3-hour one with a Pakistani Muslim on a plane, and he was the one who kept asking more questions about Jesus!], hiking volcanoes/mountains, in taxis/buses, on Mayan ruins, in a Botswana government meeting, etc, but I normally don’t feel led to lead people in a prayer to give their lives to God right then and there because I want to be sure they are sincere and not feeling pressured or coerced in any way to say yes to pray. Making a commitment to trust Christ and follow Him is not a light, casual thing. So honestly, I have hardly ever prayed with someone on the spot like that.
But with these brothers, it just felt like the Lord had been preparing them and they were sincerely ready…like fruit that was about to fall off the tree and I just happened to be in the right place at the right time to catch it. Even from the first time I saw them in the cleft of the rock just listening to the worship songs, I felt like I needed to just keep singing because the Holy Spirit was working in them through the music…and I would eventually talk with them. And that’s how it turned out. Beautiful. How great is our God!
Well, this week and next are much more relaxed…no official ministry because the schools are on break. So I’m looking forward to some longer runs (last run I saw 6 donkeys, 2 ducks, about 45 cows, and the same 4-foot lizard by the river!) and some more time to relax, process, and reflect.
Thanks for reading. Hope you are well.
Blessings,
Em
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