Well, it’s been a busy couple weeks, but in a good way. There have been a lot of exciting things happening. I’ll start from where I left off. Monday February 28 we were able to restart the Scripture Union club at one of the Junior Secondary Schools (the one where I used to co-lead it). They invited us to come during the last hour of the school day. The students there love to sing along to worship songs that I lead on guitar, so it was great to be back doing that for the first time since July. It was actually the largest turn-out I’d ever seen at that school—upwards of 65 in one classroom! Jen (the newest YFC volunteer from the Netherlands) and I performed a skit that illustrates the gospel. It seemed to really impact them. We asked them to write down their ideas for topics we could discuss at the club. It was cool to read how many of them just want to know more about Jesus (how He died, why He died, how to have a closer relationship with Him, etc). They seem hungry to learn more.
While that was an amazing club meeting, afterward we learned from the guidance teacher that she had been told by the school-head that the club could not take place during school hours, though she had given us permission. It was a mistake on her end. She apologized for the confusion and thought we could start it after school at 4:30pm. But that plan is also falling through because students have said they are unable or unwilling to stay after school—it is getting darker earlier (we are heading toward fall/winter) and they will have been in school since 7:30 am. So now we are entertaining the possibility of having a short half-hour club at lunch time. This hasn’t been finalized yet. At least we were able to have that one club to expose many new students to the club and also to the gospel.
On Wednesday, March 2, Youth for Christ led our first morning assembly in the Senior Secondary School in Mochudi. One of our staff, Maruping, spoke and shared the gospel message—to help students understand what it means to be a Christian because there are some misconceptions here. On Wednesdays, they break the student body up into 5 groups of 10 classes. So Maruping will speak to one group a week, thus teaching the same message for 5 weeks rotating between the groups. I went along the first time to introduce him to the guidance teacher who directed us where to go.
Later that day, Maruping, Twila, Jen, and I drove in to Gaborone to teach 2 large classes at the YWCA school on self-concept and withstanding peer pressure for an hour and 40 minutes. This is the school where we had the PACT (peer-counseling) club last year, and where we can restart the club next term starting in April. The next morning, bright and early at 7:00am on Thursday we led the morning assembly at the same Junior Secondary School where we had Scripture Union on Monday. This is a weekly opening we have been granted to address the entire student body for about 20 minutes. Twila, Jen, and I performed a skit that discourages gossiping, played a game with them, and sang a song—even getting the guidance teacher to dance with us, causing the students to cheer and laugh!
Friday morning bright and early, it was time for YFC to lead the first morning assembly with the whole student body at the Senior Secondary School in Mochudi (Maruping had addressed 1/5 of the student body on Wednesday). We decided it would only be right to introduce YFC and ourselves with a dance and rap! We each wrote a short rap introducing ourselves.
Here’s a little known fact about me—I was a state champion rapper 3 years running. That’s right. What what. In 6th-8th grade I wrote most of the raps we performed (with choreography and costumes) for the Michigan Social Studies Olympiad. So, yes, one could call it “nerd-rap” but hey, we had to have some skills to win the gold each year! Anyway, it was nice to unleash the “inner gangsta” again, haha. The students seemed to really enjoy it and were getting into it with us, clapping and cheering.
The next day, we were finally able to start the abstinence club Real Life Revolution at that school. We initially had planned to start it in September but couldn’t due to the school schedule changes. Twenty-five students came to the first meeting on Saturday afternoon! That’s an impressive, encouraging turn-out! So it’s exciting that it’s off to a good start.
Directly after that club, I drove to Gaborone to our new center there to lead the first volunteer training. E.J. the National Director shared his portion of the training to the 13 college-student volunteers who could make it last week. It was encouraging to talk more with them and see their excitement in being involved in the YFC ministry in Gaborone.
Speaking to the Nation via Radio
The next morning, dark and early (the sun was just rising as we left home), Twila, Dan, and I drove in to Gaborone to be on live radio. Yarona FM is one of the most popular national radio stations in Botswana. It isn’t a Christian station, but on Sunday mornings, Trevor from the YFC Board and our friend Sam [Samantha] from church lead a Christian program called “Inspirational Grooves.” March is the Month of Youth Against AIDS in Botswana so we’ve been invited to help lead the program each Sunday in March. Last week’s topic was “Protection: How Can I Live my Life so I Don’t Get HIV?” We had gone out to the Main Mall in both Gaborone and in Mochudi earlier that week and asked people that question and recorded their anonymous responses. So Sunday on the air we played those pre-recorded clips from people on the street (answers included: Abstain, Use condoms, stick to one partner, etc). We shared some stats about condom failure and mentioned that it isn’t “Safe Sex” but “Safer Sex.” We mentioned that abstinence is the safest choice to prevent the spread of HIV. We then shared the pre-recorded clips of people’s responses to another question we’d asked them on the street –“Why is it so difficult to abstain?” (Answers included: peer pressure, “I have to have sex,” “addicted to sex,” media influence, temptation, alcohol/drug use, can’t control feelings, etc. It had been a bit disheartening at times to hear some of the really young teens saying how they just want to have sex (some were primary school aged—13 or younger). It was encouraging though that some who were Christian shared that God gives them strength to control themselves and abstain. All of us in the studio also acknowledged that as well. We also opened up the text-messaging line and read texts from listeners.
We encouraged those who may have already been sexually active that they can have a fresh start and abstain from now on until marriage. I also shared some research on Uganda’s success story in drastically lessening their HIV rate in the 1990s, due in large part to the culture embracing abstinence and faithfulness.
[taken from Family Research Council--http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS06B01&f=WA06B33]--
Uganda had the highest AIDS rate in the world in the 1990s, but it dropped from 21% to 6% in from 1991-2000. Condoms were definitely not the main element of the AIDS prevention message. President Museveni said, "We are being told that only a thin piece of rubber stands between us and the death of our Continent ... they (condoms) cannot become the main means of stemming the tide of AIDS."[9] He emphasized that condoms should be used, "if you cannot manage A and B [Abstain and Be Faithful in marriage] ... as a fallback position, as a means of last resort."[10]
Several reports show that the decline in AIDS prevalence in Uganda was due to monogamy and abstinence and not to condoms. According to Dr. Edward Green, an anthropologist at Harvard University and an expert on Uganda's AIDS programs, fidelity to one's partner was the most important factor in Uganda's success, followed by abstinence.[11] A 2004 Science study concluded that abstinence among young people and monogamy, rather than condom use, contributed to the decline of AIDS in Uganda.[12]
From The AIDS Crisis: What We Can Do by Deborah Dortzbach and W. Meredith Long --
Uganda was canvassed with stark messages: “You can change your behavior or you can die from AIDS.” “You can remain abstinent and live. And when you marry, have sex with your spouse only.” “You don’t have to get AIDS. Keep to your own pasture if you are married. Zero graze. Don’t roam.”
From 1989 – 1995 males having premarital sex dropped from 60% to 21%. Females dropped from 53% to 16%.
So on the radio, we encouraged the people of Botswana to see that if such a change happened in Uganda, it can happen here. We challenged the nation, “Let’s see a change here like in Uganda.” Change is possible!
Overall, it went quite well. Yarona FM has a link where people worldwide can listen live via the internet, so my mom and others were able to hear it live. Yesterday morning, the topic was “Hope: How Can I Live My Life If I Have HIV/AIDS?” This time we brought one of the YFC volunteers from Mochudi, Thapelo, along as well. He wanted to come last week but was out of town. So Twila, Thapelo, Trevor, Sam, and I were in the studio yesterday. We also played a pre-recorded testimony from one of our YFC staff who is HIV positive. She will likely be live in the studio next week. We shared from a curriculum called God’s Answer to AIDS by Bruce Wilkinson some suggestions on how people with HIV can find hope—Dealing with the Present (accepting the reality that they have HIV); Dealing with the Past (forgiving whoever infected you; apologizing to those you may have infected, etc); Dealing with Your Eternity (keeping an eternal perspective—that life on earth is VERY short compared to eternity, which can be amazing if you spend it with God); and Dealing with Your Future (how to spend the rest of your days with purpose and meaning).
I also shared in the eternity section, that though I can’t identify with having HIV, I have gone through some difficult trials in my life (my accident and my father’s unexpected death) and that keeping an eternal perspective has helped me to have hope and encouragement. And also that God is faithful through those hard times. Twila shared an image that sometimes we come up against huge mountains in our lives that we cannot move. God can remove them and we can definitely pray for that, but also realize that His answer may not always be to immediately remove the mountain but to reach out His hand and help us to climb over it with Him. So yes, people with HIV can keep praying for God to heal them, for nothing is impossible with God, but they should also be sure to do all they can to live healthy and take their medications as they climb that mountain together with Him.
I’ll be on Yarona FM again this coming Sunday (or Saturday night depending where you live). It is quite late/early though for North Americans, so no pressure: Eastern time it’s 2:00-3:00 am Sundays, Central time 1:00-2:00 am Sundays, Mountain 12:00 am, West Coast 11:00 pm Saturdays. Here (GMT+2hrs) it is 8:00 am-9:00 am Sundays. Those are different than what I sent out in an email earlier this week to some people because I didn’t realize the Daylight Savings Time change…but those should be accurate now for this week. I won’t be on the last Sunday in March because I will be on a short vacation to Namibia with 4 other YFC staff. But of course, you are welcome to still tune in to hear our other staff/volunteers.
Other odds and ends
Backing up a bit to this past Friday, I spent most of the day with the YFC Dance & Drama team at a Month of Youth Against AIDS program for the student body at a Junior Secondary School in a nearby village. Our team performed their drama about abstinence and HIV, and Maruping spoke on managing stress. The Botswana National Youth Council had representatives there who spoke, as well as a couple other youth organizations.
Saturday I led another volunteer training in Gaborone from 9:30-1:30. Seventeen college students came this week, including 3 who had never signed up but either had heard me speak and decided later to come, or were invited by others. Another one who couldn’t come Saturday called and told me that several more Univ. of Botswana (UB) students in her cell group want to volunteer now as well. E.J. repeated his session for those who weren’t there last week, and then I presented a couple more sessions.
Abstinence Rally
After that I drove back to Mochudi to the Senior Secondary School for the Abstinence Rally that YFC put on in conjunction with the women’s prayer movement in Mochudi. Most of the YFC staff and volunteers performed a step-dance (stomping and clapping—if you’ve seen “Stomp the Yard” or Stomp the musical that’s an idea of what we did) and then each gave a rap about their respective ministries to a sweet beat in the background. The audience loved it! Here’s my rap:
Emily’s my name; call me Em for short
Gaborone’s my aim, let me report
that we just got a new center down by UB
Where we’re training up mentors to shape history.
We got clubs in 3 schools and one at our place
Teachin’ Lifeskills, SU, and all about grace!
There were about 250 young people who attended, which is many more than last year. Slim and our friend “Tumelo” whom I take to counseling both came. It was very God-centered in that pastors spoke, a church led worship, etc and I remember thinking during the worship that just a few months ago, I wouldn’t have pictured either Slim or Tumelo willingly coming to something like that. But God likes to exceed our expectations!
Blessings,
Em
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