Tumelo gave her life to Christ!!!

Dumelang!

It’s been a memorable couple weeks, to put it mildly! When I typed everything out I was going to share, it was crazy long, so I’m just going to save some of it until later. But here’s the best news!--

Tumelo = Faith

The Saturday before last, there was a follow-up camp to the camp at a private school in Gaborone where I had helped with worship leading and counseling. Tumelo, the student from Mochudi that I’ve been taking to counseling, asked me if I could pick her up so she could go the follow-up camp. She had gone to the day-long camp in early April but had not given her life to Christ. At the follow-up camp, I helped lead a discussion group on the message that the pastor had just given. Tumelo was in my group and was giving all the right answers about what it means to become a Christian, what it means to abide in Christ, etc. On the drive home, I kinda joked with her that she knows all the right answers (but yet she and I knew she had not taken the step of faith and accepted Christ as her personal Lord and Savior). She smiled and said that she’s paid attention (seemingly referring to that camp’s teachings and our previous conversations about it). Here's a picture of us on her birthday (she is ok with me posting this):

On an encouraging note, Tumelo told me in that car ride that she had gone to church the Sunday before of her own volition—I think the first time she had ever gone to church in Mochudi while at boarding school (and not with her mom in her home village). She told me she just really felt like she should go to church that day, and so she got up early to do so. So that was encouraging, as well as the fact that she wanted to go to the Christian follow-up camp. At that camp, by the way, I led one of the workshops, teaching teens how to play guitar. It was a bit challenging teaching 15 complete beginners at once with only 4 guitars, but I think it went well.

Anyway, I had worked it out with the school that Tumelo had permission to leave for 4 afternoons to receive special counseling in Gaborone from a visiting American ministry team called Fresh Start through the Face the Nation program at my church. Face the Nation is the same organization where her regular counselor works.

The first day she was scheduled to meet with the Fresh Start counselor was actually the first day the schools were closed down [this is the other main news I was going to share…in a nutshell, please pray for Botswana for a quick but lasting resolution to a civil servants strike that’s disrupting education, health services, etc], so it actually worked in her favor that she was able to attend their morning teachings as well this past week. On Wednesday, I took her out to lunch at the mall during the lunch break and that night I received this long text message from her [I’ve asked her permission and she gave her blessing to share it, the things that follow, and her picture]:

Hey Em. I got home safe. I want to thank you for lunch. But mostly I thank you for the love, care, guidance, teachings and opportunities to build my life that you give me. Thank you for being my friend. I am glad I met you. I love you. You are like a sister, a friend, a teacher, a mother and a minister to my life. I thank God for uniting us. Thank you very much for what you have done in my life and continue to do, you and [regular counselor]. God bless you all for the wonderful work you are doing, you and your ministry. Keep on with the holy work, my life is changing for the better because of all you have done for me. Thank you once more. Am grateful.

Wow…I almost cried reading that. May I briefly remind you that when I met Tumelo in August, she was a suicidal, emotional wreck who hated God and didn’t want to hear anything about God. And while she had been showing great strides in counseling and said she was moving toward God in February and March, things took a complicated turn in early April where she had a disagreement with her mom and moved out and missed school for about a week. She hasn’t had an appointment with her regular counselor since March because we didn’t want to force her and then the counselor was too busy with Face the Nation discipleship school that is currently running. I was relieved that when I invited Tumelo to this Fresh Start counseling as part of that Face the Nation training, she agreed…and then she wanted to go to church and to come to the Christian follow-camp. And now this text message… It was evident that God was continuing to pursue her and soften her heart. I texted her back the following:

Wow, if I could frame an SMS [text message], that would get framed!—almost made me tear up. Thanks so much for your sweet words. It’s been a pleasure watching you be transformed. I am also so thankful the Lord united us. I hope you’ve been able to see some of His love through me too—He loves you so much. He has great plans for you, you have such great potential. May the song of your life truly be a sweet, sweet sound—a melody to His name. See you tomorrow at Face the Nation dear. Robala sentle [sleep well]! Love ya

The part I mentioned about the song of her life being a sweet, sweet sound and a melody to His name is quoting the song she always plays in my car, even as we drove together that day she sang along to it at the top of her lungs. I could just sense that she was so close to coming to Christ in faith [I’ve been calling her Tumelo (meaning faith in Setswana) in these communications to protect her privacy, but also as a prayer/prophecy that she would come to an unshakable faith in Christ one day]. I felt I was supposed to stay up and pray to that end. Here is some of what I journaled in a reflection/prayer:

The girl who hated God and wanted nothing to do with Him—didn’t even want to talk about Him or hear worship songs—that girl has since asked to hear my testimony, chosen to play and sing her heart out to Christian songs, attended a clearly Christian camp and took the initiative to attend the reunion camp, and gone to church of her own volition…and perhaps most amazingly, the girl who hated God when we met just thanked God for uniting us and asked God to bless me for the “wonderful, holy work” I’m doing.

Father, thank You for softening her heart towards You. Lord I pray that [Tumelo] would gain a fresh revelation of Your love. I pray that she would come to faith, radically saving faith, in You. I pray that any schemes of the Enemy to distract her from public declaration of her faith will be thwarted…Draw her unto Yourself—that she may take the step to trust in You and give her life to You to be a sweet melody in Your ear. Father continue to draw her and transform her heart to beat for You, to be yielded to Your Lordship fully. Help her trust that it is worth it to follow Your ways. Grant her the courage to take the step to call upon You as Saviour and Lord from a sincere heart, and may her life never be the same. Tumelo = Faith. May it be so. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

It was around 1 am when I was journaling that prayer and I actually half-fell-asleep for a few seconds when I was writing the sentence, “I pray that any schemes of the Enemy to distract her from public…” and awoke to see that I’d just seemingly unknowingly, on that borderline between dreaming and wakefulness, written “public”?! Why did I write public?! I wondered. But I just finished the sentence that she would give public declaration of her faith…? I finished the prayer and went to bed.

The next morning, it all made a bit more sense. When I arrived at the church for the Face the Nation training, I opened the door and what did my eyes behold, but Tumelo up at the front of all the Face the Nation volunteers and staff speaking through tears into the microphone. “I have had experiences that have controlled my life. I have been overwhelmed by them. Today I am renewed. Today I have given my life to Jesus Christ. I have given my life to Jesus Christ!” –a “public declaration of her faith”!!! Praise the Lord – He is mighty to save!! Her regular counselor and I went to meet her as she walked back—both she and her counselor were crying as they embraced. It was simply a beautiful moment—a beautiful answer to oh so many prayers. The angels rejoiced with us over this one who had repented.

I spoke with her Fresh Start counselor in the following moments, and she told me that the day before, she had gone through with Tumelo again what it means to give your life to Christ, what true repentance is, etc., and she’d wanted Tumelo to think it through that night. In the morning that day during break time, they’d met and Tumelo wept under conviction as she confessed sin after sin and gave her life to Christ! And now just minutes afterward, she’d stood up of her own volition to make that beautiful public declaration of her faith!! What a beautiful Saviour!

We took pictures soon after that…a beautiful new creation in Christ!!

The Day of Salvation!

In the afternoon, she met with the Fresh Start counselor for the last time to pray through issues of forgiveness, especially with her mother. She was radiant afterward and we took some more photos.

Then she wanted me to drop her off at the hair salon. As she hopped out of the car to get her hair cut, she said, “New me—New look!” The next day she attended the whole day of Fresh Start teachings, and she is attending all this week as long as the schools are still closed. One of the Face the Nation leaders joked that the schools have been closed just for her so she could attend Fresh Start and Face the Nation teachings! I wouldn’t go so far to say that, haha, but I know my God brings good out of adverse circumstances and works all things together for good…this is just another beautiful example.

At church on Sunday, during the time for visitors to stand and introduce themselves, I recognized Tumelo’s voice just a few rows behind me. I turned around—sure enough, she had taken public transport by herself to get to church! (I had thought she would’ve gone to the church she goes to with her mom, but she wanted to check out ours). So after church, I took her to the mall and we had lunch together. I asked if she’d like to pray for our food. She agreed, and though she spoke softly so I couldn’t fully decipher her words, it was another beautiful moment—the first time we’d ever prayed together.

During the meal, she mentioned that next year, she wants to be a Face the Nation volunteer. Also, at some point, I asked her how her relationship is with her mom now. She said things are much better. I asked if she feels like she has fully forgiven her mom, and Tumelo replied with a smile, “I don’t feel like I have, I KNOW I have.” Amen! Her mom is so excited that she has come to faith, and it’s such an answer to prayer to see the reconciliation between them.

After lunch I leant her my phone to call our friend and her former schoolmate, Slim, to share the good news. It was definitely a blessing to be able to hear Tumelo testifying again how she had given her life to Christ and to hear Slim’s excitement. Slim gave her life to Christ in late November, so now they can be of encouragement to each other’s faith. Even then on the phone, Tumelo encouraged Slim that things will be ok (Slim’s going through a rough patch with circumstances beyond her control, so prayers for her encouragement are welcome). I find it a privilege to help them both to grow in their faith. It’s been such a joy to be able to see God transform their lives.

I captured my sentiment this way in a journaled prayer: “You are worthy of ALL the glory, ALL the honor, and ALL the praise. You are the relentless pursuer of lost sheep and for that I praise You. Thank You for softening [Tumelo]’s heart and seeking after her, showing Yourself to be mighty to save. And while You deserve ALL the glory for her salvation, how truly beautiful and poetic that You chose to use [her counselors], me, and others (i.e. those who read my newsletters and blogs) to partner with You to bring it to pass. What a precious privilege You’ve given me to co-labor with the King of Kings, what a blessed existence.”

So in case you didn’t catch that, I was also acknowledging that the prayers you may have offered over these past 9 months for Tumelo have been part of the means by which her heart was softened from hating God, to tolerating God, to liking God, to loving and trusting God. So I want to thank you for any and all prayers you may have lifted up for her. When I just told Tumelo the other day that hundreds of people in the U.S. and around the world have been praying for her, she seemed stunned in a good way and said, “Thank you.”

Today Tumelo was singing “Your Grace is Enough” as she walked around at Face the Nation…the praise seemingly overflowing out of her heart. In the afternoon today, I was given the opportunity to address all the Face the Nation volunteers and staff (and Tumelo) for 20-30 minutes and share about the YFC mentoring program I’m establishing. With Tumelo’s blessing, I shared the story of our relationship and her transformation as an example of the kind of transformation we hope this mentoring program will bring to many more teens in Botswana.

God is so amazingly good!!

Love, Em