Hi again!
Happy New Year! I know it’s been a long time since I’ve updated this, and honestly I never got around to sharing many of the cool stories from last year. So what I thought I would do is share some highlights of 2012:
1. Watching the Unashamed Botswana Movement grow and gain momentum!
What started in December 2011 with 31 people in a public park in the capital city, Gaborone, where I led unplugged worship with my guitar and we prayed in groups of 3, has grown into an interdenominational movement for which I serve on the leadership committee.
The vision statement of the Unashamed Movement is see the youth of Botswana become a catalyst of spiritual and moral transformation in the nation through practical Christian living.
Last year, we planned a big event roughly every month to gather us together for encouragement and teaching. In January, about 90 young people hiked Kgale Hill, the mountain in Gaborone, to have fellowship, teaching, worship, and prayer at the top.
In February, about 135 gathered at a church to share talents that glorify God (i.e. song, dance, rap, poetry, drama), and I shared a 20-minute message that God had stirred in my heart for the Body of Christ in Gaborone (I’ll share more about it in another post sometime).
In March, we led a teaching forum called “Righteous” with guest speakers on relationships and purity, as well as AIDS awareness/prevention. Next, we designated a day of prayer and fasting and started a 24-hour prayer chain where people could sign up to cover a half-hour time slot. In May, by God’s grace, we were allowed to host a concert called Misfits where people could again share talents glorifying God (song, dance, poetry, rap, etc) at the Game City Mall venue, and about 500 people stopped by to listen!
Other events in 2012 included: 1.) A workshop/discussion on current music trends by a local radio DJ
2.) a community-wide service project called InAsMuch where we mobilized youth to visit orphans, prisoners, hospital patients and serve by bagging groceries, cleaning up, etc.
3.) Co-coordinating the MOVE Tour concert of internationally acclaimed Christian Hip-Hop artists from the U.S./U.K.
In October or November, I started leading a weekly prayer and worship meeting for Unashamed at the YFC centre in Gaborone, which we plan to continue in the new year. In December, we held Unashamed 365 at the YFC Gaborone centre—celebrating Unashamed’s one-year anniversary and casting vision for 2013.
Then Unashamed worked together with a local church to present “Crossover 2013”—and all-night concert on New Year’s Eve, crossing over into 2013. I wasn't able to be there, but I heard it was amazing!
We are excited for what the Lord will do this year! We plan to incorporate more discipleship and teaching sessions to really help the youth grow and live out their faith. Our first big event is to hike Kgale Hill again on January 26 to pray for our city and nation.
Another exciting thing has been the local Christian Hip-Hop group X-Caliber. One of the members is part of the Unashamed committee and they have been trained as YFC volunteers as well. They performed atop Kgale Hill last year and recently released their first full album. The national newspaper wrote an article on them back in April: http://www.mmegi.bw/index.php?sid=7&aid=277&dir=2012/April/Wednesday18.
X-Caliber been able to perform at Legae Academy (high school)…which leads to the second exciting re-cap I’ll share with you:
2. The explosive growth in the Legae Academy Bible Club and opportunities to share with the whole school about Christ!
A year ago, the Legae Academy Bible Club was only a handful of about 10 or less students. It had been on my heart to go there to help and so I called up the guidance teacher (who I knew from church). She invited me to come and lead the club in March. Word spread that YFC was coming and 55 students overflowed the room as I led praise and worship!! That was the last Bible Club meeting before their term break. During the break, the student leader Munashe called me and suggested we request a slot in the opening assembly for Term 2 for the whole school. We secured a 20-minute slot! We planned that I would lead praise and worship with guitar with a group of the Bible Club members, but the night before, I realized my guitar cable was faulty. We decided that I would share 20 minutes of my testimony (about the rollover accidents) with Powerpoint. I was amazed this could be allowed in a private (though not Christian) school, but I was welcomed by the principal to do so. The students were amazed and seemingly impacted.
The next Bible Club, about 70 students attended to hear a longer version of my testimony!
That was the last time I was there before I left for the U.S. But the next week, 17 students gave their lives to Christ at the meeting and the attendance kept growing, peaking at 108 for one meeting!!
Once back from the U.S., Munashe and I met with the Vice Principal again to request that we could have another slot at the next Term opening assembly and if X-Caliber and the MOVE Tour artists could give a 50-minute assembly to the whole school a week later. Again, the school agreed! For that opening assembly, I shared the story of finding the Africa-shaped rock on the beach just near where God had called me to Botswana, just 10 seconds after thinking I should find a cool-looking rock to remember that God always knew He would call me to Africa!! Again, it blew their minds. Then the students LOVED when the MOVE Tour artists from the U.S. and U.K. came and presented to them during school on their tour.
Bible Club has continued to have about 70-80 members coming each meeting, and before the last term ended, they started gathering for morning prayers on the sports field before school. Some mornings, around 50 students stood holding hands in a circle, praying. For those who are familiar with “See You At The Pole” in the U.S., it’s like that, but these kids are doing it every morning!! After school was over at the end of last year, the Bible Club student leaders coordinated a two-day leadership training where they invited me and another YFC volunteer (who is also in the Unashamed Movement committee) to give them leadership training.
Then just on Friday, while school is still out, they invited me for another leadership meeting.
We are scheduled to have a short slot again at the opening Term assembly this Tuesday morning. I will be giving certificates to the leadership team and also sharing a short message to the whole student body (around 700 students). Your prayers are appreciated! Bible Club will start right away with a meeting Wednesday and Thursday this week! Then next week X-Caliber will perform again for the whole school! So…when you consider how much this club has grown in size and momentum in a year, we can only give glory to God! It’s just amazing and I’m so blessed to be a part of it. Now the Legae Bible Club wants to help other schools in Gaborone start Bible Clubs at their schools too…
Alright, there are other highlights I will share soon, but I think that’s enough for right now. I hope you had a great Christmas and may you have a happy new year!!
Blessings
Em
