It’s been FAR too long since I updated this! I forget sometimes that people are not all on Facebook to see those updates which are much more frequent.
Well, I’m back in Botswana after the remaining couple months of my furlough/home-assignment in the US. I enjoyed reconnecting with friends, family, supporters and church families in Michigan and Minnesota, and attending some conferences as well that encouraged and further equipped me. I also made the rounds at all the doctors (i.e. dentist, jaw doctor, chiropractor, typhoid booster shot, etc).
One thing that came up a lot before and during my home assignment was a theme God first brought up to me in 2011, about the Royal Air Force in the Battle of Britain and how that historical example can inspire us today that our prayers do make a difference.
I just typed up a blog that shares the testimony from the past years and how it really has encouraged us and inspired us in Botswana to pray for our nation. It has come up a lot over the past months; even on my flight back here to Botswana from Britain it came up 3 times! I really hope you’ll take a few minutes to read the page and be inspired. You can find it by clicking on the tab at the top entitled: The Prayer Force - Encouragement from the RAF. Or you can click here: http://hope4botswana.blogspot.com/p/raf.html
There is even more “awesomeness” related to the RAF that came up since September and even in the last week that I will share in another page soon, so check back for more updates.
Back in Botswana!
Meanwhile, back in Botswana, some highlights have been the opportunity to share my testimony for 15-20 minutes (about surrendering my life to Jesus and surviving/recovering from 3 car wrecks, etc) with 2230+ students at 3 schools in partnership with Thousand Souls Mission and His People Church. Mimie, Bobo, and I shared our testimonies and how Jesus can change lives. Fairhope also ministered the gospel through rap, and Tefo helped explain the gospel. Several hundred students decided to follow Jesus! Please pray that we can continue to help them grow in faith and get connected into churches. We are hoping to meet with them again soon to help them stand strong in their faith.
Youth Mission Explosion!
Another highlight was helping to organize the Youth Missions Explosion event, where we invited various Christian artists (i.e. Ignite, X-Caliber, Fairhope, Cygnas, DJ Riley, BodyArt, Face the Nation Rally Team, YFC, etc.) to share talents such as leading worship, dance, drama, poetry, etc and a guest speaker Jaco Pitzer from South Africa challenged the youth to share their faith and be involved in missions. It was an amazing time where about 320 young people worshipped passionately and were motivated to fulfill the Great Commission. It was the final night of the 3-day Joining Hands Missionary Conference, where I really enjoyed leading worship with E.J.
Yarona FM Radio
Also, we were able to encourage youth to get involved in missions the previous Sunday on Yarona FM national radio. I brought along Bobo and Tshego, two YFC volunteers who also feel called to full-time missions. Tshego actually went to serve at YFC Netherlands for 2.5 months last year. They were able to encourage the youth that God is calling Batswana to be missionaries, not just foreigners who come to Botswana. We thank God for the opportunities to speak on Yarona FM.
The previous 2 weeks we also shared on Yarona FM for the 5th straight year to encourage abstinence and faithfulness during the Month of Youth Against AIDS. The first week I was joined by James and Dudu. The second week, Patrick, BK, and Thato joined in to encourage young people to abstain and live pure lives.
The next weekend, ten of us from YFC drove up to Ghanzi to host a Youth Explosion Weekend…but I’ll save those stories and pics for the next post. If you read the RAF page above, you’ll have plenty of reading for now!
Thanks for your interest, and your prayers are always appreciated!
Blessings,
Ember
