This morning as I was leaving for work, one of the boarders, (the young man I talked about in this post) ran up to me and said, "Miss Andrea! You'll never guess what happened last night...the flame came back!" (referring to his passion for Christ which has recently been lost somewhere) He shared with me what a wonderful evening he had with the Lord and then said, "Remember how I told you God put it on my heart to start a prayer group? Well, our group met for the first time yesterday! It was so awesome!!"
I can't think of many better ways to start the day than to hear this first thing in the morning! Yay God!! :)
Dutch Blessings
I love outreach season here at the mission. This is the time between June and August when teams of people come here for mission trips for a week or two. The teams are like a breath of fresh air, bringing in a new excitement and passion and blessing the people of Botswana and us missionaries so much.
The team that is here right now is a team of eleven young adults (mostly teenagers) from "Athletes in Action" in The Netherlands (aka: Holland). We have been especially blessed by this team and love watching them in action. They seem to have a very strong unity within the team along with a great passion for the Lord, and they display such joy while ministering. I love watching them!
I've been blessed with the opportunity to spend a bit of time with a few members of the team and have now decided that I just have to visit The Netherlands. I've been learning history and facts about the country and have even learned my first phrase in Dutch. "Hoe gaat het?" (Translation: "How are you?")
I'm so fascinated by meeting people of other cultures. It is amazing to me that while we're just here living our lives, somewhere else in the world in a country, village, town, city, etc., there are people we've never met or maybe even heard of who have a whole life going on that we don't even know about. I love it when God opens up another unknown door to a culture I was not previously acquainted with. This world is so big! I pray for the opportunity to do a ton more traveling and see more of these fascinating cultures!
The team that is here right now is a team of eleven young adults (mostly teenagers) from "Athletes in Action" in The Netherlands (aka: Holland). We have been especially blessed by this team and love watching them in action. They seem to have a very strong unity within the team along with a great passion for the Lord, and they display such joy while ministering. I love watching them!
I've been blessed with the opportunity to spend a bit of time with a few members of the team and have now decided that I just have to visit The Netherlands. I've been learning history and facts about the country and have even learned my first phrase in Dutch. "Hoe gaat het?" (Translation: "How are you?")
I'm so fascinated by meeting people of other cultures. It is amazing to me that while we're just here living our lives, somewhere else in the world in a country, village, town, city, etc., there are people we've never met or maybe even heard of who have a whole life going on that we don't even know about. I love it when God opens up another unknown door to a culture I was not previously acquainted with. This world is so big! I pray for the opportunity to do a ton more traveling and see more of these fascinating cultures!
Here is most of the sweet Dutch team:
(photo courtesy of team leader, Joanne)
On the Brink of Breakthrough
My spirit is so stirred tonight and I am SO excited at what God is doing! I truly feel like we may be on the brink of some huge breakthrough with the teens. Please can you pray for them with me?
If you've been following for long, you know that this year with the teens has been considerably challenging, with very little interest in godly things and an increase in rebellious behavior. Honestly, it's been quite discouraging and exhausting.
When I started the weekly Bible study with the girls at the beginning of the year, my heart was heavy to see only six girls attend. Those with a heart after God were definitely the minority. I think there was a general feeling of discouragement among each of us. Throughout this year, I've seen slow growth in spiritual hunger among the girls, which has been great, but there's also been a very sad decrease among the guys, almost to the point of there only being two or three guys seeking after God at all.
A few weeks ago one of the guys asked me if boys could attend Bible study, too. Why this thought hadn't occured to me sooner, I don't know. I guess I was just hoping and praying for a strong male influence in their lives, thinking I should focus more on the girls. I'm so proud of that young man for asking and I'm so thankful that God was leading him!
It's been three weeks now where our Bible study has been co-ed. The attendance has grown dramatically (last week there were about twenty-five teens), but I wasn't sure of the true heart condition of many of the kids. Most of them, (especially the guys) have stayed pretty quiet, so I just haven't been sure what's been going on their hearts and minds.
I started last week with having the teens write questions and prayer requests out on notecards for me to read privately. I was greatly encouraged by what I read because God showed me that: 1) There is much more hunger there than I realized and that 2) There is much deeper thinking and questioning occurring than I imagined.
Tonight's Bible study was a special one as we continued our study on prayer. The kids were talking more, had more questions to ask, and seemed to be soaking in what we were talking about. The really awesome part of the night, though, was after Bible study was over.
One of the young men stayed behind to ask question after question and to share with me what God was stirring in his heart. He shared with me a vision that the Lord put on his heart of a group of his peers gathering together regularly in prayer, praying for the school (including teachers, students, and staff), for boarding, for leadership, for the country, and many other things. What a beautiful and amazing vision! To see these kids gathering by themselves, coming together in prayer to intercede on behalf of each other, their peers, their school, and their country...just think of all that God could do amongst a group like that!
This young man needs prayer as he seeks to be obedient to what the Lord is calling him to. He needs encouragement to keep persevering, even when things look discouraging. All of these guys who have a hunger for God need prayer for that spark in their heart to grow into a growing flame, for them to come together in unity to pray for and reach out to their peers, and to sharpen each other as they pursue Christ together. I pray that these kids will live on mission together...on mission to know Christ and to make Him known.
For the first time in a long time, I am feeling excitement and a renewed hope that God is doing something. He's stirring things. I believe all the prayers sown are about to reap a harvest. One of the other young men writes as his prayer request every week that there would be revival in the hostel. Please join me in praying in agreement with him for that prayer and that this amazing vision will come to pass!
If you've been following for long, you know that this year with the teens has been considerably challenging, with very little interest in godly things and an increase in rebellious behavior. Honestly, it's been quite discouraging and exhausting.
When I started the weekly Bible study with the girls at the beginning of the year, my heart was heavy to see only six girls attend. Those with a heart after God were definitely the minority. I think there was a general feeling of discouragement among each of us. Throughout this year, I've seen slow growth in spiritual hunger among the girls, which has been great, but there's also been a very sad decrease among the guys, almost to the point of there only being two or three guys seeking after God at all.
A few weeks ago one of the guys asked me if boys could attend Bible study, too. Why this thought hadn't occured to me sooner, I don't know. I guess I was just hoping and praying for a strong male influence in their lives, thinking I should focus more on the girls. I'm so proud of that young man for asking and I'm so thankful that God was leading him!
It's been three weeks now where our Bible study has been co-ed. The attendance has grown dramatically (last week there were about twenty-five teens), but I wasn't sure of the true heart condition of many of the kids. Most of them, (especially the guys) have stayed pretty quiet, so I just haven't been sure what's been going on their hearts and minds.
I started last week with having the teens write questions and prayer requests out on notecards for me to read privately. I was greatly encouraged by what I read because God showed me that: 1) There is much more hunger there than I realized and that 2) There is much deeper thinking and questioning occurring than I imagined.
Tonight's Bible study was a special one as we continued our study on prayer. The kids were talking more, had more questions to ask, and seemed to be soaking in what we were talking about. The really awesome part of the night, though, was after Bible study was over.
One of the young men stayed behind to ask question after question and to share with me what God was stirring in his heart. He shared with me a vision that the Lord put on his heart of a group of his peers gathering together regularly in prayer, praying for the school (including teachers, students, and staff), for boarding, for leadership, for the country, and many other things. What a beautiful and amazing vision! To see these kids gathering by themselves, coming together in prayer to intercede on behalf of each other, their peers, their school, and their country...just think of all that God could do amongst a group like that!
This young man needs prayer as he seeks to be obedient to what the Lord is calling him to. He needs encouragement to keep persevering, even when things look discouraging. All of these guys who have a hunger for God need prayer for that spark in their heart to grow into a growing flame, for them to come together in unity to pray for and reach out to their peers, and to sharpen each other as they pursue Christ together. I pray that these kids will live on mission together...on mission to know Christ and to make Him known.
For the first time in a long time, I am feeling excitement and a renewed hope that God is doing something. He's stirring things. I believe all the prayers sown are about to reap a harvest. One of the other young men writes as his prayer request every week that there would be revival in the hostel. Please join me in praying in agreement with him for that prayer and that this amazing vision will come to pass!
Questions on Prayer
I am looking for some help on this. At our weekly Bible study, the teens and I are studying about prayer. Each week I give them the opportunity to write down questions they have. I got quite a few at last week's study and would love to have additional feedback to offer the kids when we meet this week. Please if you are able to add offer any wisdom or insight on any of these questions, either comment below or you can email me at botswanagirl at gmail.com. Thank you!
- How come sometimes when you pray you feel like God is not listening and there is just a brick wall between the two of you? How do you change that?
- Is it a sin if we don't pray for our enemies?
- If you are praying to God and you start to lose focus, does He still listen to you and answer your prayer? How can I stop this problem?
- If we're praying for something and He hasn't give it to us, how do we know when to keep praying and when to stop?
- Do you always have to ask God before you talk to someone about Him and His teachings?
- When I pray for someone who is not a Christian, does God bless them?
- How do we pray so that God answers you fast?
- Is it ok to laugh and joke with God or should we talk to Him like we would our grandparents?
- Is praying in tongues real? And if so, when should we pray that way and why?
I have my own thoughts on most of these questions, but again, I'd really like to present more than just my thoughts and ideas. I'd love any feedback you could give on any of these. Thanks so much!
Prayer Needs
Here are a few current prayer requests:
1. The water situation at the dorm has been very touch and go the past few weeks. We'll have water for a couple of hours and then not have it for several more, or we'll even go a couple of days without it. It's become quite a burden and I'm praying that it is solved soon.
2. Because of it being winter, many of the kids are getting sick. Because of there being no water and them not being able to wash hands regularly, combined with living in such close quarters, the illnesses are spreading like crazy. I am one of the latest victims. I feel totally "blah" with cold/minor flu-like symptoms. Please pray for healing in boarding.
3. There have many issues with immigration and processing of documents around here lately, affecting many different people. I'm especially praying for Keturah and Brenda, who are both still waiting for work permits. Keturah has already had to leave the country and the same thing could happen to Brenda next month. Also, Jana has been working so hard for so long to get the needed approval for the baby house at the mission, a house that will take in abandoned or orphaned babies. We just need a lot of favor with the government right now in many ways.
4. Praying about the future and trying to not be anxious.
5. *Update* I just heard the horrible news about my former pastors in Austin losing their son last night in a car accident. Please pray for the Koke family in this horrible tragic time.
Thanks so much for any of these needs you are able to offer up in prayer!
1. The water situation at the dorm has been very touch and go the past few weeks. We'll have water for a couple of hours and then not have it for several more, or we'll even go a couple of days without it. It's become quite a burden and I'm praying that it is solved soon.
2. Because of it being winter, many of the kids are getting sick. Because of there being no water and them not being able to wash hands regularly, combined with living in such close quarters, the illnesses are spreading like crazy. I am one of the latest victims. I feel totally "blah" with cold/minor flu-like symptoms. Please pray for healing in boarding.
3. There have many issues with immigration and processing of documents around here lately, affecting many different people. I'm especially praying for Keturah and Brenda, who are both still waiting for work permits. Keturah has already had to leave the country and the same thing could happen to Brenda next month. Also, Jana has been working so hard for so long to get the needed approval for the baby house at the mission, a house that will take in abandoned or orphaned babies. We just need a lot of favor with the government right now in many ways.
4. Praying about the future and trying to not be anxious.
5. *Update* I just heard the horrible news about my former pastors in Austin losing their son last night in a car accident. Please pray for the Koke family in this horrible tragic time.
Thanks so much for any of these needs you are able to offer up in prayer!
What's Next?
With less than five months remaining out of my two-year committment to Love Botswana Outreach Mission, many people have begun asking me what is next. Well, that is definitely the million dollar question!
Honestly, I have very little clue what is next for me. And that scares me more than you can imagine! Since I came to Botswana the first time in 2006, I've known in my heart where I would be, at least until December 2009. Now that December is just around the corner, I am having to walk by faith again, trusting God to lead me into the next season of my life, and to reveal those plans to me in His perfect timing. I've been recalling His amazing faithfulness to me up until this point, which helps to encourage me in this waiting and trusting time.
What do I know for sure? I love Jesus and I love children. I hope to continue combining the two. I also have a passion for kids of other cultures and love traveling, but whether that will be a part of my next season or not, I'm not sure. I'd of course love your prayers concerning all of this over the next few months and I promise to keep you updated. I may not know what the future holds, but praise God I know Who does!
Honestly, I have very little clue what is next for me. And that scares me more than you can imagine! Since I came to Botswana the first time in 2006, I've known in my heart where I would be, at least until December 2009. Now that December is just around the corner, I am having to walk by faith again, trusting God to lead me into the next season of my life, and to reveal those plans to me in His perfect timing. I've been recalling His amazing faithfulness to me up until this point, which helps to encourage me in this waiting and trusting time.
What do I know for sure? I love Jesus and I love children. I hope to continue combining the two. I also have a passion for kids of other cultures and love traveling, but whether that will be a part of my next season or not, I'm not sure. I'd of course love your prayers concerning all of this over the next few months and I promise to keep you updated. I may not know what the future holds, but praise God I know Who does!
"Date" Night
Last term we had a boarding spelling bee, which turned out to be a really fun activity. I promised the top four spellers a dinner out one night. Unfortunately, right after that my car started having trouble and we never got around to the dinner.
Well, now that my car is all fixed, I was sure to put this "date" at the top of the priority list. Last week the four spellers and I had a nice dinner out at a local restaurant while we enjoyed some really yummy food and fun fellowship.
Here are a few pictures from the night. (I apologize about the quality...my camera was doing some really funky things in the restaurant's lighting.)
Well, now that my car is all fixed, I was sure to put this "date" at the top of the priority list. Last week the four spellers and I had a nice dinner out at a local restaurant while we enjoyed some really yummy food and fun fellowship.
Here are a few pictures from the night. (I apologize about the quality...my camera was doing some really funky things in the restaurant's lighting.)
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