God opens doors this last month

It all started with the pastors conference which Open Baptist Church hosted August 8-12. God was definitely at work way before this came about. He laid it on the hearts of many people to provide for every detail. The church stepped up with donations to provide everything from welcoming gifts to cookies and serving ware for the meals. They once again opened their homes to host the excess people that we didn't have room for at the inn. Then the Lord assembled an awesome group of lecturers coming from partnering churches in the U.S. Those included Pastor Craig Rees from South Tampa Fellowship, Pastor Joel Carwile from Valley View Baptist Church,  Dr. Phil Roberts from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Pastor Todd Fleming, Beth Beal and Chylene Burdick from Alice Drive Baptist Church.  Ric & Terrie Weibley also joined us from South Tampa Fellowship. They all joined our Botswana based staff to challange, encourage and equip nearly 200 pastors and other church leaders from Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Participating pastors continue to communicate how great this ministry was to them and their churches. The fact that we had more pastors from Zimbabwe than anywhere else confirmed our decision to bring a pastors conference there in 2012.

This past week a follow up trip to the northeast district of Botswana and into the southern portion of Zimbabwe also proved fruitful. Upon reaching one church the pastor which attended the Children's Leaders Ministry training had put what he learned to use. He trained the lay leaders of his church the program and the day we arrived was conducting a vacation bible school with 70+ children from the community. This is the start of something big!

The trip had a second purpose which was to make arrangements for a short term mission team from OBC and the U.S.. Ken Galyean with Call to Africa will bring a team the first week of October to host a pastors encouragement conference in this remote region along with a soccer clinic and tournament. Before going we had a lot of questions about the logistics of what would occur. This is where God once more open doors in amazing ways. We were introduced to Pastor Linda Monkhouse with Mt. Beulah Church and her understanding that we desired to equip and encourage pastors in building God's Kingdom said it all. When we didn't have a confirmed venue with needed space it became available. When we were not sure how or who would cater the meals, provide for the team's lodging, make available tables and who would assist with our worship; God provided. Just the week before a worship leader from another village hundreds of kilometers away conveyed that it was time for the Masunga village and area to have a crusade. She stepped up to the plate and confirmed her participation. This same thing happened in Zimbabwe by two outdoor venues availing themselves in areas where local evangelistic outreach is needed. How exciting to see God direct us and provide for every detail.

It has been a busy month here in Botswana but we have seen God's hand at work in so many ways that we have continually been affirmed in our mission and blessed to be a small part of His plan.

Our Mission Trip to Zimbabwe

A few months ago Pastor Norman started talking with Jeff about exploring Zimbabwe as the next mission field for Open Baptist Church.  After another successful Pastor’s Conference in Zambia for the 8^th year he thought the church was ready.  Because of the political, unrest most people were leaving, not going to Zimbabwe.  OBC has a Pastors Conference planned in August for the 3^rd time.  Interesting to note that one of the guest speakers is our own “Craig Rees”!  Pastor Norman’s vision was to invite the pastors to our conference this year and possibly next year have a Pastors Conference in Zimbabwe.  Rather than send e-mail and letters, Jeff thought it would be much better to personally give out invitations.  When it came up at one of our “lunch at home” times together, I felt better about it when Jeff mentioned that his friend Hillary, a Zimbabwean, would travel with him.   It was a few weeks before leaving that he casually said that Connie (Hillary’s wife) and I should come and we could all spend a few days at their lake home.  It is on Lake Kariba, which is a man-made lake between Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Jeff assured me that they often travel there with no problems.   I was excited about seeing  Kariba Dam with Jeff since this was a place I had seen as a child growing up in Zambia, so I prayed thru my fear and forgave Jeff for late notice.

Since we were driving our vehicle, we picked them up at 5am, June 9^th and headed for the border.  We were having a great time when 3 hours later it was discovered that our friends didn’t have their passports.  This was a big problem!  Upon calling home, both passports were discovered on the kitchen table.  Each thought the other had picked them up!  I was just glad that Jeff always takes care of ours!  Hillary called a friend who picked them up and then waited at a bus stop on the main road for someone coming our way.  We kept driving knowing that God would work it out.  An hour later we were informed that he had found a man, Matthew, coming our way and had given him the passports to give us when he caught up to us.  I was quite shocked that they would give passports to a stranger but, low and behold, Matthew finally arrived at 3pm.  It was another hour drive to the border where we discovered that we needed the blue book for our auto which we had never heard of nor had with us!  However, we called and got someone to go to our house to look in our paperwork.  We then went to a motel to wait for a fax.  Thankfully they found it although it was neither blue nor a book, but it got faxed all the same.  However, “All in God’s Timing”, because as we waited for the fax, Hillary started talking with the motel receptionist and brought her to talk with Connie and myself.  After much sharing I was privileged to lead “Masego Titus” to Christ!!  We finally arrived at our first destination in Zimbabwe at 1am, having to cancel the meeting we had set up with a group of pastors in Bulawayo.   Just another day in Africa where time is irrelevant!

Over the next few days, things just got better.  We stayed overnight at a town called Kadoma at a guest house provided by a friend of Hillary’s.  There we headed to Grace Bible Church where there were 21 pastors waiting for us.  They were excited to hear about the conference and 2 even signed up, with payment!  We then went to Chegutu Baptist Church where to our surprise we were met by over 80 people of which 35 were Pastors and the rest were lay leaders and youth.  Two of the youth had been to our church 2 years prior attending OBC’s “Face The Nation”.  They were so excited to see us!  They also asked about hosting a Pastors Conference at their church next year.  From there we headed to Harare, where we met with leaders of church groups.  They said they would pass the news on to the many rural pastors they are responsible for.  We spent the night with Hillary’s brother and family. 

The next day we travelled on to Kariba to spend a few days and were astounded at how beautiful the lake and dam were.   What a view from our friend’s mountain home!  And better yet, we came across elephant, baboon, zebra, kudu and impala while driving around!  What a beautiful world The Lord has made!  Of course, Hillary and Connie have so many friends there and it is considered rude not to stop in to see them for tea and cake.  We sure did have a lot of delicious cake!   We attended the Community Church of Kariba on Sunday where we were once again greeted warmly and were able to share the reason for coming to Zimbabwe.

At each stop I shared about the project my father started while in Zaire and continues to run today.  This is the P.E.T. Project, building wheelchairs for the needy in 3^rd world countries.  I left applications with each group in case they knew of any recipients.  They assured me there were many and would get them back to me.  On our way home from Kariba we stopped in at the church we had missed on our 1^st day and met with Pastor Jeff from the U.S..  He had only been there 5 weeks but already knew of a van load of people he thought would be coming.  We called the pastor of the church in Chegutu to let him know we were headed home and looked forward to seeing him in August.  He asked us to stop on the main road (that’s how things are done in Africa) so he could meet with us.  He turned in 21 registrations (6 paid) for the Conference along with 4 P.E.T. applications w/ photos of the intended recipients.  He also had gifts of hand carved wooden bowls for us!

Throughout the entire trip we were welcomed very warmly.  Not once were we concerned for our safety. The comment we heard several times was there were several conferences in Zimbabwe each year but they were more about emotions and very little actual teaching.  Get ready Pastor Craig, people are waiting anxiously for your teaching and curriculum!  And we are looking forward to seeing you too!

(Check out our picassa web album for more pictures!)

Posted by April

Zambia, Home of the past.

The past month we saw a prayer come true. After a year in Africa and hearing about April's childhood of growing up in Zambia we actually made it back there to see the changes that have taken place. Our main purpose in going was to participate with a short term team from Open Baptist Church and conduct a pastors conferenence at Pastor Boston Mwebela's church, Light House Community. We drove for two days north, crossing over the Zambizi river by ferry to enter the lush, tropical highlands with rolling hills and copper mines north of Lusaka the capital city. April's parents spent their first four years in Kitwe which lies in the heart of the copper belt. Even so there is a great amount of crops in this area and once an agricultural college where her father Larry Hills once taught. We were blessed to stay at the U.M. New Life Center, now overseen by Pastor Delbert Groves and his wife Sandy. Two ministries form the main stay that being a print shop and a P.E.T. workshop. It is extraordinary that this wheel chair workshop produces up to 50 P.E.T.s a month. They even have a Wood Mizer which cuts logs into boards which are further formed by the jointer and planner before being used on the wheel chairs. Pastor Charles and Josephine help keep things going and during our time there they were hosting a conference of over 100 pastors meeting in their hall; they have dormitories to host up to 200 people. Every morning we would wake to them singing hymns and let me say the African people can sing! No need for instruments or a sound track, just acappella. What April remembers isn't quite the same, many of the building have gone up over the 40 plus years since she lived there. Although one thing that hasn't change is the smiles and friendlyness of the Zambian people. They wave to you as you drive by in the car, they say hello and hug you without any hesitation. Next trip up we will have to make it deeper into the Kafuee flats to see where April spent the later years of her childhood.

Our friend Charlotte

Wow, a month has gone by since our friend Charlotte Ott has landed to come and stay with us. What a huge blessing it has been to have her here. She has been busy visiting with a number of missionaries serving here in Botswana, both with me as I travel and solo with them. This has taken her to a couple of remote villages, where life is much simpler. While out there she has understood aspects of the culture that we haven't caught ourselves. This is helping us better understand how to conduct ministry in the future. We will be going together to Zambia next month to serve at a pastors conference and look forward to see what God will do through everyone on the team. Please pray for the team to be used mightly in serving these pastors of Zambia. Thank you for your prayers and support! Jeff

Preaching at Mantshwabisi

Today Jeff & I drove to a village about 1 1/2 hours outside Gaborone for Sunday Service at Mantshwabisi Baptist Church. Angie May, a missionary with "Reaching the Unreached" invited Jeff to preach. She has been ministering to this village for quite a few years. Last year Jeff took a college mission team from Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in the U.S. to this desert village. We took Gofaone Kehumile, our church receptionist, with us to translate. As we took the long dirt road to the village we passed many groups of cows. I remarked to Gofaone about the collar with a bell around the cow's necks. She said that each bell had a different ring, and the owner could identify his cows by the tone of the bell ring. This reminds me of John 10:27, where Jesus said that he knows His sheep and they follow Him. I am forever thankful that Jesus does know me!

When we arrived at the church, Angie told us that after being away the previous week she arrived on Friday to find that someone had ransacked the small room she stays in off the Church building and taken most of the food supplies she had. However, she still offered us bushtea (minus sugar which was taken) and 2 ladies from the church came later to cook us lunch consisting of canned sardines and "pop", their staple starch made of white cornmeal (similar to grits). We were very humbled and very thankful for this sweet church family. Jeff preached to a small group on 1 Corinthians 12:12-27, about the importance of each and every one of us to step forward and use the gift that God has given to us. The church body as a whole works so much better when there is unity and we all work together with our particular giftedness. After service Angie and Jeff walked around the village visiting church member homes. They stopped by at the home of an older blind man. We had visited him last year and noticed that his small thatched hut was in disrepair and the door was rotted out and did not close properly. His house was empty and he slept on the floor but his only complaint was that the goats could get in the door and were sleeping with him! The door was repaired last year by a mission team member but now he was getting a new home constructed out of cement blocks. We continue to praise The Lord for all his provisions.

I will try and post additional photos to our online web album and also to facebook (if I can figure out how to do it!). Posted by April

Sunday service at Molepolole

Today Jeff and I visited Pastor David and his church, Molepolole Calvery Baptist Church. Jeff was invited to preach at the morning service. Since we have been in Botswana, Jeff has been mentoring Pastor David and assisting him as he tries to reach out to people in Molepolole with the Gospel. In October, 2010, T.I.M.E. Ministries visited Molepolole for a week and trained Pastor David and members of his church how to tell the story of Jesus thru the use of puppets and short skits. 10 people were baptized during Sunday Services while they were here (a previous blog was posted about their visit). This morning Jeff preached to a group of around 50 about encouraging fellow believers and lifting them up. He spoke about de-emphasizing the blemishes on each other and instead focus on gifts and attributes used in our walk with The Lord. Four people came forward to accept The Lord as their savior. After service we were privileged to talk and pray with members of the congregation as well as share a delicious meal prepared by women of the Church.

Please join with us to pray for Pastor David, his wife and Molepolole Calvery Baptist Church. Since the T.I.M.E. group was here last year the church membership has increased in size. Space is a real concern and since they do not own the church building now they are unable to make improvements to the building. Therefore Pastor David has to transport all the chairs, sound equipment etc. to the church every Sunday so it is not stolen during the week. He then makes numerous trips into the village to pick up people wanting to come to service since no regular public transportation goes in the direction of the church on weekends. He has approached the owner of the land about buying it, as well as looking at another spot closer to the village near the hospital. He is praying and waiting to hear word about either spot. After that, money will need to be raised to purchase the plot and then a permanent structure built. In the mean time, money is needed to purchase up to 40 more plastic chairs to be used during service. They also are trying to get a children's program developed. Please pray that volunteers from their church will step up to help with this and initial start-up material will be provided (crayons, paper, etc). At the present time, Pastor David's wife is teaching the children on Sunday but additional volunteers are needed. The T.I.M.E. group did leave puppets for their use which has proved very useful. They are still making follow-up calls and visits to the hundreds of people that expressed interest during the T.I.M.E. Ministry visit but money is needed to make phone calls and for transportation costs to visit these people. They also want to start a sewing ministry to teach women to make and sell clothing. Many women are unemployed, taking care of their children/grandchildren and since David's wife is a seamstress, she is willing to train others but machines and material is needed for this.

Thank you for your continued prayers for us while we are here in Botswana. And thank you for your additional prayers for Pastor David and his Church. We will continue to keep you posted regarding other ministry opportunities so you will better know how to specifically pray. We can never underestimate the power of prayer, but must also remember that The Lord already knows our needs before we do, and has promised to take care of us according to His Will. Of this promise, we will forever be thankful.

Posted by April

Just Another Day At Immigration

Jeff has been at Immigration for a few days now trying to turn in paperwork for our residence permit. The first day, after waiting a few hours, he spoke with someone who told him to wait and she would get to him. After waiting another 2 hours, he saw her collecting her bag and when he questioned her she stated she had forgotten him and to come back in the morning. Needless to say, it's a week later and we are still trying to get results. I thought maybe it would help if I went, so yesterday we arrived at 7am to see only 7 other people. However they didn't have the usual numbers to give out so we were told to keep track ourselves who came first. By 8am we were speaking with a lady who gave us a form to fill out and said to come right back to her. Five minutes later we returned only to be told they had found the numbers and were given #88. By 10am it was our turn only to be told that Jeff's photo was too large (the photo shop told him it was the right size!). We were told to get a smaller photo and return with a typed letter stating that he is totally supporting and in control of me! By 11am Jeff was back with the items only to be told they had lost the paperwork! By noon it was found but he was told the computers were down. They wouldn't allow him to take the paperwork with him so he stayed there to make sure they didn't lose it again and to keep his place in line.  At 4pm he called to say he was coming home.  The computers had not come back up so they told him to come back on Monday.  Of course the papers were left with them so who knows where they will be on Monday!

As Believers we should constantly strive to be more Christ-like.  We might have lost track of that during our frustrations of the day, but we reflect on Romans 5:3-4; "We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces patience; patience, character; and character, hope" and resolve to try again on Monday! And as we read Matthew 6:25-34 once again, we know that God REALLY will take care of everything and if He wants us in Botswana, the paperwork will get taken care of.  Of course, there is that little thing about "His perfect timing..."!

(Posted by April)

Back Home in Botswana!

Well, it’s been a long time since I have posted anything.  While we were home on furlough in the States I often thought it was harder to get on the internet than here in Botswana but I must have been having a brain lapse.  Since we arrived here last Friday, our internet at home has not been working and is sporadic at church.  Last night we went to Wimpy’s for coffee because they supposedly have WiFi.  However, it said we had a connection but never did connect so we enjoyed our coffee and came home unable to send any messages home to the States.  I am typing this blog in anticipation for the next time I might actually get connected!

Our flight from Atlanta to Jo’berg was uneventful except there was a delay because a lady was having a panic attack about flying so they called the paramedics. Eventually she disembarked and we were able to head out.  Because of that we missed our connection to Gaborone.  Delta was kind enough to put us up in a nice hotel and fed us dinner and breakfast.  They said they rebooked us at noon the next day but when we arrived Botswana Air informed us that we couldn’t leave. They could see the tickets on their computer but Delta had somehow flagged them so they couldn’t issue boarding passes. The Delta counter didn’t open until 4pm so we might make the 6pm flight.  Since it was only 10am, we were a little disgruntled but a lady that worked for the company that was holding our luggage went out of her way to connect with a Delta representative off site and we boarded just as they were closing out the noon flight.

Thato (the young man staying at our house) met us at the airport.  Before he learned of our delay the night before he had gone to the airport where he met Pastor Adekunle (from our church here) who had come with lots of food that his wife had prepared.  Thato had put it in our fridge.  What a wonderful surprise!  That afternoon I decided to go to the grocery store to restock.  On my way there I was almost thru an intersection when a lady shot thru hitting me on my left rear side hard enough to spin my SUV almost 90 degrees!  Thankfully no one was hurt but upon exiting the vehicle I was greeted in Tsetswana.  Not only was I a little tired from travelling and couldn’t understand what anyone was saying but Jeff’s cell phone was not working, and our other vehicle had a dead battery.  I felt a little worried because I didn’t know who to call.  Gabi, Norman and Desmond were all out of the country and no one would tell me how to reach the police. Luckily 2 policemen happened along and helped tear off the side bar which was up against the rear wheel so I could drive my vehicle.  They told us to go to G-West police station which I’d never heard of so was told to follow the lady that hit me.  I felt like a lamb being led to slaughter as I followed her, making so many turns that I wondered if we actually were going to the station.  We did arrive there and I was able to reach Jeff.   I was given a breathalyser test and we all returned to the scene so the officer in charge could determine what happened. The other driver was then charged and ticketed P500. This all took over 3 hours and I still hadn’t gotten to the store!

I was ready for bed at that point but our landlord came over and since it was dinnertime, I needed to feed everyone.  Thank goodness for Pastor Adekunle and his wife.  She certainly cooks great food. It fed 4 hungry people with some left over and was delicious!  And even though we still don’t have internet we are thankful for God’s protection and for good friends for fellowship, who also help us in times of need.  Once we get settled in we will keep you updated on our ministry here in Botswana.