Hands

Well, this may be how my trip to the Botswana Baptist Women's Conference almost ended, but even this was a blessing. Not a word of complaint, just helpfulness and  patience, as we waited, as we were towed, as we worked together.

The Botswana Baptist Women's National Conference was held in Francistown at Great Commission Baptist Church the weekend of July 13-16

Ann Carruthers, who just returned from the states, was happy to be reunited with women from Tsessebe Baptist Church.

The joy of the Lord is our strength, what a precious time it was with each of these ladies!

Greetings, so very important in the African culture. Thank God that these women are able to meet freely and openly worshiping Him as the One True God.

Selebo Jobe from Gaborone Baptist was used by God as she lead the worship team.

Laura Pettigrew, Noma Ndhlovu and Amanda Turner. Pray for Noma,  she is an integral part of the Baptist Student Leadership Team, and is busy finishing her degree while discipling other students.

Vivian, Janet and Teresa, - sisters in Christ! Pray that the believers in Botswana will be known by their love for one another.

The theme of the conference was "Every Woman In Ministry" 1 Corinthians 3:9, throughout the conference women would go to the front and with paint put their hand print on the cross.

There was a special time of prayer dedicating our hands in service to the Lord.

Pray that each woman present will remember this as they have returned home and the world seeks to distract them from the Lord's service.

All ages of women were present, from 6 am till 11 pm each day. "Yet those who wait on the Lord will gain new strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31

Pray that the Baptist Women of Botswana will shine the light of the Lord for all to see.

I jump in this picture with the Gakuto Baptist women as they displayed the baskets they had made.

They were happy to show the work of their hands!

Grace, from Gaborone Baptist Church had made a matching scarf and hat. Right after she showed me her work she promptly gave it as a gift to a friend. "God loves a cheerful giver" 2 Cor. 9:7

Many of these christian sisters shared testimonies of what God was doing in their lives.

Praise the Lord for He is worthy to be praised. Pray that each of these hand prints will represent God's fellow workers, God's field, God's building!

Basotho Village Sees the Gospel

The beautiful village of Matsaile, Lesotho and the Basotho people is the focus of this month's blogpost.  Daren Davis and Jim Flora spent a couple of days there last month and had the pleasure of visiting with Justin Morgan and Korby Griffith who were just days away from completing their 2 year Journeyman assignment. Living among the people of this village gave Korby and Justin the opportunity live out the gospel every day. 

The kids living in this village absolutely love Justin and Korby.  As soon as we would step out of the hut each morning a small group of kids would begin making their way to greet us, laugh, stick "fight", and just have fun.  I am sure it would get old if living there day in and day out but for Daren and Jim it was fun to watch.  These kids were seeing the light of Christ in the life of Korby and Justin.

To become a man in Basotho culture one has to know how to protect himself by stick fighting.  These boys were always ready to show their abilities as well as practice.  Justin had to be careful because they could do some damage.  Pray that the men of Matsaile will desire to be strong in the Lord.   

For two years these two Journeyman got their water from this mountain spring and had to carry it back to their hut in a wheel barrow.

Thabang became their good friend.  They spent hours teaching him the Bible, helping him know how to teach the Bible, and how to live as a follower of Jesus.  Thabang watched them live out their faith in Jesus and it made a real impact on his life. To hear Thabang's testimony click here.

This girl may look like her hands are folded ready to pray but the truth is very few of these kids will learn that God wants to talk to them.  They will grow up learning how to communicate with their dead ancestors but God is not interested in them and is irrelevant. Pray they will realize the truth of 1 John 5:14 "This is the confidence we have in approaching God; that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.

Many of the elderly in villages are seen as a burden because they can no longer work like they used to.  Ladies like this one take care of the small children, teach them Basotho culture and tradition and therefore many barriers to the gospel are erected in the lives of these children.  Pray that the children would learn that God loves them, cares for them, and sent His Son to pay for their sins.  Pray that they would realize that God wants a relationship with them. 

The kids could tell there was something different about Korby and Justin.  Please pray that the kids of Matsaile would realize the same God who changed the lives of these young men can change their life as well. 

Jim Flora is a career missionary in the nearby Lesotho village of Katse.  He lives there with his wife and 3 daughters.  Pray for Jim as he considers how to continue sowing and nurturing the gospel seed in the village of Matsaile.  Pray that while Justin and Korby planted the seed of the gospel that others will come to water and that God will cause the increase. 
1 Corinthians 3:6

Daren cooking breakfast.

Korby, the one with the goatee, has returned to the US where he will be looking for work.  Pray for Korby as he adjusts to the US, renews friendships, and looks for a job.  Justin, in the orange shirt, will remain in Lesotho until the end of April.  Pray for Justin as he works with Jim and Teresa Flora.  Upon returning to the US he hopes to help college students learn how they can be on mission with God internationally. 

Pray for Thabang as he continues to shine the light of the gospel in the village of Matsaile.



As we arrived back in Katse we were greeted by Jim's daughter Rebecca riding this donkey. 

To learn more about the Flora family click here.

Extreme Makeover, Extreme MKs

Sanyati Baptist Hospital, a 60 year icon of Southern Baptist ministry in Zimbabwe, is in need of an "Extreme Makeover" as a result of this country's economic collapse.  This hospital meets the needs of over 1,800 inpatients and over 35,000 outpatients each year.  Nine missionary kids, four dads, and one mom from South Africa and Botswana descended onto this property.  The purpose of this trip was to help with the renovation project and do ministry in local churches which have sprung up over the years as a result of this ministry.

Thanks to the mom, Shawna Davis, the kids had plenty of food to eat to give them the energy needed for the hard work they would experience.  The team was divided into 4 teams to help with food preparation and clean up.  Shawna always had plenty of help to get the food prepared and the dishes washed.  The kids did a great job and had an even better attitude.  Looks like Josiah Janz and Meredith Davis are enjoying their meal.  The photo jacker behind Josiah is Micah Davis.

Josiah's brother Caleb had kitchen duty.  It was hot at Sanyati so we drank a lot.

Each morning, after breakfast, we gathered for Bible Study and prayer.  Dennis Janz, the team leader, encouraged the youth to understand that young people keep their way pure by living according to God's Word.  Pray that the youth of the K2 Cluster will commit to living according to God's Word and will be committed to a life of purity.

The kids had a list of jobs to complete.  One of them was less than glamorous.  They were asked to assemble roofing screws.  These screws came in bags of 1,000 and each screw was made up of three separate parts that needed to be assembled.  There were 15 bags of these screws.  Some kids spent hours working on this job.  Some would take advantage of a spare moment and grab a bag in hopes of finishing all 15 bags.  By the last day all 15 bags were completed...just in time for another 20 bags to show up.  They worked on those as well.  By them doing this the next team, a roofing team, will have screws ready which will enable them to roof more of the hospital. 

Painting a hallway of the hospital was also on the list.  This job created a lot more excitement than the less glamorous screws.  After cleaning, scraping, and preparing the wall, eager middle school students, lead by Dad, Tim Shaw, also known as "Mr. Man" tackled the job of painting.  After Daniel Shaw and Josiah Janz labeled every can of paint so that future teams will know where it is to be used the kids gathered supplies to paint the hall.  With patients, nurses, and visitors walking up and down the hallway these youth worked diligently to paint.  Pray that these youth would learn the value of hard work and grow to do all for the glory of the Lord.

The big boys were always ready to do the heavyweight jobs.  Micah Davis and Andy Janz dug a ditch at the nearby Sanyati High School in order to bury the cable supplying electricity to the water pump.  With shovel and pick axe these two made quick work of it.
A day later a truck showed up with 15 tons of roofing supplies.  Micah and Andy offloaded the steel and handed it to Dennis Janz and Brandon Warner and some national helpers who organized it in the storage container.  Pray for Micah as he plans on starting University in August of 2012.  Pray for Andy as he and his family return to the US in late April where Andy will finish his senior year before starting college in the fall of 2013.

This container is where all the supplies for the project are being stored.  Anna Shaw and Meredith Davis compiled an inventory of all the supplies and tools stored in the container.  The container is not level and therefore the doors do not shut properly.  Dads, Brandon Warner, Dennis Janz, and Daren Davis spent hours jacking up the container in hopes of leveling it.  After 3 days it still was not completely level.  Pray that when teams come they will be careful when closing the container. If the handles break the supplies will not be secure.

The youth also had opportunity to teach the Word of God at local churches.  Micah Davis taught on the importance of forgiving yourself and one another just as God forgives us.

Meredith Davis taught on the Prodigal Son.

Dennis Janz did an excellent job of summarizing the previous lessons and challenging the believers to live lives committed to God's Word.

After a long day of working the youth enjoyed playing games, and just hanging out together.

One of the teenagers grew a year older while on our trip.  Daniel Shaw turned 14.  Pray for Daniel as he returns to Rift Valley Academy where he is in school.  Pray that Daniel will continue to grow to become the man God wants him to be.

The K2 Youth Mission trip team - Daren Davis, Brandon Warner, Dennis Janz, Daniel Shaw, Shawna Davis, Tim Shaw, Josiah Janz, Rhett Warner, Meredith Davis, Caleb Janz, Andy Janz, Micah Davis, Peyton Davis, and Anna Shaw
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