| Team Botswana 2007 |
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Church members in Letlcane |
22,000 miles traveled in just 11 days. That is about 40 hours in an airline seat that reclines three inches. Add to that a caterer strike in Dakar, Senegal West Africa so all we had put on board our flight during refueling was water and sandwiches resembling baseball bats. Lastly, add to all of that 10 suitcases never loaded in Atlanta and not catching up with the team till 4 days later.
Now, you get a picture of how flexible a short-term missionary from Istrouma has to be whether traveling half way around the world to share the Gospel, or into the inner-city of Baton Rouge to reach out for Christ on mission for Him. Why go? Why willingly pay money and experience such uncomfortable circumstances? Wouldn’t it be easier to stay home and never do these kinds of trips? Well…duh! Yes, it would be much easier, but also disobedient to Jesus’ command to go to all nations teaching people, baptizing converts, and discipling them as followers of Jesus Christ. Your dollar a day for missions is hard at work at home and abroad. Thank you for investing in souls.
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IBM Missionary Jeff Powers briefing the team |
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Travis & Jim meeting and inviting villagers to church |
It was our joy to travel and serve with Jim Edmonson, Travis Cummings, Carol Hand, and me from Istrouma along with Debbie Dixon and Yvonne Fowler from Jefferson Baptist Church. Our team of six went to be with Brian Beadle in a new ministry in Letlhakane, Botswana, and Jeff & Staci Powers who minister three hours away in Maun. This is a town of 35,000 people with many earning good wages (by Africa standards) in the surrounding four diamond mines. Inherent to these jobs are prostitution, alcohol, and materialism which are afflicting the younger generation living in the town.
Our team had the opportunity to engage the villagers in their home spending time with people and getting to know them. Our team shared their faith, and invited them to special meetings held at the church in the afternoon. We were privileged to see two women and a man pray trusting Christ as Savior and shared our faith with many others. Brian has only been in the town for a few months and is working with a few families that have begun a Baptist church in town. He is meeting neighbors, identifying interested people who would like to do a Bible study, teaches believers in the church, and spends time in prayer asking God to reach the town through the work of the Holy Spirit.
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Carol with 2 new converts |
Debbie sharing Jesus with a new friend |
Our mission team broke into three groups and with the aid of a translator made their way around town. Another task we did was prayer walking combined with our witnessing and praying with others. As we walked, with our eyes open and looking as if we were conversing among ourselves, we prayed. We prayed for Satan to be defeated, for young men to step up the plate and lead, for the church to grow and reach out to their town with the good news of Jesus. We prayed for families and individuals that we passed along the way and many times would stop and engage them in conversation. A lot of walking, praying, chatting, witnessing, and making new friends took place that week. Continue to pray for our IMB missionaries there as they battle loneliness, discouragement, satanic influences, and hard hearts to the true Gospel of Jesus.
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IMB Missionaries Stacy Powers & Brian Beadle preparing dinner for our team |
Brian Beadle and Travis |
On our way back to the airport we visited a national game preserve and saw many of the animals you think of when you think of Africa living in the preserve. This is not like Disney World’s safari where you drive in a glorified zoo. This was their turf out in the middle of no-man’s land. We heard lion but did not see any, but we did see about 1000 zebras, wildebeest, monkey, jackals, Kudu (like our elk), giraffe, springbok, Impalas (the McDonald’s of the food chain-fast food…get it?), crocodile, hippo, and bull elephants. We got a little too up close and personal with some elephants in a hurry to get to the watering hole (akin to Baptists trying to get to the restaurant after church on Sunday ), but we stayed clear and kept our eye on him after he stopped to watch us and decide whether he wanted to charge us, or not. He decided on not! It was wonderful to see God’s creation and His handiwork.
Zebra resting in the shade Elephants & wilderbeast Bull elephant on our road Elephant side view
Pray for Botswana. It is a country that has worn out missionaries and discouraged them since 1817 when the first missionary arrived from the London Missionary Society. The IMB has only 6 or 7 missionaries in the whole country. Their work is cut out for them. These men and women are no different from us. They are no super human dynamo. They are common people doing the uncommon. They get discouraged, wish they had central a/c, have problems with their kids, argue with their spouse, and look to retirement just like we do. Is God tapping you on the shoulder to go with us next year? Is God tapping you on the shoulder to pray for our missionaries?