Rejoicing in Heaven

 This is Francinah.  She is one of the ladies at the market here in Francistown that I meet with almost everyday for Bible studies.  We have been going through the scripture diagrams for about two weeks.  This Thursday she told me that the night before she had knelt with her family and told God she wanted to turn from her idols and have faith in Jesus Christ. She asked me to continue to pray for her, that she would not be tempted to worship idols again.  She told me her biggest idol is money. 

Yesterday we studied Colossians 1:13 &14 and at the end of the lesson I asked her what was her favorite part of the passage.  She smiled really big and said it was the part about being translated from the power of darkness into the kingdom of Jesus Christ. : )   

 Pray for Francinah as she is a new Christian in a land of spiritual wolves.  Most of the religious leaders here prey upon the people.  These ladies were astonished that I was not getting paid to teach here in Botswana.  Religious people are thought to have a lot of money because they usually do.  It come from the people. It is very sad.

 This is Maggie.  She works the same stand with Francinah and another lady named Fayina.  She has been through all the lessons with Francinah.  She told me at the last lesson that she wanted to repent but she didn't want to have faith because God had not supplied money for her children.  We talked about what faith is and that you can't "see" God's "safety net".  Please pray for her.  It is hard for me to say "just have faith" when I have a warm house and plenty of food and money to return to at the end of the day.  But I know that God loves Maggie and will always take care of her if she will believe him. 

This is part of the market I go to everyday.  Most of them sell oranges.  They have a very different supply and demand system than we Westerners, one that I'm afraid this very Western mind will never grasp. : )  This was Friday and it was so cold I was wearing two jackets, a hat and mittens. : )  Lies Your Teachers Told You About Africa, sounds like a book I should write. : )

I told these ladies that my family and friends in Alaska wouldn't believe it was cold in Africa until I had a picture of them all bundle up. It was so very windy it was genuinely cold. This is my "blackmarket" group.  They are my problem group and do not seem to take the studies seriously.  They are a lot of fun, even though they give me trouble.  Lizzy, all the way to the right is the one that ties my scarf for me. : )  I always have an interesting time with them. 

 

This is Farai.  I have been teaching her off and on for three weeks.  She drives to the South Africa border every few days for more oranges.  She has had three funerals in her family in the last two weeks.  Pray for me to be able to communicate truth to her in a way she will understand.

So, Mr. Gerth, did I make your day?   : )  I know that all of this is partial a result of your faithful prayer for us.  Thank you so much.

Just want to say hi to a few people I know are checking the blog but not commenting. : )  

Hi, Mrs. Ronnie!  Hope you're having a good summer.  I think you would like seeing all the interesting things here in Africa. 

Hi to Mike and Kassandra and Logan!! : )  Missing you guys! Mike, I'm trusting that you're keeping Jordan out of trouble. : )  Kassandra, I trust you're getting bigger and bigger right on schedule. : )

Hi, Mr. Chris, Mrs. Christy, and Sarah miss you guys and choir practices. : )

Hi to everyone at ACNM!!!!!  

Miss you guys like crazy but not really missing the crazy. : ) 

(If that doesn't make sense to you just ask Shannon or Kelli to translate: )

Hope you all are having a wonderful summer!

Ambassador

It is hard to believe, almost painfully hard, that I can lead someone to life. I can communicate with real eternal souls. I can speak words that have meanings. I can point to the object of faith. People, living souls, come and trust me as a teacher. There are two boys, Wada and Tshophang, who would trust every word I say. They have come to me almost willing to place their souls into my hands. This terrifies me, and I am quick to tell them no. My instinct is to cast their trust off of me. To throw it away as you would a hot coal. I've questioned how this could be: how I could be expected to lead eternal souls towards the object of faith, how something as broken as me--me who, apart from the blood of Christ, am the very definition of profanity--how these profane lips are entrusted with the task of leading one towards the object of faith, that is, towards salvation, truth, life, and--in a name--the person of Jesus Christ, the object of Christian faith. The weight of this reality is almost painfully hard to accept, yet it leaves my heart with a flutter of excitement. It is something that is inside me that I can't deny. Even if I tried to ignore it, which my flesh often has, I find myself compelled to share the object of my faith, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Am I faithful to share it? What a silly question. Am I faithful in anything? Am I human or am I God? No, I have always failed to share it as I should, but I always find myself driven and pushed to share it, as if an external force would not allow me to keep my mouth shut. It is something that I must share, or else I will be driven to madness. And so I welcome those who would hear. I plead with them. I direct their trust toward the mouth of God, and not my own. I pray that they would catch a glimpse of the object of faith, and when they see Him, that they would cling to Him and continue there for all eternity.