A Good Start in Katima Mulilo!

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It’s always exciting to get started with our first training on any trip, and this trip has been no exception. Pastors Jack and Kaleny welcomed us warmly as they always do, and our class of Namibians and Khwe students went really well. We were also thrilled to hear that Jack and Kaleny’s church, Jesus Kingdom Ministries, has planted a new branch in a nearby village, spearheaded by one of their members, Rosa, who moved there. We love to see the Kingdom multiply like this, and it’s always heartening when our students are involved!

This past week, Doug and Abby taught “Understanding the Bible” and “Foundations for Pastoral Care,” respectively. Our discussions were deep and rich, including an important discussion about the difference between cultural norms and biblical norms, between cultural “sins” and moral “sin,” and the danger of misreading the Bible by ignoring these distinctions.

Little by little, we think that we are making progress with our Khwe students, Pastor Wilson, Jackson, Meresi, and Jenny. The latter two are new young women students with strong English and a great senses of humor. We had previously taught Pastor Wilson and Jackson and it was good to see them again.

One thing has become very clear, and that is is that the Christianity of the Khwe is rudimentary, at best. Although evangelized and converted, they have not, apparently, been effectively discipled over the years. It is our hope to effectively change that to the extent that we can, and their openness and teachable attitude gives us hope for the future. It’s been really great getting to know them.

On Friday, we drove out to the Chetto Primary School and visited once again with Principal Matthew and Life Skills teacher Betty, along with Social Sciences teacher David, and Entrepreneurship teacher Katarina. But, that’s a story for the next blog! We look forward to building our relationship with them so that we can encourage and add value to the teachers and staff who work there daily with the Khwe children. As we’ve told you before, the Khwe culture appears to be in crisis with drunkenness, prostitution, child abuse, early marriage, and out of wedlock pregnancies all very common.

As always, we covet your prayers and are deeply grateful for your support and encouragement. And, remember, where we go you go!

We saw this giraffe and several others on our way to Namibia. Check out the tongue!

This adorable zebra colt hid in the shadows behind the adults!

Hello!

we love teaching small groups so that we can get to know each of our students and they can get to know us.

Our class is wearing awesome aprons that enable the wearer to share the Gospel easily using the colors of the pockets. The women of Bethlehem PRESBYTERIAN church in monroe, nc generously made and donated them. From L to R: Percy, Arena, Jenny, Abby, Meresi, elias, jackson, kaleny, wilson, and jack…Not pictured: rosa and doug

On wednesday evening, we joyfully celebrated Percy muleba’s 45th birthday at the protea hotel on the banks of the zambezi river!

Ending Well & Beginning Anew!

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As we left Katima Mulilo, we were satisfied and excited. Satisfied because our three weeks in Namibia had gone so well. Excited because due to severe road conditions between Sesheke and Kazungula, Zambia we would be driving through Botswana to get to Livingstone, Zambia, including a long stretch through Chobe National Park. The prospect of seeing animals along the way would make the trip a lot of fun. And, we weren’t disappointed.

If memory serves us, we were privileged to see Cape Buffalo, Kudu, Zebra, Impala, and African Elephants as we zipped through the park. Although there was not time for photography, the joy of seeing such amazing animals made the drive a real pleasure.

Our time in Livingstone was marked by two things. First, we conducted an intense, three-day Boot Camp for members of the Biblical Worship Training Centre (BWTC) team. Abby focused on the nature of Christian discipleship in her “Receiving, Being, Becoming, and Doing” class and Doug targeted “Understanding the Bible.” Dan, Nana, Nathan, Natasha, Esau, Miriam, Cliff, and Sitwala were a delight to train. They’re all highly motivated and extremely committed to BWTC’s mission to raise, train, and equip believers to become worshippers who are transformed by the presence of God so they are prepared for church growth and mission. We are privileged to be official consultants for BWTC and to have the opportunity to build relationships with these vibrant leaders!

Second, we spent time video recording two more of our classes which will be used for BWTC’s online training which begins this fall, and will offer certificates to those who complete it. The certificates will be officially issued by BWTC in conjunction with Global Training Network (our mission agency) and the Lake Forest International School of Ministry (our church). We are pleased to be such an important part of this BWTC development.

Our final days in Livingstone were marked by debriefing and planning with Percy Muleba. We fly to Zambia and Namibia on July 31st and will return home on September 18. We’ll be training in Livingstone, Lusaka, Mumbwa, Zambia, and Katima Mulilo, Namibia. Percy and we will also be meeting with leadership of the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP), historically rooted in David Livingstone’s Free Church of Scotland, and active in Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe. They have expressed an interest in our training, particularly Abby’s chaplaincy training, and we look forward to spending a few days with them in Lundazi, Zambia, a 90 minute flight and four hour drive from Lusaka in Eastern Zambia, someplace we’ve never been.

July 31-August 2: Travel to Zambia

August 2-5: Livingstone, Zambia

August 6-13: Katima Mulilo, Chetto & People’s, Namibia - Phase 3 Training and Outreach to the Khwe

August 14-20: Livingstone & Musokotwane, Zambia - Phase 2 Trainings

August 20-24: Lundazi, Zambia - Church of Central Africa Presbyterian’s General Conference

August 25-27: Lusaka, Zambia - Phase 1 Training

August 28-September 6: Mumbwa, Zambia - Phase 2 Training

September 7-16: Livingstone, Zambia - Video Production & Strategic Planning

September 17-18: Return Home

Please continue to hold us up in prayer as we prepare for our next trip. As always, your support, prayers, and encouragement mean the world to us. And, remember, where we go you go!

Front Row: Nanah, Muyunda, mirriam,sitwala, and natasha…Back row: dan, percy, esau, cliff, and nathan

Teaching under a tree is cooler as the heat of the day intensifies.

What can i say?

Worship Warriors!

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The final weekend of our three weeks in Namibia, we were joined by Daniel Mayeya, Nathan Kondowe, Cliff Belemu, and Lusungu Katete, two Biblical Worship Training Centre (BWTC) staff and two BWTC volunteers, respectively. Dan, Nathan, and Cliff are all students of ours, as well. Their purpose was to lead what Percy calls a Worship Warrior Retreat, open to all the churches in Katima Mulilo, designed to edify, but also to whet the appetite for BWTC’s in-depth training which includes many of our classes.

The turnout was strong for a first event and included pastors, worship teams, and members from several area churches. Charity & Faith Church graciously hosted us for this marvelous weekend of training and worship. The husband and wife co-pastors, the Amisi’s, were so hospitable to us, even serving us an amazing lunch on Sunday noon! Dan taught with skill and conviction, and Nathan, Cliff and Lusungu led beautiful, heartfelt worship in preparation of and response to the training. After the final amens were said on Sunday evening and the retreat formally ended, Dan, whose mother is from the Congo, and the team led us in about fifteen minutes of joyful and exhausting Congolese celebrative dancing. It was just plain fun.

There were several takeaways from the weekend. First, it was wonderful to see our training and influence multiply through our spiritual grandchildren. Percy’s BWTC team is awesome. Second, the weekend was a strong reminder that worship is not a song designed to medicate our pain, but a lifestyle of obedience that demonstrates whom we love most, Jesus, and leads to our healing from the effects of guilt, shame, and fear in this fallen world.

Third, we were reminded that everyone worships in some way, Christian or not, because everyone builds his or her life around what or whom they love. For the Christian, of course, that means Jesus, and it moves from fearing him to intimacy with him and then to intimacy with his body, the Christian worshipping community. In other words, we are called to a worship which is a whole life-giving response to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son by the power of the Holy Spirit with other believers leading to love, righteousness, justice, mercy, and humility. And, for each of us, this worship involves my heart (what I love), my head (what I believe), and my hands (what I do).

It was Doug’s privilege to speak during the final worship session and he chose Romans 12:1-2 as his text. Here, Paul emphasizes that God’s mercy calls us to and enables our sacrificial worship, reasonable worship, and transformative worship. Doug’s special emphasis was on the renewal of the mind as a necessary foundation for biblical worship that glorifies God. As John Cotton has said, “Knowledge without zeal is not true knowledge, and zeal without knowledge is only wild-fire.” Painting with broad strokes, in the U.S., we fall prey all too often to knowledge without zeal, and in Southern Africa it’s often zeal without knowledge. Neither is an adequate expression of true Christian worship. Together, they are life-changing!

What an awesome conclusion to our three weeks in Katima Mulilo, and how exciting it is that many more doors are now open for BWTC and us to train there. We will return to Katima in August for two weeks. We can’t wait!

We’ve been home now for three weeks and have had time to reflect on our trip. We’ve also had time to thank God for you. We are so very grateful for your support, prayers, and encouragement. It is a tremendous privilege and joy for us to do what we do, both at home and in Southern Africa. Thank you!

Percy Muleba cast visiion to the attendees to kick things off!

Abby and percy with the BWTC team from L to R: Lusungu Katete, dan mayeya, nathan kondowe, and cliff belemu

Dan, the amisi’s, and percy

Lovely Grace was one of the ministers at charity & faith church.

The amisi’s treated us to an amazing lunch with chicken, beef, fish, rice, carrots, greens, and more!

Dan led us in some congolese dancing that was over the top!

Learning some cool moves from dan!