I hope you all enjoyed a lovely holiday season with your family and loved ones! This is obviously a time of year when I think about and miss my friends and family back home, but on the same note, I feel genuinely and enormously blessed, privileged and grateful for the opportunity to wake up every morning in Africa :)
The holiday season, of course, fills our schedule with a round of many exciting parties, programs and events. This time of year also signals the end of term for most schools, including our own, so it was another time of celebrating the achievements of our Preschool Academy and Bible School graduates.
Since I returned in October, I have taken a very active role as one of the youth leaders in my church. I have always loved and been drawn to youth ministry and it's been no different here. I plan and facilitate youth services/events, I write youth lessons, I teach, and I even started leading worship for our youth services! In December, we held our annual Youth Weekend services. This is a time when our youth completely facilitate our weekend church services - from leading praise and worship to preaching to ushering to running the sound table. We love our youth and it was such a blessing to see them in action! Our youth also went on their much-anticipated annual youth camp. They had a great time and I think it was our best one yet! I LOVE our youth and I see our youth ministry growing and expanding in big ways this year!
I've mentioned before how our church has been striving to grow to 1,000 people. In an effort to accommodate our continuing growth, in November, we started a second church service that meets on Saturday nights. We definitely grew in number last year, and we are still pressing on to reach our goal. We aim to have 1,000 people in our church by March 31st!
Our church building is also another tangible facet of growth within our ministry. The foundation is currently finished and we look forward to being able to meet in our very first church building before the end of 2014!
A big soon-coming change for me will be "graduating" from missionary intern to full-time missionary status. As you may remember, my first year on the field has been spent training and being mentored by the pastors who founded the ministry (Light of the World Ministries) that I'm working with and will continue to work with. When my internship ends, many changes will take place, particularly with my living situation. I will be moving from the intern dormitory I have been staying and will be looking for my own place to live. And moving into my own place will also change my transport situation, which will necessitate the purchase of my own vehicle.
In order to accommodate the expenses for my future living situation, I need to raise an additional $1000 of monthly support, as well as $5000 to be able to purchase a safe, reliable vehicle. As I enter this new season on the field, I would like to ask if you would please consider becoming a monthly donor, increasing your current monthly donation or giving a special one-time gift to help me meet these physical needs as I continue my work as a missionary in Botswana? Thank you for your consideration and for the blessing you have already been to me! Please click on the green "donate" button below if you would like to make a donation.
Wise management of my time, talents and resources.
Provision for my new living situation after my internship ends. Please pray that I find a comfortable, safe, affordable place that is near my ministry base.
Provision to purchase a safe, reliable vehicle this year.
Ministry:
Continued favor & direction for launching the youth abstinence program. As I write the curriculum for the program, I pinpoint the right topics to discuss with youth that go through the program. I make good headway in writing the curriculum in the coming month.
Our church reaches our goal of 1,000 people by the end of March. Continued favor and success as we take active steps to reach out to our community.
To be marked by excellence & faithfulness in everything that we do.
For more leaders/pastors to be raised up in our church and Bible school.
The completion of our building - continued provision to build and that we would be able to starting meeting in our new building this year!
