Light on the Hill Ministries Blog

Great things for 2012… January 14, 2012

It’s been a whirlwind of a trip back here to the states!  Jacob and Megan had a beautiful wedding… ushering in 2012 with a wonderful celebration and lots of anticipation for a blessed new year! We are headed down to San Antonio to attend Destiny Church’s Missions Conference January 15^th – 18^th, and then will be back in Helena for Last Chance Chapel’s Missions Summit the 22^nd-25^th. We are excited to see what God has in store for us during both of those conferences, looking forward to a time of fellowship with missionaries from around the world and with our family at Last Chance Chapel.

We will be headed back to Botswana on January 31^st, and will be ready to hit the ground running. We have missed our family there and look forward to being back in Africa!

Our friends in Botswana… December 19, 2011

We miss you all so much!!!

Friends in Botswana_0001

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Baptism on Sunday… November 22, 2011

14 people were baptized on Sunday, praise God!

Shorts, shorts & lots more shorts… October 31, 2011

Last week on a very, very hot day, we passed out new shorts to the Powerhouse kids! About a year ago we asked all of you if you would help us get new shorts for the kids. Botshabelo, one of the locations we have this program, is said to be the poorest community in Botswana. They come out to play at Powerhouse in dirty, torn, ill-fitting clothes. They run around playing soccer, football, netball and softball in bare feet on the very hot dirt. Megan and I were out with them one afternoon and looked at each other and said, we just want to take them all to Walmart for new clothes! Unfortunately shipping costs are a real issue with sending things over here, and the quality of goods available here is very poor. Steve had to make a trip to Kansas City earlier this month to visit his very ill mother, and was able to bring a huge suitcase full of Walmart clearance shorts back for the kids.

We apologize that it took so long to fulfill this task that many of you so graciously helped with – but at last it is done and we had many, many smiling faces! The pictures say it all…

The weather has been very hot here the past couple of weeks. Temperatures up into the 100s for several days with not much relief in sight. I am in America to help Megan with her wedding plans, Steve and Erik will be following when Erik is out of school the first week of December. We are finishing up writing the grant to expand the Powerhouse program, please pray with us as we submit it at the end of the week. We believe children are the key to turning the devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic around in this country. We want to reach so many more with the message of living moral lives according to the Word of God, and the opportunity to touch them with the love of Jesus!

Mavis passing out shorts...

Thanking God...

A special day for the ladies… October 24, 2011

Singing & praising the Lord...

Saturday was a wonderful day for the ladies! It was the last Ladies of Virtue and Excellence meeting of the year, and it was truly a day of blessings. We spent the whole day at the nearby Phokoje Lodge, located amidst trees and greenery, an oasis in the bush! The ladies were treated to two huge meals, an afternoon tea, awesome teachings from the Word of God, and precious times of praise and worship.

We heard testimonies from some of the women about what these meetings have meant to them over the year. Mary gives gifts at the end of each meeting, and winning one of these gifts alone has made many women feel the love of God reach out and touch them at a time when they needed it most.  It is a time when the women can just be with other women, connect with sisters, and be encouraged in the plan that God has for their lives. They have been a special blessing for me when I’ve been able to use some of the skills God has given me to pass on to them. Megan and I taught them how to bake cookies and brownies, and more recently I taught both the Selebi-Phikwe and Francistown groups how to knit basic stitches. It’s such a joy to work with these women, and it was such a joy to spend the day with them on Saturday.

At the end of the afternoon they were given a very special treat – a friend of Marys in the states sent over a whole bunch of Mary Kay cosmetics, and it was so fun to watch them open up their gifts – it was just like Christmas morning! It was truly a special day!

A feast!

Clarah!

Opening up the gifts...

Positive peer pressure… October 16, 2011

Powerhouse coaches doing a role-play from the Bible

I spent Friday at a grant proposal workshop put on by an organization called the Botswana National HIV/AIDS Prevention Support Project.
We will write a grant proposal to get funding to expand our Powerhouse Sports Program. Powerhouse is a discipleship and HIV/AIDS prevention program for youth and children. We use sports to bring the children out to play so that we can share the Gospel and teach them moral lessons from the Word of God. Currently we reach about 300 children – we want to reach 2000! We believe children are the key to turning this pandemic around, and it starts with teaching them how to rise above the activities that are spurring this disease on, and how to make good decisions for their lives.

I found out that this organization has $50 million to finance innovative HIV/AIDS related prevention programs. They have been giving money to fund different projects for the last few years – but the HIV infection rates have not gone down. The Botswana government’s goal is to have no new
infections by 2016 – a lot of government resources have been thrown at this
epidemic for several years but they don’t seem to be working. Steve is on a
committee out in the village of Tobane that was formed because the government is now looking to the churches in the country for help… and that is where help is going to come from – our Almighty God!

Pray with us as we put this proposal together. Powerhouse Sports has been so effective, even with the meager resources that we have to put towards it. Pray that we will get funding so we can reach thousands of children with the Word of God. So the children can learn that they don’t have to settle for the fear of dying at a young age like so many, in many cases their parents, have. We want them to be the cause of positive peer pressure in their schools and neighborhoods. These kids can stop this devastating disease and turn the country of Botswana toward God!

Another birthday cake! October 11, 2011

Rumbudzai's Cake!

Tongai & Rumbudzai’s son Tarisai turned 9 on Monday! If you remember, a few months back their son Tariro turned 4, and Rumbi wanted to bake him a birthday cake herself. The family had been separated for quite some time, reunited and living as gardeners and caretakers of our Children of Promise orphan project in Sefophe, and it was the first birthday they had been able to celebrate with him. Well now it is Tarisai’s birthday, and Rumbi wanted to bake him a cake too. Out in Sefophe they don’t have electricity and she does all of her cooking over an open fire. Kind of hard to bake a cake over an open fire! So Sunday after church the family came over and I helped Rumbi bake another cake.

This family has become so dear to our hearts! I can’t tell you what a joy it is to help them do something as simple as baking cakes for their children’s birthdays.  Something we take for granted, and something they are not able to do.  We had them over for a Sunday brunch and had such a wonderful time spending the afternoon baking and chatting while the boys were outside playing with Erik and Oaribile.

To come to church on Sunday mornings, they have to leave their home at five in the morning to try to catch a combi or hitch a ride for their 30 km journey into town. Public transportation is not reliable out that way, and to them a very expensive round-trip. But they rarely miss a Sunday – many times Tongai and Rumbudzai arrive separately because the ride they got first couldn’t take them all. They always arrive with big smiles on their faces grateful for the ride they got. They love the Lord, and the life they live clearly exhibits their walk with Him. I wish I could bring them all to America and introduce you to them, you would love them!

Tariro (4) & Tarisai (9) with Oarabile

Rumbudzai & Gomolemo

Showing me her knitting project... this pic's for you sister Sue!

Botswana Day! October 1, 2011

Yesterday, September 30th, was Botswana day! It is celebrated like the 4th of July holiday in America. It’s a time of excitement as the shops were packed, the ATM lines very, very long, and the buses were crowded for the last few days as people were preparing for their weekend plans.

We hosted a big party for the youth group at our house. We had about 70 kids playing volleyball, badminton, horse shoes, checkers and chess! Some were just sitting around visiting in every piece of available shade in our yard because it was a very, very hot day. We had a huge braai (barbecue) for them, with chicken and sausages and all the fixins’. It was a fun day!

A couple of times during the day we paused for some teachings – pried them all into the Bible school classroom and heard wonderful messages from Rob, Steve, Gift and Lebogang about being independent from the things of this world, and following God. As I have said many times before, these kids have a hard life – and it is such an inspiration to see the joy they have in the Lord! It was such a privilege for us to treat them to a day where we were able to serve them and let them know how special they really are!

Lots more pics:  http://picasaweb.google.com/106000992962125907720

A friendly game of chess...

Crammed in to hear a message...

Barnabus & Steve over the braai...

A feast!

One year later with Rra & Mma Obuseng… September 18, 2011

Rra & Mma Obuseng in the middle...

Steve did an awesome job preaching out in the village of Tobane today… and as I was sitting there listening to the bats squeaking in the ceiling and looking around, I couldn’t help but think about how much the congregation has grown in the past year and the strong leadership that is emerging. They are even going to have their own praise & worship team soon, their first meeting is next Saturday! Two of the first people I met out in Tobane are Rra and Mma Obuseng. I wrote about them in one of my blog posts about a year ago – Obuseng used to be the Chief of the village and very involved in witchcraft. At that meeting out at their home he gave all of his witchcraft paraphernalia to us to take home and burn. Both of them had recently given their lives to the Lord and they were suffering some persecution and threatening of curses from others in the village. The afternoon we went with Rob and Mary out to visit with them, they were seeking counsel on what they should do and wondering if the Lord was going to help them. We had a very long visit with them, assuring them that because of their strong stand for the Lord, He would bless them. They live in a very, very small house, and they were hungry. They had no food in their house to speak of, but they offered us all apples. We ended up going to the grocery store in the village and bought them food to last them a while.

Well… one year later Steve and I are dropping them off after church at their home. They live quite a walk from the community hall where we hold services so when we can, we drop them off at a path that is a short walk to their home. This time we took them all the way and in the middle of the yard is a new house under construction! I commented to Obesung that I hadn’t been all the way to their home since our visit a year ago, and he said, “God has been to visit us since the last time you came!” Mr. & Mrs. Obuseng have experienced many blessings in the past year, including several years back pay from a company he worked for years ago. This is a wonderful couple that have grown strong in the Lord, they attend Bible studies and church every week. They also hold a considerable amount of influence in the community and are letting their lights shine! Please pray with us for this village that is steeped in darkness; but when I drive out and round the corner that overlooks Tobane, I can’t help but see pockets of light shining from our brothers and sisters that are holding fast to the Lord!

more pics: http://picasaweb.google.com/106000992962125907720

Steve with Tati interpreting...

Almost everyone enjoyed Steve's message!

A meeting at the Kgotla… September 11, 2011

Tobane Kgotla - Traditional Court

Today we got a good look at African “church” culture out in the village of Tobane. Steve sits on a committee that was formed last year to bring HIV/Aids awareness to the community, and to try to make inroads to stop this pandemic in Tobane. It is a faith-based organization that is supposed to include all of the pastors of all of the churches in Tobane. The government of Botswana has found that all of their efforts, and the money they have spent to combat HIV/Aids has not worked, and they are looking to the local churches for help. The committee decided to have a village-wide church service this morning at the Kgotla – or traditional court building. There are 24 churches in Tobane, and although not all of them attended the meeting, those that did made a colorful bunch! Of those 24 churches, there are just a couple that are Bible-preaching, Jesus-following churches. The rest are cults that have maybe brought Jesus into their teachings to go a long with ancestral worship, witchcraft, and other scary stuff that we are learning about but I believe have only touched the surface of.

These cult churches place a big importance on the garments that they wear to worship. Many wear robes in different colors, hats and uniforms. We see people wearing these around town all the time, but this is the first time we’ve ever worshiped with them! I sat next to a woman for awhile that was wearing a white and green robe with a matching funky hat, and when I looked down at her feet she was wearing strings around her ankles, the witchdoctors will put them on people for protection. I think you will find the pictures of the different garments very interesting! We heard from two pastors, both from cult churches, and then our own Gordon rounded off the service with a powerful message preaching the importance of living the Word of God and following Jesus. This forum has allowed us to speak the truth to people who are deceived by traditions that have deep, deep roots in their culture.

There was one issue that everyone had in common – and that is a desire to stop the illness and death that has been going on around them for decades. The chief of the village, an elderly woman, stood up and declared that starting today, the shabeens (gathering places that sell chibuku, the locally-made beer) are to be shut down and that the police will enforce this as law. This was viewed as a monumental step in Tobane, because alcohol is viewed as the major cause of a lot that goes on leading to people contracting the HIV virus. Please pray with us for the people of Tobane. They have a long way to go, but they are making small steps for their future. Pray that our church there will have a big influence in the community, and that we see God perform mighty miracles that turn their faces toward Him.

More pictures (and pics of Tafadzwa’s 9th birthday party!):

http://picasaweb.google.com/106000992962125907720