Father's Heart

When we left for Africa we heard God telling us that we needed to focus on developing relationships. In the 18 months that we have served in Africa we have done just that. It is in building those relationships that we have met some wonderful people.

We have been in the States now since the 2nd of November and have been sharing in churches and with friends what God has been doing through us in Africa. On the 29th of November we had the privilege to share with our home church – Lifebridge Church in San Diego, where we were asked to give the message at all three services.

The message we shared with our church family was the same message we have been sharing with the young people in Africa. God wants to have an intimate, personal relationship with them. In fact 1 John 3:1 tells us, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!” We shared that this has not been easy because most of the young men and women we are working with have no idea what a loving father is. For the majority of them, their earthly father has either abandoned them, abuses them, and/or is drunk most of the time. The words “love” and “Father” just don’t fit together for them.

These young people have been so wounded that we have had to earn their trust and only then are we able to share with them what love is supposed to be. It has been amazing to see these kids finally get it - that God wants to be their Father and He wants to have a loving relationship with them. Through our relationship with them they are beginning to understand what real love is. And as they watch us caring for one another they see what a loving husband and wife looks like. This simple but powerful message, both spoken and acted out, allows them to realize that it does not matter what they have been through or what they will go through but that God will always love them unconditionally.

During one of the services I shared about the youth camp we held. On the final night of the youth camp we gave the kids the opportunity to receive a fathers blessing. There in the front of the small chapel, we wrapped our arms around them one by one, prayed over them and loved on them – crying with them and speaking encouragement into their hearts. The students left that camp empowered by the love of the Father, with healing for their wounded hearts, and hope for their future. After I shared this story with our church I challenged the fathers to give their children a fathers blessing. Young people everywhere, regardless of their address or color of skin need to hear encouragement from their father. They need to hear that they are loved and valuable, that someone believes in them.

Just the other day, we heard the report that one father went home after church and bought his family together and gave his entire family a fathers blessing. We pray more fathers take this message to heart and act upon it.

It is amazing to be a part of what our Father is doing and we are even more convinced that the message He has given us to share is not just for Africa but it is for all of us. We are grateful to be able to share His love with so many from different cultural backgrounds, different languages, and people groups. We know that the message of God’s love is universal, and pray that each of you reading this will open your heart and allow Him to lavish His love on you!

International Travel

Another new experience for us - traveling through Europe. Ok.... train schedules are different than airplane schedules, and bus and tram schedules are a little different from each of those. Plus, we can't speak or read either Dutch or German. Help! Lucky for us there are nice people everywhere and we have received compassion wherever we go. First we took a few days and toured in Holland, being hosted by the most gracious and generous folks in the world. Next we traveled to Germany and met friends of our oldest son, Nathan. What can I say? They are gracious and generous too and went above and beyond to make us feel welcome and comfortable. God has truly blessed us and we have enjoyed the country and people we have met in Europe. A great "first trip to Europe" experience with many happy memories. Thank you Gerard, Annelies, Conrad, Kris & Bianca! We will share some pictures, but it is so true - pictures don't do it justice.... you gotta go!

News and Notes

I can't believe that it's been over a month since our last blog. My, my things get so busy around here, I've lost track of time! Busy doing what? You might be asking. Well, let me give the brief version.

The middle of September we took our youth drama team with us for a youth outreach in the town of Gobabis. We were so proud of our team. They not only sang, danced and performed dramas, but they mingled with the young people, helped set up and tear down equipment and kept a servant's attitude the entire time. Several of them shared some of their own story with the group which brought tears to my eyes. The Lord reminded me that HE is busy doing His work in the lives of these young people, even when I don't hear about it or see it with my eyes. Just sometimes He lets us hear and see and I can't tell you the joy that filled my heart. Thank you Lord. You are good!

Next event was another Choose to Wait training. We started on a Saturday, continued Sunday evening and all day on Monday and Tuesday. Whew! Most of the attendees were either Christ's Hope staff or volunteers in our children's homes. It's always encouraging for me to hear the comments after these trainings. This one from one of the Children's home Auntie: "I wish I would have heard this message years ago... before I made some very poor choices. I want to teach my own children this message."

We were busy the last few weeks completing the curriculum for clubs and classes and having the usual end of the year parties. School year ends in November here, by the way. Then, we ended with a "Parent's Night." We invited parents, teachers, school staff, and the students to come together and celebrate the completion of the Choose to Wait course. We showed pictures, shared testimonies, let the drama team perform, and challenged the students to sign the purity pledge if they were prepared to make that commitment. Some signed privately, but I think about 12 made the commitment and signed. We prayed a special blessing on them and enjoyed a time of fellowship and refreshments together. Two school's principals attended and expressed their appreciation for the work we are doing and wanted more information. More awareness and more exposure - that's what we like to see!

Now we are saying goodbye as we travel home. It's always difficult to say goodbye even when you know that you are returning. Three months away from those whom you are teaching and mentoring is a long time. Please pray for them as they need help to be strong in their commitment and decisions to live a life that pleases God.

Sew and Swim

This was "Spring Break" for our students. After camp we had several more days of holiday and wanted to add a little more fun. Our friend, Linda Frodesen, arrived two days after camp and we put her right to work. Friday and Saturday she conducted sewing classes for some of our camp girls. What fun! I'm not sure who had more fun - Linda or the girls. There were seven of our girls who came and the pictures tell the rest of the story. None of them had ever used a sewing machine before, but they learned quickly and soon had a finished product to take home with them. They were so proud of their little bags. The comment was repeated, "Now, we're going to town." At first I thought they really were going to town so I offered to drop them off in town. Then, they all laughed, "We don't have any money.... we just look like we're going to town." They are adorable!

Thank you Lord

Youth camp was a great success and we felt very good about the entire experience. We stepped out in faith big time asking for sponsorship for the camp. Have you ever felt so strongly that something was just right - you have to take a leap and make this happen? Well, raising thousands of dollars for youth camp sponsorship was like jumping off the cliff to us. But.... of course.... our wonderful partners listened and responded with compassion and love and many young people experienced the Father's love like never before in their lives. THANK YOU! We are still flying high.

Heart of the Father

From Thursday August 27th to Sunday August 30th we hosted a youth camp. The theme of the camp was “Hearts on Fire”. Our focus was to help the kids understand that the heart of Father God is kind and generous and compassionate toward them and they are His precious sons and daughters.
From the first day we knew that this camp was going to be special. Thursday was spent introducing them to the Father and helping them understand how He is a father to all those who choose to accept Him. Friday was spent revealing what our role is as a son or daughter of God and what the rewards are. On Saturday we spent time sharing with them how to build their relationship with the Father.
Saturday things began to really change in the hearts of the young people. That morning I shared my testimony and my rocky relationship with my earthly father. I then shared how God, my heavenly Father, healed me and my earthly father and restored our relationship. I also shared that they had to let go of all the pain, hurt, suffering, regrets, resentment and whatever else they were feeling in order to have a meaningful relationship with the Father.
During quite times and throughout the day many of these kids talked to the leaders about their relationship with their earthly fathers. These kids began to open their hearts and reveal the stuff that had been holding them back from the Father. One young man shared with me how abusive his father was and how he left home and went to live with his grandmother. His father asked him to come home but he refused because he did not want to get beaten and hurt anymore. Many years later he heard that his father had changed and began going to church but he still refused to go home. Time passed and he received news that his father had died. Now he not only had the hurt from what his father did to him but he realized that he felt terrible because he never got to ask his dad to forgive him for leaving home and for never letting his Dad back into his life.
As he shared his story with me I was just praying that God would use me to help this young man surrender the pain and the guilt to God. I spoke with him for about 40 minutes and told him I was available if he wanted to talk some more.
That night the speaker, Eric Garnie, told us he felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to offer these young men and women the opportunity to receive a fathers blessing over their lives. Eric asked if I would be willing to stand in as a father and offer a father’s blessing on anyone who wanted to receive it. I was standing up front with Eric as he explained what we were going to do. When He finished explaining he asked the kids to sit for a few minutes and when they were ready they could come forward to receive a father’s blessing.
What happened next profoundly changed my life. Of the 37 students attending the camp roughly 30 came forward. For over an hour Eric and I had the incredible privilege to give a father’s blessing to these kids. They were so hungry to hear words of affirmation and to be loved. We blessed them, prayed and cried with these kids. The presence of the Lord was so real; you couldn’t miss it. The Father poured out His love through us into each student that came forward. While the kids stood in line waiting their turn they held, cried and comforted each other.
I was so overwhelmed at the hunger these kids showed to be loved. I am still moved to tears as I write this over how God the Father touched the hearts of the students.
On Sunday we made time for the students to share what they experienced at camp and every single one of them that shared talked about how the blessing they received the night before had changed them. We saw hearts changed, healed, restored and on fire for the Lord.
I wish we could share every story but there is no way to put into words what happened. I can share that the student that I talked to Saturday morning stood up on Sunday morning and said that he forgave his father for all that he had done to him. He also said that he now knows that he will be a good husband and a father because he has his Heavenly Father to help him. He thanked me for giving him a father’s blessing.
I will never be the same again. I know God has us here for a reason and this camp was one of those reasons. Thank you to all who prayed for the camp and who sponsored kids to come to the camp.
To end with the greatest news of all - we had 12 students make a decision for Christ and many others rededicated their life to Christ. We were able to give away eight study Bibles, which were received with big smiles. A few of them have little new testaments, but now at least eight of them have the entire Bible. Halleluiah! We are flying high today!

God's beautiful creatures that we were able to see up close and in their natural habitat. So awesome!

Our Namibian Family

Everywhere we go we meet brothers and sisters in Christ - those who are members of God's beautiful family. Namibia has given us more than ministry opportunity, we are amazed to discover that God has placed certain people in our path to work with, disciple and also to relax and have fun with. This week we took a day off to "play" with our Namibian boys - Clinton and Simon - and Annelies our Dutch adopted daughter. We went into town and did some shopping and then on the way home stopped at a local game park and took a tour. The boys had never seen anything like that before - Rhinos up close and personal! We tried to capture their expressions on camera - but it really doesn't do it justice. We had a blast! Oh by the way, this picture with Clinton and the Hyhena... it's not real. It was just part of the atmosphere in the restaurant. But we saw many real, live animals on the game drive. I'll post some of those pictures as well.

Youth outreach in Arandis

It’s a very quaint town just east of the popular resort town of Swakopmund, which sits on the beautiful coast of Namibia. When we arrived we were greeted by Pastor Titus and several young men who helped us unpack our car. My colleague, Annelies and myself brought Choose to Wait books, handouts for the sessions, our laptops, a projector and various other items used in this kind of ourtreach.

My personal favorite attendee was a 71 year old “Ooma” (grandmother) who attended with her great-granddaughter. She was nodding, and participating the entire time and even added scripture and biblical principles to compliment what we were saying. SHE encouraged ME! Her last comment to me was, “We need to bring this message to every young person and every home, even mothers and grandmothers need to hear this.” Of course, I gave her my blessing to share what she learned with other women and girls, and I do believe that she will. As we said our goodbyes, we were asked when we could return. This is such a common response to these outreaches. I cannot give a certain answer, of course. My only response must be, “We will see. Perhaps the Lord will make a way for us to come again.”

Are they listening?

Let's see. I've been teaching now for how long? Over 25 years. Yeah, that's about right. Sometimes we teachers wonder, "Are they listening to anything I'm saying?" We give a test and discover that those we thought were not listening give all the correct answers. Funny. When you're teaching biblical principles of love, marriage and relationships there's a strong motivation to get your point across. God has given us principles to live by in His word. So, we use dramas, illustrations, stories, testimonials, and all kinds of creative means to bring the truth home. All the while praying and hoping that it's getting through to the heart of the student. Only time will tell if they really hear and if they decide it's important enough to apply to their life. Here are a few boys from one of our classes. Typical teenagers by all appearance, really, but brought up where human value is NOT equal. Women are not treated with equality and neither are those from a lower class. Even within the church walls, there is still far too much predjudice. But God. Yes, thank God, for we know that God is not asleep or on vacation - He is very much at work here on planet earth. We are beginning to see and hear changes in the people of God. We pray for more eye-opening and ear-opening to the truth. We are all equal in God's eyes - male and female, light-skin, dark-skin, blue-skin, green-skin. He loves all His children and doesn't want any of them to perish.

In The Blink of an Eye

On July 16th I was on my way back from a town in Southern Namibia called Keetmanshoop. I had delivered some building materials for a construction team that was scheduled to arrive on the 17th. The town of Keetmanshoop is 580 kilometers (360 miles) from the town of Okahandja where we are living.
The vehicle I was driving is a Hyundai Bakkie. It is old and ready to be decommissioned but it is the only work truck we have that could haul all the material that was needed for the team that was coming.
On the way back the bakkie started to overheat. I had to stop every 80-90 kilometers to allow it to cool off. I waited about 30 minutes before I could add water to the radiator and then get back on the road.
I was about 300 kilometers out of Keetmanshoop and the bakkie began overheating again so I saw an area up ahead where I could pull off and wait for the engine to cool. I put on my turn signal and began to break and pull off the road. I do not know what happened but the brake pedal went all the way to the floor and the truck did not stop. I began pumping the breaks and then I was going into a slide. I was driving at 80 kilometers and hour (50 miles per hour) and I was sliding sideways down the two lane highway. As I was fighting to keep the bakkie from flipping and trying to straighten out the vehicle a car was coming up behind me. Because I had signaled to turn off the road the car had begun to accelerate to pass me. Well he and I got quite a surprise.
I was sliding sideways and he was coming right at me going over 120 kilometers and hour (75 miles per hour). I was about to block both lanes of traffic but somehow the other car passed by me with just inches to spare. I finally came to a stop and caught my breath and then slowly drove the bakkie off the road.
I realized that in a matter of a few seconds I almost died. Had the other car not reacted so quickly I would have been hit on the driver’s side of the vehicle. What I also realize is that God was with me the whole time. At no time was I afraid. It was not until the next day that I realized how close to death I had actually come.
I had my cell phone and I was able to call for help. I waited 3 ½ hours but during that time I prayed and thanked God for being with me. As the sun set and the night took over I saw the stars so clearly and again felt His presence with me.
I am reminded that time is not in my hands and I do not know when my time will be up. I have to live each day as though it is my last and make every effort to live for Him each day. I know that I was spared because He is not done with me and because so many of you are praying for us. Thank you for praying and please do not stop.

Family devos

Is it just us or does everyone battle with guarding family devotion time? Since Simon and Clinton live with us on weekends we started a Bible study together. Both of these boys are leadership material and we are discipling them so they will be equipped to disciple others. We realize there's nothing new here - it's what Jesus exampled to us. We have a book that we are working through and we're currently on lesson #4. Sometimes we get busy playing games and forget about devos. Sometimes we're watching a movie and forget. But, we are committed to making this a priority!

Well, on Sunday morning at church we met a young man (Brad)who is a new Christian and hasn't been discipled yet. We invited him to join us for our family devo time that afternoon. Surprise! He came. We were working on the end of lesson #3 when he arrived and just continued. But... after we were done, Tony and I went on to other things and our boys (Simon and Clinton) took Brad aside and worked through the first 3 lessons with him! Isn't it great when you can see fruit of your labor? Of course - YES!

Brad is invited to join us every week. Clinton and Simon are growing in their personal journey of faith and also in their leadership skills. We are motivated more than ever to continue this work of discipleship. God is so good!

Fundraiser Success

The day started with the sun shining bright and a crisp chill in the air. We set up tables and the Braai outside of the International Office where there is lots of foot traffic. The students helped us braai the sausage, bake and sell the cakes, and bargain on prices for the used clothes. They carried large handmade signs advertising "Braai and Bake Sale - Youth Camp Fundraiser" on the street corners. By the end of the busy morning we were celebrating that the cakes were sold out and the sausage was gone! This is the first fundraiser to help support our students for youth camp the end of August. Please pray with us that other fundraisers will be as successful and then the students will also take up the responsibility to raise personal support so that this camp will become a reality.

Personal sporsorship from the partners is appreciated too. Just donate through our Christ's Hope USA office, and specify for August Youth Camp, Namibia Choose to Wait. www.christshopeusa.org

Seven said YES

For me the most thrilling moments are those that have eternal impact. That is the case when someone says "yes" to Jesus. Last Saturday, Auino (a staff member of YWAM - Youth With a Mission) shared his story with our students and challenged them to live a life sold out - totally committed to God. One by one, seven students raised their hands to accept this challenge and make that commitment. It was powerful! After the session, I gave each of them a Bible, instructed them to read the book of John and handed them a small booklet that helps them understand what it means to have a personal relationship with God. I pray that they will attend our club meetings and become strong in their faith journey. Please continue to pray with us and for us.