The entire month of May is a holiday here, so we tried to maximize our time by scheduling a youth camp and two Choose to Wait trainings. All three were very successful.
We had about 25 students in youth camp for three days. Considering many students were with family – out of town – we feel that was a good turn out. The important thing is that those 25 made comments to the effectiveness of the ministry during camp, and for that we are grateful. We spent time singing, dancing, doing artwork, playing games, listening to a special speaker (one was Tony Duran), and praying for the personal needs of the students. It was very eye-opening and impactful for all of us. We gave away 5 Bibles, and two young girls gave their hearts to Christ on the last night.
One young man shared a little of his story with me during the small group prayer time. His parents are Angolan. They came to Namibia during war time, and he was born in Namibia. They returned to Angola soon after, but left him here with friends of the family. Now, at the age of 17, the only contact this young man has had with his parents was fairly recent when he spoke to his father by phone. As of now, he still hasn’t seen his mother or heard her voice. He’s trying to remain strong and courageous, but you can see in his eyes that not knowing his parents and being raised here away from family has been difficult for him to process.
We will continue the outreach to youth during the school year with Choose to Wait Clubs on Wednesday and Friday afternoons, as well as hold special youth events on Saturdays, once a month. One of our goals is to groom several of the older youth to become leaders, which means more discipleship and more growth and expansion of ministry. So far there are 5 young people who are committed to being trained for peer leadership. Isn’t that a great start? Please keep them in your prayers.
The Choose to Wait trainings went very well. All together we hosted 24 attendees, some of which were familiar with the Choose to Wait curriculum and all of which were excited about the possibilities of using this program in their schools, churches and small groups. We had attendees from various parts of Namibia, but also from the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. At first I was a little disappointed that we didn’t have more Namibians to train, but then I realized that this meant the message of the gospel and sexual purity would be taken into all these “home” countries eventually – and that made me smile. This is God’s work, not mine, and He will accomplish His purposes as we submit to Him and report for duty. See? We are never too old to keep learning. Every day I’m reminded that He is God, and I am not. He doesn’t need me – but I certainly NEED Him. Here is one comment from the “Workshop” training that brought tears to my eyes. The words are good, but I wish I could adequately convey the emotion with which she delivered them. It was so moving, really.
“Thank you very much Catherine. It was fascinating. I came as a poor mother into this workshop, but really walk out as a rich empowered mother and Christian. I hope and wish we can have more teachers for all the 13 regions in Namibia.”
She is a mother of one of our Choose to Wait club members. After each club meeting Connie goes home and shares what she learned with her mother and her mother became so intrigued with what she was hearing, she asked to meet me. I invited her to a workshop and the rest is history. Now you know what makes my job so rewarding and motivating!
I’m so thankful for your prayers of support and for the many attendees who are now using this message to reach others. We’ll keep you posted.
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