Tonya and I are working every Monday at the Tlamelo Feeding Station in Old Naledi. Our main purpose is to teach a lesson to the children and connect with the ladies who cook and prepare the food for the children. Tonya brings baked goodies for the ladies along with her beautiful smile and listening ear. They love her banana muffins and that someone would take time to provide something for them. They are helping us with our Setswana language also. They spend most of the time laughing at my southern spin on Botswana words. There are words that sound exactly alike to my English mind but have one letter sound a Botswana native picks up that I cannot pronounce. Ke tlhotse sentle, means “I spent my day well.” If you miss the “tlho” sound and say “tho”, it means, “I spent my day afraid”. Speaking the language keeps the laughter at my expense most of the time.
The children help me with basic words and love to help me say the words correctly. They correct me as if I am a student in their classroom. Botswana children are remarkable and learning through repetition is their main method of learning. Due to lack of supplies, they learn from reading off a board or repeating what the teacher says to them. The concern I have is how much they learn. The reward is how well you can repeat back what has been taught, not how well you comprehend. So my Botswana lesson with them has taken an interesting twist this time.
My lessons have been about the creation and leading to Psalm 139:14. When I asked the children to look around at one another and say, “you are wonderful” to everyone you see. They laughed and chuckled until I asked them to say, “I am wonderful.” The smiles went away and confusion took over. This was hard for them to the point they could not do it. It was no longer just repeating my words and having fun, it was foreign to them. They never thought of themselves as wonderful or wonderfully made by an awesome creator. We spent the next hour telling one another they were wonderful and sharing how wonderful we all were to God.
When we came back this week, I was astonished when the children ran to me yelling, “I am wonderful”. They began to show me things they can do and things about themselves that makes them wonderful. The joy on their faces and expressions of excitement told me they get it. Today, I talked with them that they are special in the eyes of God because the hands of God formed them. Instead of confusion, they rejoiced in the new word and were quick to tell others how special they are to God. They began to show their gifts and talents; jumping, running, singing, hair, face, hands, short, tall. “Look at me Mr. Scott, I am special!” Knowing enough Setswana words for body parts to get the children share how unique they are to one another was fun for me as well. 74 children understanding truth about themselves was fantastic. I pray as adults we can always remember how wonderfully made and special we are to God and encourage our children their uniqueness is what makes them so special to God.
Pray request for our upcoming training sessions with two organizations that train and equip leaders in Botswana called, Joining Hands and Love Botswana. We love how God puts people before us to train and equip leaders to reach Botswana. Also, pray for our move to a new house this weekend. Pray the transition will be good for the boys. I hate we have moved around so much this past year.
Thank you for the prayers and support. We have been here 6 months already and could not have made this journey without all of you.
Scott and Tonya
Monday, February 14, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
The Battlefield
“I may never march in the infantry, ride in the Calvary, shoot the artillery. I may never fly o’er the enemy but I’m in the Lord’s Army! Yes Sir!”
Last week during some personal struggles over finding a new home a dear prayer warrior of ours reminded me to make sure we put on the full amour of God everyday because we are on the frontlines of a spiritual battlefield. I was grateful for the reminder and totally agreed. During this week the LORD gave me more insight into that battlefield. I am no military expert but I began to think about the battlefield on which a war is fought. God revealed to me that yes we are part of the battle but our calling is like more support troops instead of the ones on the frontline or in the trenches. You see Scott and I have been called to Botswana to train and equip leaders to do Children’s Ministry. In church on Sunday pastor Norman talked about the Pastor’s conference that Open Baptist Church sponsors every year. He referred to the pastors that come from all over this country and even neighboring countries, as being the one’s that are in the trenches on a daily basis. He spoke of them serving small congregations of people where not one of the members have jobs or any source of income. These pastors serve where they have absolutely no financial means to minister to the people who are suffering. They face malnutrition and HIV/Aids among many other things but they faithfully serve the people of their villages, teach and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I sat there in tears as he shared of pastors that had travelled over 28 hours to be a part of this conference. He shared of them giving the pastors a few pieces of candy in their packets of information and how one pastor said that he was taking his home to his own kids because they hadn’t had any “sweets” in years. I felt the spirit whisper to me that this was why I was sent. Not to be on the frontlines of the battlefield but to be the support troops. The ones that offer encouragement, the ones that help train them for battle, the ones that remind them that they are not alone and the ones that can offer supplies that may be needed in the battle.
On Friday Scott and I led training for the leaders of Flying Mission. I was once again reminded of the battlefield concept. The ten leaders we worked with all lead different ministries. Some lead young adults to be peer educators that go into schools and teach children about the Character traits of Jesus and how they can make life changing decisions including asking Jesus to be their Lord. Some of the leaders work daily in home health care as they visit the homes of the sick and hurting. Some of the leaders oversee volunteers that run feeding stations and teach lessons to Orphaned and Vulnerable Children. Once again I was able to see the role we were called to play. There is no physical way Scott and I could be a part of all of these ministries that encompass the entire country but by equipping the Leaders that will in turn equip their leaders we are part of the big battle.
The more I have pondered the battlefield I am reminded that we are all part of the fight. The Battle for souls rages and is fierce. Botswana is oppressed by the enemy as are many, many places in this world. This country is deeply entrenched in ancestral worship and false gods. I am reminded that although our troops (the Shipes family) are located on the battlefield for support, equipping and training, we are all called to be part of the “Army”. You dear friends and family are the support for all of us through your prayers and financial giving. You are a vital part of God’s Army and what He is doing here.
God’s Word tells us in 2Chro10 – “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
And in Eph 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Please continue in praying and being Mighty Warriors in this Battle to save souls in Botswana for eternity. We love you all. ~Tonya
Last week during some personal struggles over finding a new home a dear prayer warrior of ours reminded me to make sure we put on the full amour of God everyday because we are on the frontlines of a spiritual battlefield. I was grateful for the reminder and totally agreed. During this week the LORD gave me more insight into that battlefield. I am no military expert but I began to think about the battlefield on which a war is fought. God revealed to me that yes we are part of the battle but our calling is like more support troops instead of the ones on the frontline or in the trenches. You see Scott and I have been called to Botswana to train and equip leaders to do Children’s Ministry. In church on Sunday pastor Norman talked about the Pastor’s conference that Open Baptist Church sponsors every year. He referred to the pastors that come from all over this country and even neighboring countries, as being the one’s that are in the trenches on a daily basis. He spoke of them serving small congregations of people where not one of the members have jobs or any source of income. These pastors serve where they have absolutely no financial means to minister to the people who are suffering. They face malnutrition and HIV/Aids among many other things but they faithfully serve the people of their villages, teach and preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. I sat there in tears as he shared of pastors that had travelled over 28 hours to be a part of this conference. He shared of them giving the pastors a few pieces of candy in their packets of information and how one pastor said that he was taking his home to his own kids because they hadn’t had any “sweets” in years. I felt the spirit whisper to me that this was why I was sent. Not to be on the frontlines of the battlefield but to be the support troops. The ones that offer encouragement, the ones that help train them for battle, the ones that remind them that they are not alone and the ones that can offer supplies that may be needed in the battle.
On Friday Scott and I led training for the leaders of Flying Mission. I was once again reminded of the battlefield concept. The ten leaders we worked with all lead different ministries. Some lead young adults to be peer educators that go into schools and teach children about the Character traits of Jesus and how they can make life changing decisions including asking Jesus to be their Lord. Some of the leaders work daily in home health care as they visit the homes of the sick and hurting. Some of the leaders oversee volunteers that run feeding stations and teach lessons to Orphaned and Vulnerable Children. Once again I was able to see the role we were called to play. There is no physical way Scott and I could be a part of all of these ministries that encompass the entire country but by equipping the Leaders that will in turn equip their leaders we are part of the big battle.
The more I have pondered the battlefield I am reminded that we are all part of the fight. The Battle for souls rages and is fierce. Botswana is oppressed by the enemy as are many, many places in this world. This country is deeply entrenched in ancestral worship and false gods. I am reminded that although our troops (the Shipes family) are located on the battlefield for support, equipping and training, we are all called to be part of the “Army”. You dear friends and family are the support for all of us through your prayers and financial giving. You are a vital part of God’s Army and what He is doing here.
God’s Word tells us in 2Chro10 – “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
And in Eph 6:12 “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”
Please continue in praying and being Mighty Warriors in this Battle to save souls in Botswana for eternity. We love you all. ~Tonya
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