Evangelism in the African Bush

This week on the World Race, the Gospel Girls went on a mini-mission trip with our Love Botswana ministry host! Pastor N’Fila, the outreach pastor from Love Botswana’s Village Church, packed us nice and tightly into a van for a week long trip to the rural villages of Xakoa and Ngarange near the west border of Botswana. Our goal was to go out into the community to share the the love of Christ, preach the gospel, and pray for anyone that we came in to contact with. When we arrived in Xakoa, we set up our tents in the backyard of a local pastor that we called Pastor Zone (because apparently his real name is too hard for Americans to pronounce). Our team had no clue what we were signing up for, but all that I can say is that God had bigger plans than what we were prepared for our time in the African bush.

The Gospel Girls with Pastor N’Fila

Our living conditions: Only one person on our team had experienced the African bush before, but even she had not experienced the extent of challenges that we faced in our week in Xakoa. During our stay, we were able to experience the kind of life that most of the people we were ministering to experience for their entire lives. We bathed under the African skies using the bucket shower method, which is where you fill a bucket up with water and use a cup or a smaller bucket to dump the water on yourself as you bathe. Our meals were all made and cooked over a fire in the outdoor kitchen area next to Pastor Zone’s house. We couldn’t have anything that needed refrigeration since we didn’t have access to a refrigerator so most of our meals were made up of non-perishable canned items with rice or noodles. We did not have running water so any water we used for cooking, washing, or drinking was either purchased clean water or water we boiled for 10+ minutes. Our toilet was a hole dug very deep into the ground with a plastic toilet covering the hole inside of a concrete outhouse. And our shelter for the week was our two-person tents that we shared with two people to a tent, plus their equipment. The time spent inside any sort of building was the two or three times we had to make a pit-stop at the grocery store across the river to replenish our food supply. With temperatures getting over 100* some days our team faced the challenges of staying hydrated and healthy.

Cooking Dinner on our first night

Our ministry experience: Our first full day there, Pastor N’Fila teamed us up with our translators for the week from Pastor Zone’s church. The translators were three women named Elizabeth (Betty), Siege, and Moses who were locals that loved Jesus and loved their neighbors. They were full of excitement at the opportunity to evangelize in their communities. After a brief introduction, Pastor N’Fila dropped us off to start our day in the village Ngarange. The first thing we did was stop at the village’s preschool. All of the village kids gather at this school named Adore, which was started by an Australian missionary, either because they are thirsty for education or because their parents need them to be watched as they go work in the field. The kids are fed and poured into by a staff that is rooted in Jesus and has a desire to build them up for success. We were able to help feed the kids that morning, and attended their morning staff devotional where we shared about why we were present in their community and gave encouragement for their work.

 

(1) GG with our translators riding in the back of a truck. (2)John 3:16 painted on the side of the school.

 

Once we finished at the school, we made our way to the surrounding homes. We walked from hut to hut to see if anyone was home that we could pray with. We came across many people that needed healing and provision. Some homes talked about family issues or sins that they needed deliverance from. Overall, the people in the village were friendly and open for us to share the gospel with them and pray over their needs. We did have one really old ornery lady that kept hitting my teammate Hannah while we shared with her family, but outside of that comedic sight our time spent in the village was welcoming and inviting. 

The following days of evangelism were spent in Xakoa because Pastor N’Fila’s van broke down. We split into three teams of two to reach as many homes as we could walk to in the community. My teammate Elle and I were paired together as a trio with Moses. When we would approach someone to share the gospel with them we would first try to get to know them and their situations. We tried make it a point to listen to them speak about their story and circumstances while listen for what God wanted to say to the person specifically. At each encounter, we would share scripture that matched their situation or that God had placed on our heart to share. We would also share either an encouragement for them if they already knew Jesus, or we would share the Truth of Jesus’ love and offer of salvation if they did not know Him. The people we came across were drunkards, people with mental and physical illnesses, church elders, single parents, orphans, and people who were very poor in spirit. We prayed for many physical healing, jobs, family matters, struggles with sin, and other requests. By the end of our week, we each were blessed to witness multiple people come to Christ for the first time and lead them in their first step of starting a relationship with God. 

This is what the village homes looked like.

A confession that I need to make though, is that despite the incredible results of seeing people come to Christ, our team struggled to stay positive and joyful this week. Our living conditions and lack of comfort truly challenged us to lean on God. There came a point for me where I was sharing about God’s hope with someone, and I asked myself “Do I live this hope out myself?” As I was living in these people’s conditions for a short amount of time I was struggling to make it, because of that I can’t image their whole life of being in those conditions. The Spirit really convicted me that I was preaching how God was sufficient for them, but was He sufficient for me? This week really taught me how to lean on God in all of my needs. When heat exhaustion hit and we were loopy with little to no energy but still had people to visit I had to make the decision to rely on God’s strength and not my own. When I was hungry, covered in sweat, and frustrated I had to ask God to fill me with peace and contentment. This week was by far the hardest week on the race, but I have felt the most growth from this week. I was stretched in my discomfort and weakness to align myself with God and seek his comfort and strength. 

My encouragement to you (and to my future self) is that you truly can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (Philippians 4:13), and in any circumstance God’s grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). In being stripped of all comforts this past week, I witness God still be enough for me. Even if I have little to nothing to hold on to, if I have Christ I have everything. The message of the cross is powerful and true, and sharing that message with people around the world holds a new level of weight for me. I want to challenge you to ask yourself if God is enough for you. If you answer honestly and find that He is not, I want to further challenge you to ask God to show you that He is more than enough for you. In all things, lean into Christ.

 

Coloring pages of Jesus in the preschool.

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Thank you guys for reading my blog and following my journey! Your support and prayers are making a difference around the world. Here are some specific prayer requests that you can be praying for our squad and country this week:

• Botswana has many people open to the gospel, but they are open to more than just the gospel. Please be praying that the people in Botswana can grow to understand that Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life. No one can go to the Father except through Him. (John 14:6) Also be praying for the country to continue to grow and prosper. There is great potential for God to move and grow this country, but their poverty causes challenges.
• Team changes are coming up for  JSquad, meaning the Gospel Girls will no longer be a team. Please pray for the transition into new team assignments to be smooth and growing to our ministry work.
• With the holidays coming up, it’s hard to be away from home and families. Please be praying for our squad, as well as other World Race squads during the holiday seasons. We miss our families, but know following Jesus is more important. (Luke 9:23)