One week before the oureach teams arrive we are hecticly rushing against time to prepair the Pham-Pham camp site for the visitors - then a white dove appears - very unusual in the Kalahari - we all find a blisfull peace and calmness. Thank you Father.
GLORY!!! The first outreach from South Africa, Namibia and Gabarone by GAINSA, Campus Crusade for Christ, Jesus Film Project and Macedonian Project to the permanent base camp of the Jesus Film Project in New Xanagas, Botswana has left the community reeling in GLORY! After a week of teaching, praying, ministering, Jesus Film showings and humanitarian work, 163 people and more accepted Jesus as their saviour. We had three showings (Xun, Tswana and English) of the Jesus Film in various squatter areas of the Village.
Initially and when this mission/dream started in August 2011 it seemed impossible to put all together in such a short time. For me personally it was a roller coaster ride and at stages I thought of cancelling or giving up. Normally after prayer and talking with Father God and leaving all the stress and worries with and for Him and in His time, things would start falling in place. The blessings and miracles are much more than we ever expected. No one can write a story / scrip as good as this one. Our Father God’s LOVE is amazing and His stories, like this one, are truly gripping. (Read about the encounter with steenbok and Blessing (the Tazz) on the blog www.paintingangles.blogspot.com)
My birthday wish/prayer of having enough food to feed the Village was granted. On Good Friday we had a fired up a and packed Easter service and then we all had lunch together. Beforehand the teams collected the Old and Disabled at home who spent the day with us. Children were playing soccer and games and some tried donkey and horse riding. The community worked so hard to prepare the Pham-Pham Camp site and Traditional Village in time to welcome the visitors. Many times the working teams had only morvite to eat for the day. I am so proud of our team who have proved and shown that work is LOVE made visible – God is LOVE!! Traditional dancers welcomed the visitors with song and dance around a fire at the Traditional Village. We thank God for receiving funds for the accommodation as this allowed us to pay the teams and buy food for the disabled, sick and old.
Visiting outreach teams also had the privilege to build the first shade net chalets for an old Bushman couple (who sleep without shelter under trees – only blankets). The house was built in record time (3 days) and the excited and happy couple cut the ribbon to enter there new home. We have been blessed with a lot of shade net to build more homes for the homeless, old and disabled.
Thank you for the visiting cooking team for all the home-made meals – the well prepared dishes of which we are not used to were excellent. Thank you for the mechanic (also on cooking team) who repaired the Glory Lorry, 4x4Toyota Hi Lux (1 million km on clock), Blessing the Tazz and the generator. New and lasting friendships were formed as God’s family praised and worshipped in the heat of the very hot Kalahari day and in the sometimes bitter cold Kalahari nights and in many languages (Eng, Afrikaans, Naro, Herero, Tswana..).
Saying our goodbyes was very emotional and many team members wanted to stay, for various reasons, mainly to assist with the growing need to spread the Gospel and to assist with humanitarian aid. However we all know that the foundation has now been set and that many old and new outreach teams will return to New Xanagas to see God @ work.
Come and experience God’s LOVE within and around you. God created us, His children, to be like Him. Like Jesus did, God wants us to pursue our God-given calling and created identity, to show the world what God’s LOVE can achieve and looks like, in flesh and blood. Creation and work is LOVE made visible – God is LOVE.
The fire in New Xanagas is raging on and needs constant feeding – come visit us join an outreach team, inform your church. Help us - Please forward this to all your contacts. We need to feed the fire!!!
For more info on outreach camps or just a holiday or experience the Kalahari San Safari in Botswana contact me on martin@art-me-africa.com Blessings.
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