I am very excited to finally write the most recent update on ministry here in Namibia! God has been doing incredible things and working in the hearts of the people here. It has been so exciting to watch! I have jumped feet first into ministry opportunities and have tried to take full advantage of the time I have left here. I have been helping to run the project two days a week, facilitating Home Based Care (where we go into the community), tutoring three ladies, leading two Bible studies, updating files and gathering information for the future team and also doing some mentoring. All of these opportunities have been extremely rewarding and exciting!
God is doing amazing things in both Bible studies and my tutoring sessions. I can really see growth and the work of the Holy Spirit. I am so honored to be a part of what He is doing. The dear friends that I have made here are asking great questions and really learning from God’s Word. I will share two exciting examples of this. We have been studying 1 Timothy in both Bible Studies. One of the reasons that I chose this book was Paul’s discussion of false teachers. There are a lot of lies that have crept into the church in this area. Specifically issues dealing with witch craft and sexual immorality. It is sad to see Christians believing these lies. I thought it would be great to encourage these believers to turn to Scripture to determine what God says about these topics. Well four of the teens from my Bible study, were approached by a man as they were walking home. This man told them that he was in town visiting churches and sharing a message. He shared with them that there is not going to be a judgment day and that everyone is going to Heaven, whether or not they know Jesus. He suggested that they not worry about how they live because only those who have already died will be judged. What in the world???? Anyways, the sweet teens responded by telling him that he was a false teacher and what he was doing was wrong!!! Then one teenage boy said, “I remembered what you taught us Nicole and so I asked him to show us where in the Bible it says there will be no judgment!” He couldn't and so they replied that they would not believe him. I was so encouraged by God’s protection and by what these teens had learned.
This past week I was leading a discussion about the purpose of the Bible. We talked about 2 Timothy 3:16 where we are told that “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living”. I asked if anyone had learned something from the Bible that changed their life. One teenage boy shared that he has been reading his Bible more and learning what it says about sex. Side note - we have been talking to the teens about sex in some of our lessons. We have explained that sex is good, beautiful and created by God. However, God’s design is for sex to be within the context of marriage and whenever we take something out of God’s design, it becomes sin and there will be painful consequences. Well, the teens pretty much thought we were crazy! We continued to field questions and present what the Bible says about this issue. Now, imagine my surprise when this teen shares that after studying Scripture, he has decided that as a Christian he needs to save sex for marriage. THAT IS UNHEARD OF HERE! He went on the say that he has decided not to have a girlfriend right now. He shared that he had heard people tell him to wait in the past, but it wasn’t until he understood what God says about this issue that he decided to change. Please keep him in prayer – his name is Ernest.
The last update is also pretty exciting! Towards the beginning of our time here, Tricia and I made a friend who drives a taxi. He was the first taxi driver that we met and has been extremely generous and reliable. His name is Seketa and I have really enjoyed getting to know him. I shared in the last blog that he even called to check on me when he had not heard from me in a while! The Lord has really blessed our friendship and we have had some neat conversations. Last week Seketa was driving me out to the village and had a serious look on his face. “Can I ask you a question, Nicole? It is important.” I responded, “of course”. Seketa proceeded to ask me, “How does someone become a Christian?” I was so excited and blown away that he would ask that question. We had an amazing discussion about God’s love and forgiveness through Jesus. I explained that we are separated from God because of our sin, but when we turn away from our sin and place our faith in Jesus – we are forgiven! We talked in more detail about what this means and what the Bible says. He listened very carefully and said that he would like to ask more questions in the future. I am praying for more opportunities to talk with him. Please pray that God would open his eyes to truth!
This has been exciting month!!! I can’t wait to see what God has in store for July! Thank you so much for your prayers and support!
