Photo of the Day

A cute baby Sable that we saw on our game drive at Okapuka.

Photo of the Day

Sunset over Windhoek

Ondangwa Bible Training School

To get to Ondangwa from Windhoek you head north on the B1 and go straight for about 7-8 hours. Once you get up past Etosha the road curves to the left and starts heading northwest. By this time the temperature has noticeably increased, the land is flat as far as you can see, and palm trees have replaced acacia trees along the landscape. Just as you come into the outskirts of Ondangwa, if you look off to the left you see a large A-frame building, the home of Ondangwa Bible Training School and my friends Boniface & Saara.

During Christ's Church's first trip to Namibia in 2002, Boniface & Saara joined one of our teams as part of an outreach with YFC. Shortly thereafter, they left YFC to start a Bible Training School in Ondangwa. Over the years Christ's Church has sent various teams to help minister alongside and be an encouragement to them. I first visited the school in 2008. My friends, Nate, Germaine and I were promptly drafted to teach that morning's classes. We also got a tour of their facility and got to know some of the students.

This past Monday I was up in Ondangwa again and got to spend the day with my old friends. It was so encouraging to see the growth of this ministry over the past 6 years. Boniface said he'd never heard of another Bible school started by a black Namibian man who was still in operation after more than a few years. I know this is a tribute to how God is using them in that community and blessing their faithful perseverance. Here's a few photos of some of the growth and improvements:

This is the new boy's dormitory building, much bigger and brighter
with beds and mattresses so they're not sleeping on the floor.

A new bigger house for Boniface & Saara.

An expanded garden growing spinach, eggplant and tomatoes which they
use some for eating and some for selling to help support the ministry.

Bathroom facility from 2008 (left)
New toilets with doors that close in 2014 (right)

They've started a preschool since I last visited. Once these two classrooms are
completed they will be used to expand the school to include 1st and 2nd grade.

Inside their current preschool building

Once they finish building the 1st and 2nd grade classrooms there are plans to build an extension on the A-frame school building and to expand the preschool classrooms. The Pre-Primary school not only provides an affordable kindergarten and Christian education, but also jobs for those in the ministry being trained as teachers.

The Bible Training School has 16 students this year. They come for a two-year program where they have classes in English, Bible, Theology, and practical skills. They are also involved in helping minister with local churches. Then after two years they go back to their home communities where they minister in their own churches or go plant new churches. It's so exciting to see ministries like this thriving and growing. God is moving and sending out new workers into the fields. If you'd like more information on how to help support this ministry please contact me.