Growing up in my church back in the States, every year around November-ish we would participate in Operation Christmas Child (a ministry of the organization Samaritan's Purse). We would pack up this little red & green shoe box with toys and goodies for kids around the world. Then we would drop it off back at church and usually never hear about it again. But now I've finally gotten to see what happens to those boxes on the other end!
One of our SIM team members is a local coordinator for distributing these boxes through schools and churches around her community. The first stage is gathering principals and pastors to explain the program. Then those key leaders will send their religious education teachers or Sunday school teachers to a training. For two Saturdays they spend about 5-6 hours learning how to use the OCC curriculum for a 12-week course teaching the children about the gospel. Then somewhere in Feb/Mar, eleven shipping containers of about 7,200 boxes each arrive in port in Namibia to go out to each different region. When the boxes arrive, a whole team of local volunteers come together to take the boxes out to the schools and churches.
It was my joy to participate in some of those distribution events this past week. We visited two schools and one rural San community out in the bush. We started with a little assembly to reinforce the message that the real gift is Jesus, and you receive salvation like a gift, you don't work for it, or earn it. Then kids took their closed boxes back to their classrooms to open them together. Their joy was uncontainable as they shrieked and shouted, danced and smiled. I got many little-kid hugs of gratitude around my knees. One teacher said, "Some of these kids never even get a toy." One student commented, "This is the best day of my life." After this kickoff event, they will now continue with their 12-week lessons to help them discover the true gift of the good news of Jesus.
Distributing the boxes at a school
Opening their Christmas boxes
I was intrigued by one person's question that came up while discussing this program, asking if this doesn't reinforce a 'white saviorism' mentality. But the mission worker replied, "Not at all, because it's not really about the box. From beginning to end, this program is about sharing the gospel with the kids. Whether they are rich or poor, everyone needs a relationship with Jesus." So next time you are packing one of these boxes, may it be a reminder to you that Jesus alone is the Savior, and His gift of salvation is the real message. This box is an opportunity for a child somewhere in the world to receive that most beautiful gift of all!
This semester in our seminary chapel times the faculty has been preaching through the book of Ephesians. This week I had the opportunity to share from Eph 5:1-21. In that text we found a strong exhortation from Paul to live out our new identity as children of light, especially in the area of sexual purity. If you'd like to listen along, you can download the message here.
Easter weekend in Namibia is a long holiday weekend, with both Good Friday and Easter Monday as public holidays. That means it's a prime opportunity for family vacations or church conferences! Every year the Dutch Reformed Church invites members from their churches all across the Kunene region to come camp on a farm outside Opuwo for their Easter conference.
This is our most north western region, one of the most rural areas in the country, with many places only accessible with a 4x4. This is where the Himba and Zemba tribes call home. They still live in very traditional ways, including their religion of ancestor veneration. God is using local believers and mission workers to draw individuals to Himself, but this area still needs many more inroads for the gospel.
Camp kitchen
I drove with a car-full from Windhoek to Opuwo, and we arrived on Friday evening with just enough time before before the sun went down to set up our tents. It was very rustic camping, with no showers or toilets. You bathe with a bucket and a wash cloth, and do your business out in the bush wherever you can find some privacy. Fortunately, they had a kitchen team who made meals in big pots over the open fire for the whole camp.
Sessions started after dinner on Friday evening. The theme of the conference was "Jesus Prays For Us" with messages from John 17. Saturday and Sunday each included two morning sessions and one in the evening. The afternoons provided time for rest, fellowship, and some games. My favorite opportunities were connecting with pastors and ministry leaders to hear about how God is working in their communities, and also getting to know some of the youth and different issues they deal with.
Three recent graduates from our NETS Distance course were celebrated at the camp.
The girls played this sort of dodgeball type game while trying to fill a bottle with sand.
Meanwhile the guys played soccer.
The young adults hanging out under the shade of a tree.
Overall it was a nice weekend to escape the city life and fellowship together with believers in a different part of the country, celebrating the finished work of Christ.
After multiple short-term trips to Namibia, God has called me to return long-term to teach the Bible to the next generation of Namibian pastors and youth workers. Through this blog you can share in my journey and be a part of what God is doing in Namibia. Read more...
Namibia is a country of about 3 million people located along the Atlantic Ocean of south western Africa. It is ranked 5th in the world in HIV/AIDS prevalency, an epidemic that has decimated the working-age population and created a generation of orphans. While 89% of the population claim Christianity, rampant vices like immorality, abuse, and alcoholism reveal that it is religion in title only. The true gospel which frees from the bondage to sin is the only solution. Read more...
