Lights in a Dark World

Our church has been doing a study through the book of Philippians. I was asked to preach the passage of Philippians 2:12-30, Paul's exhortation that the church at Philippi shine like lights in the world. You can download it here or listen below if you'd like. (Note: It cuts off a little at the beginning and the end, but most of it's here.)

Farewell Braai

As the school year is winding down the Student Council at NETS decided to host a year-end function to go out with a bang. They found us a nice lodge just outside of town that had a pool and big braai area. As with any Namibian celebration they made sure there was plenty of meat! It was a good time of celebrating their completion of another year, saying thank you to many people who have served well, and saying goodbye to our soon-to-be graduates and one staff member who is leaving.

It was also the time for our super intense annual NETS Dart Competition. Participants were ranked by throwing 12 darts. The top 4 scores went through to the semi-finals. I managed a solid 3rd place finish in the seeding round. After winning my semi-final match and the top ranked guy leaving early, it was me and the 2nd ranked player in the finals. She took a commanding lead, but with a little inconsistency she allowed my slow-and-steady pace to catch back up. It came down to the wire, but I managed an 8 point lead when all was said and done to capture my first ever Golden Dart Trophy and bragging rights for the whole next year!

Enjoying the food and the scenery

Being awarded the "Golden Dart" trophy at our final NETS Chapel.

Photo of the Day

Hanging with some friends on the sand dunes in Swakop,

dune boarding and capturing some epic dune jumping pics.

Photo of the Day

Springtime in the city

Queen Sophia Mission Trip 2015

Here's a video from last week's mission trip to Queen Sophia Resettlement Project. This is a community of about 50 families who are learning how to do cattle farming. I went with a group of 8 NETS students for 5 days to share God's love with this small, poor community.

We worked primarily with the school kids, but also had some community-wide outreach opportunities. We were given class periods during the school day to speak to the 5th, 6th, and 7th graders. We discussed abuse and what they could do if it's happening to them and also talked about living in purity and holiness. We led an after-school program with games and lessons on sexual purity. On Saturday we led a sports day for the kids in the morning and a talent show in the evening. We also showed the Jesus Film, led the Sunday service in church, visited people's homes, led group devotions, etc.

Overall it was a great time seeing the students put in to practice the things that they're learning in class, and watching them grow in their role as the Christian leaders of this nation.

Word Alive

Each year NETS hosts a conference to equip local pastors and laypeople to address a relevant topic from a Biblical perspective. This year our topic was confronting Gender-Based Violence. This is a huge issue here in Namibia. One speaker noted, is it any wonder that the only world champion sports figures we have are boxers. Each evening we had big sessions with a main speaker, then broke up for more discussion-based workshops. I co-lead a workshop on the effects of abuse on children and youth, how we can identify it, and ultimately how we can help. Once again, rather than using more words, I'll use pictures to describe the event.

One of our main speakers addresses the church's response to GBV

Our MC helps lighten the mood

Enjoying a cup of tea during break time

My co-leader in our workshop addressing effects on children and youth

Small group discussions in our workshop

Legalism, Lawlessness & the Gospel of Grace

This past weekend over a hundred young adults representing at least 6 different churches attended this first annual Young Adult conference. It was a good turnout for the first time and we hope it only gets bigger as we go. Personally, I loved seeing the expression of unity among the churches since that's such a rare thing around here.

Pastor Conrad Mbewe from Zambia came as our speaker to address the topic of Legalism, Lawlessness & the Gospel of Grace. He went through the Parable of the Prodigal Son and used the three main characters to speak to each area of that theme: the older brother was the legalist, the younger son was the lawless one, and the father taught us about the gospel of grace. After the talks we split up into small groups to discuss what we learned and how to apply it to our lives.

My role was helping lead worship which I thoroughly enjoyed. I recruited my friend Riko from my church to play guitar and sing along with me. Initially it was a challenge to come up with songs that people from multiple churches would be familiar with, but it ended up going well as there was at least something that everyone could connect with. We got lots of good feedback and look forward to putting together a full band for next year!

But as they say a picture speaks a thousand words, and you don't want to read a thousand words, so here's a few more photos for you to enjoy!

Our conference theme t-shirts

Hanging out at the conference

One of the church choirs leading us in worship

Discussion groups after the main sessions

Q&A panel with Pastor Mbewe and Pastor Spencer

With Pastor Mbewe and some of my NETS students