@ Gaborone

Its as been a while sicne we last touched based on what as been appening here in Botswana plainly because sorry to say, there  is no internet access at were we sleeping which is a seminary just north of Gaborone. Te past two days have been a glorious act and work of the Lord. We have just fell flat on our face to see how receptive students are – more so how students here see Christianity and God. The main campus at Gaborone is amazingly beautiful – the infrastructure is amazing and so are the students – there academics are on par but there is lack-off … something missing! The Gospel is missing – there is so much that the Lord has revealed on our student leaders on the trip but the is also a great revelation on how this campus really needs the true Christ of the bible. People believe that there is God…we all do – no questions asked about that! However it gets tricky when you ask them who is God – is nature, character, spirit, etc. The thing they do not grasp from the 4 days we have been on campus sharing is the point of salvation!

We just conducted a Solarium in the student meeting halls and met a guy by the name of Koane. Asking him to chose 2 pictures which would describe how his life is now he chose these.

For a second I was taken aback with what to say and how to say it to him. I just lost all words – I was confounded by how to approach this, to approach him, to approach sharing with him. For a second all had been lost of words – thinking now of the great God we serve, there has been such a releave that all works in man are by Him through His Son – all we can do is serve and proclaim what has been passed onto us as good stewards of the Gospel.

We have the last day on campus with the students as they close off for the end of the year and head off to their families – there are so many stories to share and so many experiences to relay. There is no other great power that has allowed me here and granted this opportunity. Great news – we managed to get a radio slot for this afternoon on campus with the UniBots Student Radio Station wowowowo cant wait for that.

Please be praying for our team as we continue learning more and more about who God is and His power seeing His power manifesting on campus for His Glory. For our team and the students on campus as they write their exams and encounter Him.

‘This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent us His Son an atoning  sacrifice for our sins.’

1 John 4:10

Guest Blogger - Mpumelelo Kunene

This is a blog entry just in from my MOTT, Mpumelelo 'Lelo' Kunene. He is a final year student just as I am but majored in Computer Studies. He has been over the past few years appropriately dubbed 'Radical Evangelist'. He plays the guitar, pretty awesome at it, loves ingaging in intellectual conversation and as he puts it "...with the aim of saving some." Here goes - this is the MOT from Lelo's lens:

For His Suffering - My First Missionary Journey (Botswana)

"That The Lamb of God might receive the full reward for His Suffering!" 

 The story is told of two Moravian young men who when they heard that a slave owner on a distant island had banned all missionaries from coming to his island that has three thousand slaves sold themselves to him so they can become undercover missionaries to these slaves. Not just a normal selling, they had sold themselves for life. When the ship came to take them, and as it pulled off the dock with them on board, looking at their families weeping, knowing that they'll never see them again and questioning the wisdom of it, they cried out:

" That the Lamb Of God might receive the full reward for His suffering!!"

 Those were the last words that were ever heard of from those men. This became the Moravian call for missions. God's Glory at the center. As I journey into Botswana for my first ever (well, technically not, we went to Maritzburg Campus a couple o' months ago to plant CRU) missionary escapade, I feel this burning in my heart. We will be going for ten days, first scheduled to preach at the University over there for about 5 days then the community for the remainder. The Lord has been faithful in providing for me and my teammates, we've all gotten the monies needed through Him speaking to His children for us. Honestly I must say, Kevin and Chad approached me with the Gospel in 2009 April, I never thought this is what I'll become.O, how He can change a life! To Him be the Glory for ever and ever!! We leave tonight, 10PM, from Durban to PTA, then from PTA to Botswana at 2PM on Monday (tomorrow). We come back on December fifth. Pray for us brethren, that the Lord uses these feeble bones and mouths of ours to proclaim the truth of His salvation, His mercy, to wrath deserving sinners. That He might save them, that Christ might gain for Himself a Bride that is beautiful and unstained, to the Glory of Him who is everlasting in mercy. Amen. However I have not been honest thus far in this post. You see, friend, I have a fear. A deep fear. I know that He can do whatever He wants on this trip, but it is afterward that I fear what He'll do. I fear that my time to leave my plans, school and work and ambition, might have finally come. I wonder if I am ready to be used of God in a more explicit way. This whole semester I've been feeling like a lamb being prepared for slaughter, with all this doctrinal study and the call to pray, its like I've been going through training. The essence of my fear is also a foundation for excitement: What will He do? What if He says I must stay in Botswana? What if He tells me, more vividly than ever before, to take up my cross, forget my life, and follow Him? He is a mysterious God, and in Proverbs two days ago I leaned that it is His glory to conceal a matter (Prov 25:2). Will I obey? I have no choice, I have been bought. He, only He, has the words of eternal life.

P.S. Botswana Bound RadEvang

Helping You Sing “Hallelujah” with True Exuberance

John Piper beautifully explains what Hallelujah really means. Though I has been really dragged on dirt, there is some sort me reformation when reading this article on really, the proclamations we make to God. Piper blogs: "The English word "hallelujah" is a transliteration of two Hebrew words, "hallelu" and "jah". The first word, "hallelu", is the second person imperative of "praise." The second word, "jah," is
the short form of "Jahweh" (or "Yahweh"). So when we say, "Hallelujah!" we are exhorting others (people and angels) to join us in praising Yahweh. What gives a punch to my singing, "Hallelujah," is that Jah (= Yahweh) is not a generic word for God, but the personal name of the God of Israel. To shout, "Hallelu Jah!" — "Praise Jah" — is like standing in the council of the gods and boldly saying, "Not to
you, Molech!" "Not to you, Baal!" "Not to you, Dagon!" "Not to you, Artemis!" "Not to you, Zeus!" But to Jah, and Jah alone, I give praise. And I call you to join me! Praise Jah! And not only is Jah God's personal name, but it is the one he gave himself to distinguish himself from all the gods. And it is thrilling in meaning. When Moses asked God what name he should use to identify God in Egypt, God said, "I AM who I AM. Say this to the people of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you'" (Exodus 3:14). The name Yahweh is built on the words "I AM". So God put his absolute, transcendent, self-sufficient being at the center of his identity. "All the gods of the peoples are worthless idols, but Yahweh made the heavens" (Psalm 96:5). So, the next time you sing "Hallelujah" pause for a split second between "hallelu" and "Jah" and say it like a name. We praise you . . . Jah! You are above all gods . . . Jah! Join me, all you heavenly hosts, and praise . . . Jah! He is! He simply, eternally, absolutely, independently, gloriously IS! Hallelu . . . Jah!"

desiringgod.org/blog/posts/helping-you-sing-hallelujah-with-true-exuberance

Mission Outreach Trip Team (MOTT)

Meet my team. These are the warriors which are being sent to Botswana for the (MOTT) (okay I have been blogging about it for quite some time now and if you have no clue what I am talking about, you out to subscribe to get them delivered to your inbox lol)

This is the team in the forefront but there are much much much much more other guys who are driving this boat - people who have really stayed up and planned everything to the tee, our support structure the 2011|Interns (Erica, Kate, Lauren, Anele - sadly enough they won't be going us because the three ladies are setting back to their homeland (States) after a year of service and internship with CRU|UKZN and Anele is gearing and in preparation for staff next year - awesome champion right there!). Driving this team mostly with their prayers is the leadership team from the different campuses - they have been awesome with that. Office work has been done mostly but a part-time staff member of CRU - she has been taking care of our finances and has been doing a great job at it...love it! These 12 people have a trail of supporters who have been praying and giving towards the outreach project, just to humbly acknowledge them.

With exactly 7 days before our departure, we are in awe with the provisions that have been coming in mostly me I have to say - I'm pretty sure all these guys have stories to share on how from trusting the Lord for support to having to crunch their exams so they do not get supplementaries, they have just been given the strength to surface through it all!

{click on the image to enlarge it}

Botswana caught in my peripheral

Gearing up for the Botswana  ... with it being 8 days and counting down before we head over to Gaborone for the first ever CRU|Spring Mission Trip. These past few weeks have been nothing short of a learning experience for raising a financial support team that will partner with me in sharing the Gospel over in the community of Gabs. There has been times where there was absolutely little to no faith in meeting the R3000 I would require, not adamant to asking more people, as biblical as it may be, there was just this overwhelming pride that just seemed to get into the way of things. It just disorientated my outlook on what asking people looked like, what it was about, how to do things. Getting into the mojo of this was exhilarating with support letters going out like paper was going out of fashion. 2 weeks...3 weeks...4 weeks and the Lord had not provided to half His trip. 'Ah but you said...hmmm....you said....ahhhhhh....you said...{thinking}' ye He said what Bafana. 'Well, you said you are the provider of all! Ye that's what you said. Surely, I missed something.' Yes indeed I had. I missed asking you to release your funding. I missed asking you to give my supporters your heart. I missed asking you to steer up a faithful heart that will not look out the window at the rainy hour but will embrace the blooming blossom that's to follow not only for myself, but for my team.

P|R|A|Y

I wish to extend my appreciation to all those who took what they had and really blessed me. On this day I praise the Lord for He raised up my support, both the prayer warriors who couldn't give as well as those who did! The is no measure to extend my gratitude to everyone who is continually praying for the trip both locally and abroad. Prayer is what we need the most, just for us to be filled with the Spirit as we go on the trip embracing and sharing the Gospel with no reservation in the power it has! No glory should go to me but He wish deserves it and has come to bring us to being and has gone before all Mission Trip, making way for us. 

Bafana

Old School + High School = Old High School

Last picture I am gonna take with these guys

Old School + High School = Old High School

These guys were totally awesome ...

Funny thing is I came to the party not having a uniform but looky here

Going into the new year, this will be my team and we gonna rock hard!

Believe it or not, their schools are rivals...NOT

He just turned a year older and his present was 'Best Dressed Male'

Beauty and the........lol

Mom and Cooker of the year

B's desk

Lets review these two weeks

The past two weeks have been quite a joy ride and opportunity granted, would do them over again and again and again and again ...well you get the picture. Apart from tests which have been back to back as the varsity calendar comes to an end in preparation for the exams, let me bring you up to speed on how my past weeks have been:

• Our weekly meetings on campus with CRU and our students have been nothing but greatly awesome, a platform where we have learnt, been encouraged, rebuked, revived, affirmed, disciple with nothing short of spiritual growth – we just finished off a semester long series on 2 Timothy aptly titled: ‘Last Words’ which are basically the last words of Paul to his assistant Timothy.

• With that insight, getting our 2^nd Annual End of The Year Social (sending-off party for all the interns) organised. Ah man, this has been the most gruelling event I helped in organising – there was so much hardship endured by the organising team on this project (I could just base my whole blog entry on this) ...but I won’t – the Lords provision were all sufficient. The social was a great success and big ups to the Social’s team and everyone who is not part of the organising team that help in bringing it together. The food was awesome, the programme was fantastic, I totally enjoyed myself. Though some students couldn’t make it due to other commitments, those who did come made the social what it was. In anticipation for the coming year, there is so much I feel there is to be revealed to students, to interns, and to staff and those who are to join us. On the side, the new teams on most of our campuses are in place and they are what we call ‘Jesus Freaks!’
• Attended the 24^th Annual SASM (South African Society for Microbiology) Conference with my friend Tom– this being a day before the social event! This revived both our love for research in microbiology specifically looking into using this field in impact communities in a more sustainable fashion. There was a lot learnt on our parts with the presentations strikingly intriguing – obviously UKZN Microbiology rocked the presentations taking 1^st, 2^nd, ad 3^rd position amongst competitors including DUT and MUT. We down like that. The slogan stands –

Love-peace-MICROBIOLOGY

• Straight after that was an all-night pulled with Alyssa in getting the social video done. Man, was that a long one but the finished product was top notch. The video is attached at the end of the blog entry. That same morning FYI had to go grocery shopping with Johan for the social (like I said, I could base the whole entry on the social).

Still in preparation for the Mission Outreach Trip to Botswana, Gaborone at the end of our exams – just a heads up, some students and I including some of the interns from CRU will be heading up to Botswana from the 21^st Nov for a 10-day outreach in that community. Last month was reading a small devotion from ‘The Utmost for His Highest’ by Chambers and what caught my sight was the explanation of what the purpose of missions are and basically for me, what service to the Lord is all about:

“Personal attachment and point of view is one thing that must not be overlooked. In missionary enterprise the great danger is that God’s call is effaced (removed) by the needs of the people until human sympathy absolutely overwhelms the meaning of being sent by Jesus. The needs are so enormous, the conditions so perplexing, that every power of mind falters and fails. We forget that the one great reason underneath all missionary enterprise is not first the elevation of the people, nor the education of the people, nor their needs; but first and foremost the command of Jesus Christ – “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.”

This couldn’t have come at a better time where I am learning off the character of a servant, how to serve, what the Lord desire is from me with what He has honoured as well as blessed me with both for my personal ministry (which I’m still coming to understand), my fellowship with Him and others. These coming few weeks are going to be challenging as most prayer will be directed to the following year.

B's desk