I know I have expressed to you many of the struggles and challenges of life as a missionary. There are those trials in which you can overcome in an instant but then there are those seasons in which life seems to present trial after trial. All energy, strength of soul and patience lost you are forced to throw your hands up in surrender saying, “God, not I but YOU be my strength!” It is common knowledge that as humans when life seems to be spinning out of control, to grab hold of the wheel and do anything and everything we can to regain control. We know from past experience that this only causes more pain, yet we choose this route anyway. Why? Well, though I wish I could say I am exempt from this tendency, I can’t. But guess what? Is not in those moments of surrender in which we learn the most about ourselves and it becomes most obvious the section of the temple that needs repairing? I really believe that God has His specific ways in which He chooses to communicate with us. Just as each of us have a certain way in which we learn best whether it be through visual, verbal or auditory methods, God knows how best to teach us or speak to us. He knows those ways in which He can best get your attention, assure you of His presence and feel the warmth of His embrace. For me His voice is always most clear through the use of word pictures or literally showing me something on my long walks with Him. In fact there have been so many learning moments in the last month that I can even begin to share all of them with you though I wish that I could. But, I would like to share with you the most impactful God moment that will certainly be definitive of this month. (Continue reading at the conclusion of this newsletter if you wish to read the details of one of my most impactful God moments, in which I hope we can all learn from)
Curriculum
This month I began the task of developing more curriculums for the Leadership Summit Department. I am particularly thrilled this time around because I am not alone in this huge and exciting endeavor. I am partnering with Maureen, a friend of Thrive from a close ministry partner of ours, called Love Botswana. She came to assist in the Leadership Summit Department, particularly in the area of curriculum development. I have been so blessed to have her as a partner as we are currently working on two curriculums-substance abuse and teen pregnancy. She has proven to be a real asset, seeing that I can do the aspects of curriculum writing that I enjoy and she can do the rest, which she happens to enjoy most! Working together we are going to be able to accomplish so much more in a shorter amount of time than I ever could have done on my own!
Asking The Target Audience
In hopes of creating curriculum that is culturally relevant and written to meet the needs of our target audience, grade 7, 8, and 9 students, Maureen and I took sometime asking them questions. We asked them various questions that would allow us to gauge their current knowledge about particular topics relating to substance abuse and teen pregnancy as well as issues that they would like to be addressed or that they would like to know more about. In the process of doing this we walked away from one group of students whom we interviewed totally overwhelmed, surprised, stunned and even feeling a little helpless. To set the scene, I must tell you that it is contrary to Basotho culture to just speak up and speak your mind. So, asking these students questions was like pulling teeth.
But in one group this was not the case at least not for the majority of the people in the group of 5 students in which over half were boys. One of the issues I had addressed concerning teen pregnancy was abortion. I asked several question, but could see that one of the girls had something really pressing on her heart. She was outwardly answering my questions with little hesitation, yet simultaneously seemed to be trying so hard to make us believe that it was not herself that she was talking about when giving her perspective on the issue. Eventually she found herself unable to get around it and laid herself bare before us, which was not nearly as shocking as the fact that she chose to lay herself bare before her fellow classmates as well. 
Last year, this 17 year old girl was raped by her uncle, who lives with her family. She got pregnant and didn’t know what to do. Generally speaking it is not culturally accepted for a teen girl to get pregnant. She runs the risk of being disowned from her family, and the chances of her being able to provide for the needs of her baby or pretty slim, especially without the support of her family. Though abortion is generally unacceptable in the Basotho culture, girls in South Africa can walk into a hospital and receive the operation free of charge and without the parents ever knowing. So abortion clearly was an option considered by this young girl. However, she chose to tell her parents of her situation and how it happened. She then went further to tell them that she had already chosen to give birth to her baby. This young girl’s family though not entirely supportive, did not disown her. She gave birth to the baby and she said that her mom and relatives were actually excited once the baby was born. Unfortunately, the baby died after only 4 days. While this was a very painful experience for someone so young to have to endure, she is better because of it. I can already see it. She did not go school during her pregnancy, but is back in school and so focused on her studies and even the boys were attesting to how much change they have seen in her since her return. Plus, she has a story to tell! She even has huge ambitions! She would like to be a doctor someday! Missionary’s Message Continued: God Moment
One of these aha moments for me happened to be as I was on one of my long walks. As I was walking I was just praying asking God for wisdom, strength and faith that would help me make through the latest trials. No sooner did I get what few words that I had out, did God seem to say so clearly, “Look my child! Don’t you see that even now as you are walking you are walking with your head hanging so low. You are so focused on that which is right beneath your feet, so as to prevent yourself from stumbling, that you aren’t seeing the bigger rocks. It is those bigger rocks that lie just ahead of you that are really causing you to stumble. Those bigger rocks are ME! Hold your head high! Look ahead and you won’t miss Me!” He then made it very clear to me that I was not to stop walking until I could walk, head held high, never looking down to see what was beneath my feet for a second! So, as I continued on my walk with the Lord that day, which yes, was very long, since I couldn’t manage to break my habit of walking with my head hanging low, He continued to teach me. You see I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the little things that we do to live the Christian life or the circumstances right beneath our feet that we lose sight of what life is really about. It is not the daily quiet times, the length of time we pray, the number of times we go to church, or even the hours that we spend simply living out our life’s calling day in and day out that really matter to God. Yes they are very important to the Christian life and they certainly can draw us nearer to the heart of God. But I think that we get so caught up in these little things, the things right beneath our feet that we are so focused on thinking that by doing so we will keep ourselves from stumbling that cause us to fail to see that which lies ahead. We are ultimately stumbling on what is ahead not what is in the present. In the process we miss out on God trying to get our attention to lead us to something or simply reminding us that life is not about the rocks right beneath our feet!
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