Dear Loved Ones: First, our apologies. It has been a long time since we have written, and unless you have reading our weekly e-mail updates you may not know what has been happening in our ministry.
Now, an explanation for our apology. Without a doubt, Pam and I can’t think of a busier, more stressful time in our ministry than the past several months. In July we received one of those telephone calls that only God could orchestrate.
As I answered my cell phone the voice on theother end said, “This is John Rawlings.” Dr. Rawlings was looking for another missionary who had been using my phone for a while, but was gone. In the course of our short conversation Dr. John asked me if there were any camp or Bible training facilities in Botswana. When I told him therewere none in our country he told me to look around and let him know if I found any that might be for sale since his foundation, the Rawlings Foundation, worked with missionaries to develop such facilities. When Pam got homelater that afternoon she reminded me of a Christian school in the middle of Gaborone that was for sale. It was a 30 acre property with ten classroom buildings, an athletic field, a swimming pool, and - ready for this?! - a 1500 seat auditorium. It had been started by some missionaries who were ready to retire and wanted to sell the property to a Christian organization who would use it for the glory ofGod in Botswana.
In August Herb Rawlings paid us a visit to take a look at the property first hand and was very impressed by what he saw. They agreed to buy theproperty, giving our church a permanent home, continuethe school ministry and begin holding youth camps and training programs. Thus began a two month process of negotiating and closing the sale between two continents.
The owners asked Pam and I to begin training to take over the school and we agreed. To us that meant we would beon campus, listen to their instructions, ask questions and take notes. But, to the owners this meant that they would give us the keys, introduce us to a few people and throw us into the deep end! Ten days after the agreement to buy, theowners left for a trip back to the US, leaving Pam and I in charge of a K3-high school of 350 students! Our “training” turned into 12-15 hour days trying to figure out what we were doing and trying not to mess things up too bad.
In the middle of all this we received a call from Devin’s doctor in Lynchburg telling us he was not doing well and recommended that I make a trip to check on him. If you remember in our last letter Devin was struggling withhealth problems and they had continued to deteriorate. Thetrip ended with us packing Devin’s belongings away and bringing him back to Botswana to continue his recovery.
On November 19th, Pam’s birthday, the sale was completed. The first Sunday in December our church moved from the school auditorium where we had met for more than three years to the new property - our new home! Our church people could not believe what God had donefor them! The next Sunday we had a celebratory dinner and everyone walked through the property to see what God had given us to use for His glory. We are already growing and gaining new people.
In the last three weeks we have had over twenty visitors. The property is located not far from the center of town in a growing middle class neighborhood. The school is well known in the city and willbe a great evangelistic tool to bring people to Christ. Some might ask if there is any financial gain for us in this, and theanswer is no. But, there will be incredible eternal rewards through the souls that are saved in the years to come!
We are still in a state of unbelief over what God has done. On the other hand, we serve a God who can do more than we could ever ask or imagine. As BBFI missionaries our great desire is to use these facilities to reach people for Christ, build His church and train young people to carry onthe work of the gospel. We want to thank the Dr. Rawlings and his foundation for their vision in purchasing this property for God’s glory. Please pray with us that we will use this wonderful gift from the Lord to its fullest.
And thank you for your patience as we have gone through this time. It has been both thrilling and trying for our family and we need your prayers and God’s strength and wisdom.
May God bless you all and may 2008 be a blessed year for each of you.Reaching the Unreached,The Workman’s. ..Steve, Pam, Amanda, Derek & Devin
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