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
Monday, January 14, 2008
Monday, December 24, 2007
Merry Christmas
Dear Loved Ones,
Some of you remember when we lived in Kenya and had huge Christmas preparations culminating with a three-day Christmas musical for our town and hosting a Christmas Open house for up to 200 businesses acquaintances and friends. I suppose in our minds we keep building up to that sort of Christmas and in Botswana the shock and disappointment of ministry at Christmas just leaves us with our mouths open in exclamation!
All around town people have put up decorations in the shops and the malls(! Yes we have them!) have Christmas trees and very skinny Father Christmases. But the actual weekend of Christmas everyone is GONE! Today we had 20 including about 10 or more children! Almost everyone will have left town by tomorrow. Of course, traditionally in Botswana there was no worship of Jesus Christ and people that worked away from their homes in the village all returned there for the holiday time. Usually at Christmas, the temperature is soaring over 100 degrees and people just rest!
We will take this time to do just that REST! The responsibility of the school and the new property has us completely worn out. I can’t believe that I will not even be cooking on Christmas Day. We have been invited to two homes, one of our church members has invited us for lunch and some missionary friends for supper. They have both suggested that we do not bring anything!
This morning, we gave small gift bags with a Christmas puzzle and some stickers and sweets to our church children. We are thankful for a family in one of our supporting churches who sent the gift bags and stickers for us to use.
May each of you have a wonderful Christmas focused on the gift of the Saviour of the Nations!
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam Derek and Devin
Some of you remember when we lived in Kenya and had huge Christmas preparations culminating with a three-day Christmas musical for our town and hosting a Christmas Open house for up to 200 businesses acquaintances and friends. I suppose in our minds we keep building up to that sort of Christmas and in Botswana the shock and disappointment of ministry at Christmas just leaves us with our mouths open in exclamation!
All around town people have put up decorations in the shops and the malls(! Yes we have them!) have Christmas trees and very skinny Father Christmases. But the actual weekend of Christmas everyone is GONE! Today we had 20 including about 10 or more children! Almost everyone will have left town by tomorrow. Of course, traditionally in Botswana there was no worship of Jesus Christ and people that worked away from their homes in the village all returned there for the holiday time. Usually at Christmas, the temperature is soaring over 100 degrees and people just rest!
We will take this time to do just that REST! The responsibility of the school and the new property has us completely worn out. I can’t believe that I will not even be cooking on Christmas Day. We have been invited to two homes, one of our church members has invited us for lunch and some missionary friends for supper. They have both suggested that we do not bring anything!
This morning, we gave small gift bags with a Christmas puzzle and some stickers and sweets to our church children. We are thankful for a family in one of our supporting churches who sent the gift bags and stickers for us to use.
May each of you have a wonderful Christmas focused on the gift of the Saviour of the Nations!
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam Derek and Devin
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Angie
Dear Loved Ones,
Not long ago, we wrote about a teenage girl who was saved while visiting our church from Zimbabwe. *Angie* is a someone we have known for a couple of years. Each time she has visited, we have been pleased to spend time with her. Our impression was of a shy, sweet girl who lived with her elderly mom and cared for her niece. This week we learned a little more of her story.
Apparently, Angie has been going through some troubled times. Her sister told me that she brought Angie here to help out her mom who is basically at wit’s end. Earlier this year, the mom arrived home to see Angie in pretty rough shape. It was evident that she had been somehow assaulted. The mom asked if she had been raped and she said no, but the mom pressed until she found out that a schoolmate was responsible. In the process of the police investigation, they required a doctor’s examination. The results came back that Angie has full-blown AIDS.
Angie is 16. According to her diarized accounts, she became sexually active at 13. The diagnosis was not from something recent. Her family is devastated and up until now, her behavior has shown no signs of changing. She has been involved in petty theft and deceit for most of the last two years.
Her sister, who attends our church has told no one except me. She has been carrying a heavy load. She is not a strong Christian. Would you pray with us for her that God will draw her close to Him and she will find the comfort she needs at this time. And would you pray for Angie? I pray that her salvation will bring forth the fruits of righteousness so that all will know she has been changed. We are hoping that she did not just say she has committed her life to Christ to make people think better of her. She is now on ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) that can help her lead a somewhat normal life. Even with AIDS her life can have a purpose when given over to Jesus Christ.
Our Amanda will not be able to be with us for Christmas. We had hoped, but there were no seats available. She will travel this weekend to Steve’s sister’s home in North Carolina to share Christmas with their family and Steve’s mom. Would you pray for safety as she travels?
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
Not long ago, we wrote about a teenage girl who was saved while visiting our church from Zimbabwe. *Angie* is a someone we have known for a couple of years. Each time she has visited, we have been pleased to spend time with her. Our impression was of a shy, sweet girl who lived with her elderly mom and cared for her niece. This week we learned a little more of her story.
Apparently, Angie has been going through some troubled times. Her sister told me that she brought Angie here to help out her mom who is basically at wit’s end. Earlier this year, the mom arrived home to see Angie in pretty rough shape. It was evident that she had been somehow assaulted. The mom asked if she had been raped and she said no, but the mom pressed until she found out that a schoolmate was responsible. In the process of the police investigation, they required a doctor’s examination. The results came back that Angie has full-blown AIDS.
Angie is 16. According to her diarized accounts, she became sexually active at 13. The diagnosis was not from something recent. Her family is devastated and up until now, her behavior has shown no signs of changing. She has been involved in petty theft and deceit for most of the last two years.
Her sister, who attends our church has told no one except me. She has been carrying a heavy load. She is not a strong Christian. Would you pray with us for her that God will draw her close to Him and she will find the comfort she needs at this time. And would you pray for Angie? I pray that her salvation will bring forth the fruits of righteousness so that all will know she has been changed. We are hoping that she did not just say she has committed her life to Christ to make people think better of her. She is now on ARVs (anti-retroviral drugs) that can help her lead a somewhat normal life. Even with AIDS her life can have a purpose when given over to Jesus Christ.
Our Amanda will not be able to be with us for Christmas. We had hoped, but there were no seats available. She will travel this weekend to Steve’s sister’s home in North Carolina to share Christmas with their family and Steve’s mom. Would you pray for safety as she travels?
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
Monday, December 10, 2007
Dear Loved Ones,
The first picture is of Dube. Dube is from Zimbabwe and has been with us since the very beginning of our time here in Botswana. He is a faithful man and a man of prayer. We thank God for him and pray for many more like him.
You can also see in the picture that at our new property we have a nice place for what you would call “dinner on the grounds”. That’s what we had today after our children presented their Christmas program, “The Christmas Present”. One of our supporting churches was so kind to purchase the book and CD for us to use. It is the first time we have done anything like this here and everyone was so thrilled and surprised at how well the children performed. The message of the program stood alone – the best present of all is Jesus!
We are continuing to have visitors at our new place and are thankful for those who are coming. Our church is beginning to feel ownership of the new place and are excited about the possibilities it brings us.
One of our ladies left early today because she had work at the office that could not wait. I later had a text message from her that her visiting sister from Zimbabwe accepted Christ as her Saviour today!! Pray with us as we work with her while she is here in Botswana for another week or so.
The second picture is of some of the children we ministered to yesterday at the clinic for children living with HIV/AIDS. We volunteer at their annual Christmas party. The attendance was down some because of the rain, but our youth were there shining the light of the love of Jesus to the children and their caregivers. We thank the Lord for the opportunities He brings because of this ministry.
Christmas is upon us and it is hard to believe. With all the new opportunities, we have not really taken time to prepare as we usually do.
We had hoped that Amanda would be able to join us since she is the only one apart from us right now, but it looks like there are no seats left at the time she would be able to come. Would you pray God’s will be done in that? This year has been particularly hard on our family and we long to be together, but we understand God may have different purposes. We pray that His will be done for His glory even in this.
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
The first picture is of Dube. Dube is from Zimbabwe and has been with us since the very beginning of our time here in Botswana. He is a faithful man and a man of prayer. We thank God for him and pray for many more like him.
You can also see in the picture that at our new property we have a nice place for what you would call “dinner on the grounds”. That’s what we had today after our children presented their Christmas program, “The Christmas Present”. One of our supporting churches was so kind to purchase the book and CD for us to use. It is the first time we have done anything like this here and everyone was so thrilled and surprised at how well the children performed. The message of the program stood alone – the best present of all is Jesus!
We are continuing to have visitors at our new place and are thankful for those who are coming. Our church is beginning to feel ownership of the new place and are excited about the possibilities it brings us.
One of our ladies left early today because she had work at the office that could not wait. I later had a text message from her that her visiting sister from Zimbabwe accepted Christ as her Saviour today!! Pray with us as we work with her while she is here in Botswana for another week or so.
The second picture is of some of the children we ministered to yesterday at the clinic for children living with HIV/AIDS. We volunteer at their annual Christmas party. The attendance was down some because of the rain, but our youth were there shining the light of the love of Jesus to the children and their caregivers. We thank the Lord for the opportunities He brings because of this ministry.
Christmas is upon us and it is hard to believe. With all the new opportunities, we have not really taken time to prepare as we usually do.
We had hoped that Amanda would be able to join us since she is the only one apart from us right now, but it looks like there are no seats left at the time she would be able to come. Would you pray God’s will be done in that? This year has been particularly hard on our family and we long to be together, but we understand God may have different purposes. We pray that His will be done for His glory even in this.
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
December 2, 2008
Dear Loved Ones,
We moved our services today. We and our church members are so excited. Today was the first time many of them had seen the property God has given us to use for His glory. We are overwhelmed with His gifts to us.
Next Sunday we will meet together and have our children’s Christmas presentation plus we will have our annual December church cookout.
Please remember us in prayer on Saturday while we volunteer at the Botswana Baylor Clinic for Children with HIV/AIDS.
Also please join us in asking God for a harvest of souls in this Christmas season.
We moved our services today. We and our church members are so excited. Today was the first time many of them had seen the property God has given us to use for His glory. We are overwhelmed with His gifts to us.
Next Sunday we will meet together and have our children’s Christmas presentation plus we will have our annual December church cookout.
Please remember us in prayer on Saturday while we volunteer at the Botswana Baylor Clinic for Children with HIV/AIDS.
Also please join us in asking God for a harvest of souls in this Christmas season.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
23 Years
Dear Loved Ones,
Twenty-three years ago this past Friday, we stepped off the plane for the first time in Africa. That first night was something else. We stayed in a house behind a brewery and were scared to death. I remember hearing Steve cry and say, “What have we done?” What we had done was to follow God and He has lead us all the way. There have been many other scary nights and hard times, but the wonderful memories outweigh the bad.
Though we have spent most of our lives away from our families, God has given us a home here in Africa. Steve says our hearts are shaped like the continent now. We thank God for our families who are the real heroes of missions.
God has provided for us all the way. Many of you have been with us since that first year, you have experienced our joys and sorrows and faithfully prayed us through. How we thank God for you. Every soul, every victory, every seed sown is written to your account as well as to ours. We can never say thank you enough. We thank Him for such faithfulness.
We have a big challenge ahead of us this year. God has opened the doors for a new property and that will mean new and more extensive ministry here in Gaborore. We need your prayers for wisdom, and to have the understanding of what is that key to reaching the Batswana for Christ.
God bless,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
Twenty-three years ago this past Friday, we stepped off the plane for the first time in Africa. That first night was something else. We stayed in a house behind a brewery and were scared to death. I remember hearing Steve cry and say, “What have we done?” What we had done was to follow God and He has lead us all the way. There have been many other scary nights and hard times, but the wonderful memories outweigh the bad.
Though we have spent most of our lives away from our families, God has given us a home here in Africa. Steve says our hearts are shaped like the continent now. We thank God for our families who are the real heroes of missions.
God has provided for us all the way. Many of you have been with us since that first year, you have experienced our joys and sorrows and faithfully prayed us through. How we thank God for you. Every soul, every victory, every seed sown is written to your account as well as to ours. We can never say thank you enough. We thank Him for such faithfulness.
We have a big challenge ahead of us this year. God has opened the doors for a new property and that will mean new and more extensive ministry here in Gaborore. We need your prayers for wisdom, and to have the understanding of what is that key to reaching the Batswana for Christ.
God bless,
Steve, Pam, Derek and Devin
Sunday, November 4, 2007
Green Trees and a Permanent Meeting Space
Dear Loved Ones,
Thank you for praying for Steve and Devin, they have returned to a GREEN Botswana. Derek is real tired of hearing us say, “wow! It’s so GREEN!” but in all our time in Botswana we have not seen the trees so full and the grass so green in this desert. We are thankful for the rains. It is also great not to have such high temperatures yet, but this afternoon we noted 107ยบ on the thermometer.
Our youth were challenged today to begin to study the Bible on their own, not just reading it, but studying it using II Timothy 3:16 as a model. Most of our youth right now are 20+ and we are excited to see them take on servanthood roles in our church. On Sunday mornings, everywhere we look, there is a young adult serving. We are about to face a big challenge and we believe they are ready for it.
This morning, Steve announced to everyone that though it is not 100% finalized yet, God has provided our church with a permanent meeting place of our own. We are not sure of the actual date we can move in because it needs some renovation, but we are excited about the opportunities it means for us. The location is in the middle of a middle-class neighborhood which borders a very large village area. It is right in the center of Gaborone. It provides us with an immediate meeting place AND space to grow.
We will let you know more details as they become finalized. We appreciate your prayers as this is a big step up for our group of young believers. When we look at the size of the task we often think of Gideon’s army, but since we know the end of that story, we are walking forward in faith!
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve,Pam, Derek and Devin Workman
Thank you for praying for Steve and Devin, they have returned to a GREEN Botswana. Derek is real tired of hearing us say, “wow! It’s so GREEN!” but in all our time in Botswana we have not seen the trees so full and the grass so green in this desert. We are thankful for the rains. It is also great not to have such high temperatures yet, but this afternoon we noted 107ยบ on the thermometer.
Our youth were challenged today to begin to study the Bible on their own, not just reading it, but studying it using II Timothy 3:16 as a model. Most of our youth right now are 20+ and we are excited to see them take on servanthood roles in our church. On Sunday mornings, everywhere we look, there is a young adult serving. We are about to face a big challenge and we believe they are ready for it.
This morning, Steve announced to everyone that though it is not 100% finalized yet, God has provided our church with a permanent meeting place of our own. We are not sure of the actual date we can move in because it needs some renovation, but we are excited about the opportunities it means for us. The location is in the middle of a middle-class neighborhood which borders a very large village area. It is right in the center of Gaborone. It provides us with an immediate meeting place AND space to grow.
We will let you know more details as they become finalized. We appreciate your prayers as this is a big step up for our group of young believers. When we look at the size of the task we often think of Gideon’s army, but since we know the end of that story, we are walking forward in faith!
Reaching the Unreached,
Steve,Pam, Derek and Devin Workman
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