Sunday, August 30, 2009

Day of celebration

We had such an amazing day today with the church celebration and
feast. It was the most people I have ever seen on the Old Naledi
property. God was shining his love today and we all were loved. It was
a proud day and we all worked hard feeding the community the feast
after the service. We just got back to the hotel and the shower never
felt better. Clay gave a great message and we had a member of
parliament as our guest of honor. There were staff and members from
Open Baptist and other churches.

We also got to see Moruti James' new grandson born last week to
Matadha and DJ. Beautiful baby boy named Loape. I can't hardly
describe the feelings of community we felt today. We should have some
video and great pictures when we return. The most incredible moment
was watching all the children and church members dance in celebration,
it was pure and amazing joy!!!

Tomorrow we are taking a 2 hour trip to a game park. It will be a day
of recreation and download. We start the construction work on Tuesday.
Time for sleep and rest now.

We are all tired and exhausted; but, we are all smiling! God is good.
Know you are loved and missed!

P.S. Clay and Jason drove today on all the table and chair runs. Glad
I left my license at home. It's hard enough to drive on the left;but,
shifting with the left is just too much change at one time- especially
with others in the truck too:-)

Mareko

via iPhone

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Dumela from Gaborone

We made it to Botswana safe and sound last night around 9pm local time. We all had a great sleep last night after a long day of travel. The trip was long; but, tolerable for everyone and no major problems after Clay and Scott from Alice Drive beat the door closed (long story and not a good one with Delta) on the flight to South Africa.

Today, Clay attended and spoke at a funeral for one of the elderly volunteers at the church while the rest of us slept in. Then after the funeral, we all climbed to the top of Kgale Hills. I can't decide if viewing the new church building was more spectular than the view from the top of Kgale-it's a close call! Both are true testaments to the power of God! We are heading back to the village soon for dinner with the church family and to walk the village. Tomorrow is going to be a great day as we celebrate the new church building and also the 10th anniversary of Naledi Baptist Fellowship. Hey, we saw two troops of baboons on Kgale Hill. That was cool!

Please know that we are so excited about what God is going to do through us this week here in Botswana. Please continue to pray for our endurance, strength, compassion and understanding. Pray for everyone in Old Naledi and all of Botswana!

In His Steps,
Mareko and the Freedom Fellowship and Alice Drive Teams!

Friday, August 28, 2009

We are on the ground in South Africa!!!! Thank you God! More later and we all made it!!!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

We are on the plane and ready for on-time takeoff. Still waiting on Alice Drive team, they are here but still walking/ running to the gate...

Atlanta

We made it to Atlanta after a delay on the runway in Greenville. Our
friends from Alice Drive are having some issues with tickets in
Columbia; but, they are enroute. Please keep praying for travel. We
depart at 2010 if all goes as planned. I'll post again when we are
onboard.

Mareko

via iPhone

THINKING AND PRAYING FOR ALL OF YOU ON YOUR TRIP! SURE WISH I COULD BE WITH YOU!!!! I'M A PRAYER PARTNER FOR EACH OF YOU EVERYDAY WHILE YOU ARE GONE !!! LEARN, LIVE, LOVE, LAUGH, TEACH, LISTEN, SPEAK, WORK, WITNESS, PRAISE, SING, HUG, SMILE, TOUCH, CRY, CELEBRATE, BLESS AND BE BLESSED!!!!! LOVE YOU ALL AND CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR ALL ABOUT IT! YOU EACH INSPIRE ME AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TAKING THE JOURNEY ALONG SIDE YOU, GOD WILLING, NEXT YEAR!
JULIE

Sunday, August 23, 2009

The team


The Team 2009!

We depart from GSP on Thursday, August 27th at 3pm. We will fly to Johannesburg, South Africa direct from Atlanta. The flight is about 15.5 hours. Please pray for comfort and safety on this journey. Pray for Old Naledi village, Naledi Baptist Fellowship and for Botswana. God is doing amazing things in Africa and it's the honor of a lifetime for us to be a small part of the BIG picture. Stay tuned to this blog for travel updates and hopefully periodic updates on the mission.

In His Steps,
Joel, Nancy, Mark and Jason

Monday, August 17, 2009

10 Days until we are part of The Solution!

Solution
HillSong United

To stare not fight while broken nations dream
Open up our eyes, so blind
That we might find the mercy for the need

Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

It is not too far a cry
Too much to try to help the least of these
Politics will not decide if we should rise
And be your hands and feet

Singing...
Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet
Yeah Yeah

Higher than our circumstance
You promised and you loved for all to see
Higher than our protest lines and dollar signs
Your love is all we need

Hey now
Fill our hearts with your compassion
Hey now
As we hold to our confession

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet
Whoa Yeah

Only you can mend the broken heart
And cause the blind to see
You erase complete, the sinner's past
And set the captives free

Only you can take the widow's cry
And cause the heart to see
Be the Father to the fatherless
Our Saviour and our King

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

Whoa-oo-ooh
God, be the solution
Whoa-oo-ooh
We will be your hands and be your feet

We will run
We will run
We will run with the solution

We will be your hands
We will be your feet
We run this race for the least of these
In the darkest place we will be your light,
We will you light we´ll sing

Thursday, August 13, 2009

10th Anniversary Celebration


This is what is planned for the Sunday after we arrive! I will add this to their webpage today.