Building THE Church

They came expecting to build a block and mortar building.  They came hoping to dedicate a building at the end of their time.  But the Botswanian Land Board and God had other plans.  Instead of building A church they spent their 10 days building THE church. They did not build it through manual labor instead they built and encouraged the church through building relationships and helping to draw people to Christ. 

Instead of building a building the team worked together and set up a tent along the main road in the village of Bokaa Botswana.  The tent was the place where 5 evangelistic services were held, where the Word of God was preached, where there were testimonies given, where God changed lives, where God was worshipped regardless of skin color or nationality.  Sunday Morning the tent was where a couple area churches combined together for a morning worship service and Sunday School.  The white and blue tent was also the place where we held several VBS type services for the children of Bokaa.  Bible stories were told, games were played, songs were sung, dances were taught and then danced and there were lots of smiles and laughs. 

On Friday the team was also able to see the site where the Bokaa Church of the Nazarene will be built.  Currently the church is meeting in the home of the pastor.  The Circleville Team was able to walk around the property and catc

h the vision of the Pastor.  They were also able to spend some time praying for the church and ministry that the church will be a part of.  The team gathered in a circle and sang a few hymns and shared how God was speaking to them in those moments.  They were also able to spend some time encouraging and praying for the local pastor.  It was a powerful time spent together.

The team visited the nearby Primary School and got to visit most of the classrooms and afterwards pray with the teachers and headmaster.  The headmaster also shared some of the struggles the students and teachers face.  As we were walking back to the tent we were able to stop in a visit with someone from the community and we were able to pray for the husband of one of the teachers who was sick. 

The beauty of building relationships instead of building buildings is that age and strength are not factors.  The teenager of the team was a huge bridge builder.  And gave us plenty to laugh about.  He tried with everything he had to catch a chicken, goat, and a cow.  He had a little help from several of the young boys of the village in catching the chicken and goat. But Botswanan and American alike got lots of good laughs watching him and several of the village young boys taking off after the goats and chickens around the village.  When he was not chasing animals he was easy to find because he was almost always surrounded by a group of guys playing a game of catch or chase.  The oldest member of the team was able to connect with several of the village ladies as well as able to encourage several of the female pastors who were there.  And all the other team members were able to connect with people in various ways and encourage, pray for, laugh with or share with those they came in contact with.  God was clearly at work in the 10 days the Circleville Team was in Botswana.  We know that the relationships built and commitments made will have eternal impact.  Thank you Circleville W&W Team for being the hands and feet of Christ and for building THE Church!