Pulaaaaa! It rained this week. Like, really
rained! Almost every day this week brought
light showers, but Friday night brought
monsoon-like downpours. Join us in rejoicing!
In fact, during the monsoon-like downpours, the power went out and we got a call from a stranded friend in need of help. We waded (yes, waded!) through our flooded parking lot, getting soaked to the bone within a minute, and made our way through dark, flooded streets to his house. The yard (consisting solely of dirt, as is the custom here) had been transformed into a skating rink of deep mud. We laughed and shrieked as we slid our way to him. It was a ridiculous adventure, and we loved every minute of it. Who would have guessed, when I lived in gray, rainy western PA that I could eve miss rain so much?!? I guess it just feels like home.
Cru has been asked to participate in an inter-ministry committee to plan a missions conference called Joining Hands. I have so loved getting to know other laborers in the city, coming together from many nations (including Botswana) to reach young people with the Gospel. I really think some of them could become great local friends! Pray with us that many young people would join us for our conference the first week of June, that they would catch the vision of being Christ's ambassadors, and that they would have a great impact on Botswana, our neighbors, and the world!
After a full semester of trying to invite ourselves, our teammate Clive invited us to watch one of his basketball games. One of my favorite things in life is supporting others, cheering for them, and making them feel loved. We showed up at the courts on UB's campus to find a small but close-knit crowd of fans. We waited for the court to dry after the recent sprinkle, and the excitement built. We were finally there! Cheering for our friend whose passion in life is sport. There were a few rain delays, and while everyone else ran for cover in their cars, our group stayed and thoroughly enjoyed the sensation of being cold. We passed the time with stories, laughter, and (of course) photo shoots.
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| Sarah, me, Steph, and Levi |
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| Making silly faces during a rain delay with Taffy and Sarah |
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| Clive is #15. I think we embarrassed him with our love, but I'm sure he secretly loved it. |
We also got to cheer for our teammate, Steph, who dances with the professional dance group Mophato as a volunteer. It was another opportunity to love a teammate, and Sarah and I got to deepen our friendships with many of the dancers that we have come to love. Pray that they would see the love of Christ in us, and pray for Steph as she enters into many, many spiritual conversations in and out of rehearsal times. It's such a cool ministry, and it's refreshing to have non-Christian friends!
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| Steph and Tumie, a friend from Mophato who recently trusted Christ! |
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| Mophato's performance this week was designed to be like a flash mob in a local mall. I love watching these dancers! |
This week allowed me to meet up with a new girl I plan to disciple next semester. Her story is sadly pretty common. As a believer with shallow roots, she was misled by a guy and found herself pregnant. She's one of many, many college girls I have met with babies. She loves Jesus, and I'm excited to see Him stretch and grow her as we dig into the Word together. Pray with me for all the women who find themselves pregnant and single, too ashamed to enter into real, authentic, life-changing community. Pray that we would speak truth and grace as Jesus did. Pray that the culture of single-mother families and absentee men would change as Jesus changes hearts.
And I had my first-ever conversation with someone in the ZCC "church" this week. Called "Zed Cee Cee" here, this "church" was started by a disillusioned man and combines traditional beliefs with misinterpreted pieces of the Bible. It is listed as the biggest "Christian" denomination in southern Africa, and it's heartbreaking. For months, I have been seeing people wearing little green felt badges with a star pin and have been wondering what it meant. Today I found out that the ZCC members believe they can communicate with God and the "church's" dead founder through it. Before you dismiss it, let me just point out that loooots of people around the world believe in similar religious icons and exclusivist theology, including many that would be called Christians. As my new friend, Daniel, answered some of my questions, his passion grew and his irritation surfaced. Though I sincerely disagree with almost every single thing he claimed as truth, I was asking out of a sincere desire to understand. It just doesn't make any sense to me. When I asked him where he found these things in the Bible, he couldn't answer. To be fair, again, that is true for most people who claim to believe the Bible and support their opinions with Scripture (again, often taking it out of context. Don't even get me started on Americans' misuse of Jeremiah 29:11). When I got home from campus, I found several texts from Daniel listing the passages he used to support his beliefs. Again, his passion and irritation were evident. He called women who don't cover their heads and wear anything but below-the-knee skirts "whores." Seriously. That seems pretty harsh to me, and pretty unlike my understanding of God, Grace, and scriptural truth. I spent a lot of time researching the history and beliefs of this "church" and have come to find that it is, in fact, a cult - based on the widely accepted definition of cults.
What breaks my heart is that soooo many people are caught up in this and similar cults that fly under the radar as "Christian churches." They seem to be especially sneaky here, as they use the Bible to convince people they are legitimate "churches". People without a solid grasp of Scripture, who come from a culture that highly values spirituality, and that embrace leaders as infallible gifts of God who always speak truth are at great risk of stepping into a cult unknowingly. Please join me in praying for discernment as we meet people caught in these psuedo-churches. Pray that we would have the wisdom and grace to enter into their lives and point them to the Truth, to the God of the Bible, to the Grace that saves.
And I had my first-ever conversation with someone in the ZCC "church" this week. Called "Zed Cee Cee" here, this "church" was started by a disillusioned man and combines traditional beliefs with misinterpreted pieces of the Bible. It is listed as the biggest "Christian" denomination in southern Africa, and it's heartbreaking. For months, I have been seeing people wearing little green felt badges with a star pin and have been wondering what it meant. Today I found out that the ZCC members believe they can communicate with God and the "church's" dead founder through it. Before you dismiss it, let me just point out that loooots of people around the world believe in similar religious icons and exclusivist theology, including many that would be called Christians. As my new friend, Daniel, answered some of my questions, his passion grew and his irritation surfaced. Though I sincerely disagree with almost every single thing he claimed as truth, I was asking out of a sincere desire to understand. It just doesn't make any sense to me. When I asked him where he found these things in the Bible, he couldn't answer. To be fair, again, that is true for most people who claim to believe the Bible and support their opinions with Scripture (again, often taking it out of context. Don't even get me started on Americans' misuse of Jeremiah 29:11). When I got home from campus, I found several texts from Daniel listing the passages he used to support his beliefs. Again, his passion and irritation were evident. He called women who don't cover their heads and wear anything but below-the-knee skirts "whores." Seriously. That seems pretty harsh to me, and pretty unlike my understanding of God, Grace, and scriptural truth. I spent a lot of time researching the history and beliefs of this "church" and have come to find that it is, in fact, a cult - based on the widely accepted definition of cults.
"(Author Steven) Hassan developed the BITE acronym, which describes the components employed by destructive cults using mind control. BITE covers the following areas of control:
Behavior Control: An individual’s associations, living arrangements, food, clothing, sleeping habits, finances, etc., are strictly controlled.
Information Control: Cult leaders deliberately withhold or distort information, lie, propagandize, and limit access to other sources of information.
Thought Control: Cult leaders use loaded words and language, discourage critical thinking, bar any speech critical of cult leaders or policies, and teach an “us vs. them” doctrine.
Emotional Control: Leaders manipulate their followers via fear (including the fear of losing salvation, fear of shunning, etc.), guilt, and indoctrination."
Excerpt from Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan
Found at GotQuestions.org
What breaks my heart is that soooo many people are caught up in this and similar cults that fly under the radar as "Christian churches." They seem to be especially sneaky here, as they use the Bible to convince people they are legitimate "churches". People without a solid grasp of Scripture, who come from a culture that highly values spirituality, and that embrace leaders as infallible gifts of God who always speak truth are at great risk of stepping into a cult unknowingly. Please join me in praying for discernment as we meet people caught in these psuedo-churches. Pray that we would have the wisdom and grace to enter into their lives and point them to the Truth, to the God of the Bible, to the Grace that saves.
