The Turner Adventures: March 2017

Discipleship Training

Last Saturday we held a Discipleship Training at Gaborone Baptist Church and had 30+ in attendance. What a great day it was to share God's Heart on sharing the gospel with others. Brent did a great job teaching and really helped equip those in attendance with tools on how to share their faith.

We challenged them to write 5 people that needed to hear about Christ and 5 people that they could disciple to share Christ with others. It was so great to hear testimony from each one of those in attendance that they have wanted to share their faith but just didn't know how and if they taught one person who teaches one person then the gospel will spread even faster.

Pray for the Batswana people to catch the vision of sharing Christ with the lost and that many would come to know HIM!

Kid update

These kids sure do keep us busy! Sometimes I feel like all I do is chauffeur them around all day to school and to this activity and that activity. We are so blessed to have such an amazing school to send the kids to and all the activities they provide for the kids.

Taylor class recently went on a camping trip for 2 nights to a game park. She had a blast and got to even see cheetah and giraffe. Our girl is growing up!

Tay and her friend Munopa

Bradyn lost his top 3 teeth when he was 3 years old after falling off of a swing onto our cement porch. We have loved that big gap for the last 3 years but now it's getting even bigger. He has lost his first tooth "naturally" on the bottom. Corn on the cob is sure getting a lot harder to eat.

Bradyn losing his 1st tooth "naturally"

Sometimes it takes a dream

I have been working with Ona (Oh-Nah) for the past 5 years. She has become someone that I not only study the bible with, but a dear friend.

In the last couple of years, we really have started focusing on discipleship where we share a story/lesson from the bible with people and then in turn, we ask them to go out and share the same stories with those around them. I have to admit, this was a bit discouraging for me as I would share a story with my bible study group and each week when I came back the majority of those in our group never shared the story or their faith once that week. Ona would share occasionally with those around her, but not consistently.

Just through busyness of schedules and I have to admit a bit of discouragement about people not sharing Christ, we didn't see each other much in the beginning of this year. I recently visited with Ona and wanted to give her a renewed challenge to share the stories I had been teaching her, but before I could do so she began to tell me about a dream that she had. To make a long story short, she told me about a man who was taking her around and showing her the graveyards here in Botswana (did you know about 100 people a day die here in Botswana and maybe only 5 of them know Jesus??). She then said that this man showed her a bunch of different religious groups and one group was noticeably smaller than the others...those were the Christians. He told here then that she needed to do more, she needed to share Christ. Wow! I had chill bumps hearing this. Since this time, Ona has hit the ground running sharing her faith with anyone who will listen and lining up bible studies with people. God can use so many ways to speak to us, sometimes He can even use a dream.

Will you listen and be obedient to what God is telling you to do?

Ona teaching bible study

Friends

We have been so blessed to have made so many friends from all walks of life and around the world in our time here in Botswana. Here are a few friends we recently had the privilege to have in our home.

The Knoetze family grew up in South Africa, but came to live here in Botswana many years ago and ran a farm and they now run a lodge up in northern Botswana. They are the type of friends you just pick right back up with even though we might not have seen them for a couple of years. Love these guys!

Abram, Nanette, and Kristy (Stephan not pictured)

This is our friend Janice. She is from Texas and travels around the world working with the deaf. She has been here to Botswana about 4 times either with a team or this year she came on her own. We thank God for her willingness to share Christ with the deaf and to teach them stories from the bible.

Janice-everyone calls her Mama T

PULA

Rain is so important here in Botswana that the Setswana name for both "rain" and "money" is PULA (poo-lah). This has been one of the best rainy seasons we have seen in our 7 1/2 years of being here and it is much welcomed as we have had a major drought for the last 3 years. The Gaborone Dam that feeds water to our city has failed the last 2 years, but I am happy to report that it is now 100% full (the dam has not been full since 2001). We thank God for the rain!