Porter/Hartnett Team Update - 12/11/06

Date: Mon, 11 Dec 2006 23:17:30 -0600
Subject: Africa Team Update - 12/11/06 - Second Try


Hey everyone!

First off, sorry if you got this twice. I'm just now builing the e-mail list and messed it up the first try. You won't get it twice every time - I promise.

You're getting this e-mail because you either signed up at Harvest of the "Botswana Bash" to get updates from the Hartnett/Porter team or because you're my friend and I thought you'd like to hear what's going on as we go through this adventure of preparing to move to Africa. Either way, if you dont' want to get any more updates from us e-mail me back and I'll cross you off the list.

Now that that's said and done - I hope you all are well. Sorry that we haven't sent out an update since the Botswana Bash. Life has been pretty hectic for all of us - we've been remodeling the store/installing a new system at the Bluestem and it's consumed almost all of my time. And I may be speaking out of turn, but Becky is pretty busy with school and being a dorm resident assistant and being active on campus. It think we're all ready for the rest that we hope the holidays will bring. That is certinaly one way that you could be praying for us. Just that God would give us times of rest. I am feeling really overwhelmed with work (both at the Bluestem and as a Jr. High Basketball Coach), trying to figure out how to move to Africa (which is amazingly exciting and a LOT of work) and the pressures of everyday life. I'm pretty worn out. But, hopefully things will be slowing down here shortly.

In other news, we are in the process of trying to start a partnership with an organzation called the Flying Mission. They are an organization that works extesnively with HIV/AIDS communities by providing humanitarian aid in the name of Christ. They do a lot of work in Botswana and the capitol city where we will be and we hope that we can mutually help/work along side one another to glorify God. They asked us to write them a letter explaining what we will be doing in Old Naledi, how they can help, and what we would like to do for them. They also asked us to send them some resumes. I just finished the letter tonight. We just need to polish up our resumes and we'll fax it to them. They could really provide a lot of help finding us housing (maybe even provide it for free), with visas, with language/culture training... things like that. You could really be praying that God would cause that to come about. It would make the logistical things SO much easier. Also, it would be good for us to have fellowship outside of Old Naledi as well.

I am also currently working on drafting up a support letter. We finally have a better idea of how much the Porters need to put this whole thing into action. Pray for God's wisdom as we finalize the budget stuff and write this letter. Also, praise Him for the blessings of a great church home. Harvest has really been a great support to us in SO many ways - through prayer, support, accountability, and friendship. They also have gotten behind us and agreed to be our sending church. They also made us an official part of the budget and provided our first real financial support. It's exciting to see our dreams of working with this church in Old Naledi turn into tangible realities. Prasie God for that.

We're also excited that around New Year's our team will be going to St. Louis for a conference called Urbana. It's a missions conference that helps people prepare to go into the field. We're especially excited because this year they have an option to focus specifically on going to parts of the world where AIDs is a major issue. It should be a great time to build some team unity as well as a great time of learning/eqiuiping as well as worshiping. If anybody knows anyone in St. Louis that might have a place where we can stay, Kevin, Erine, and Elijah's place to stay didn't pan out. We have a hotel option, but it's pretty expensive and it would be a blessing to have place to stay for cheap/free. Anyways, keep the confernece in your prayers. It's the 27th of Dec through the 1st of January. It should be a really good learning time.

This letter is getting kinda long and that wraps up the big things going on with the Botswana Team (or at least the the big things on the Porter side of things). We are so greatful for the prayers and support that all of you provide in so many ways. I promise that we won't be so long in giving you an update next time. I'm going to shoot for at least every two weeks. Feel free to e-mail me any questions/comments/suggestions/a quick hello or ways that we can be praying for you all. Thanks so much. We are so greatful for you all.

Blessings,
Kevin for the Botwana Team

Botswana Bash

You're Invited
To The First Ever “Botswana Bash”

Come Join Us For A Dessert Party
Sunday, November the 12th
at 7:00 pm
in the Faith Evangelical Free Church Youth Wing

It will be an informal time to just hang out and also to hear Kevin, Erine, and Elijah Porter and Becky Hartnett talk about what God is doing in Old Naledi, Botswana. Then specifically, we plan to share the vision He has given to our team for the year or so we're planning to live there.
So please come and bring any questions or ideas you might have with you!

Questions?
Call Kevin at 341-4288

Beth Shanholtzer - 2

(Beth is from the Harvest family and is currently travelling the Botswana countryside with 4-H. She can be reached at: bshanholtzer@gmail.com
The following is an update from her adventures.)

Hello again everyone!!!! I have now finished host families 7 and 8 and am in Gaborone for an agriculture/business expo called Global Expo. It is great to be back in Gaborone, where we started our trip four months ago. First and formost I am happy to be in a hotel where I have running water, a toilet that I can flush and has no bugs, and a shower!!!! Yes...running water, a luxury after living without it for the last two weeks. You see it is the dry season right now in Botswana and everyone is patiently waiting for the rains so in some of the smaller villages, water has been scarce. In the last family I lived with we had a collection of buckets and barrels that we collected water in every other day. The village tap that we walked/drove to was only a five to ten minute walk so we usually didn't have to wait in line to get water like I have seen so many other people do. But, the day I left the water at the village tap we had been going to was no longer there so they were loading the truck to go to another tap a few kilometers down the road.

Besides the water scarcity, Botswana has been GREAT!!!! I have come to the realization after so many families of varying types that it is definitely the people and not the accomodations that make this trip so memorable. My 7th family was O.K. but not really very social so I spent a lot of time with Lindsey and her mom at a Home Based Care facility where they counsel, test, and guide people with HIV/AIDS. I got some experience in grant writing by helping them with one grant they were working on. Lindsey and I corrected their English and wrote more concise explanations to the questions asked. It was a lot of fun but a little stressful at times. In this family I had my own house on the "compound" but as I said before not a lot of conversation. In my 8th family, I had seven kids under the age of 12 to fill my time and two sisters who were around my age, so we had a lot of fun but lived with no running water. I was able to attend the World Food Day here in Botswana and got to tour a pig farm, my first here, an industrial laying hen operation, and a huge vegetable operation. I learned a lot and was able to collect some great information from all the informational booths.

Learning the language is coming along very well and I know can understand quite a bit of conversation by picking out familiar words. It feels good to know that I am making progress. One lesson I learned recently though is that even though the word is spelled the same it can have two very different meanings. For instance, mabele pronounced ma-BALE-ley (voice raises during the middle syllable) means sorghum and I use it a lot when talking about the foods here in Botswana. What I recently learned is that mabele pronounced the same except for the voice lowers during the middle syllable means breast. So...I hope I haven't confused too many people by talking about a breast in my favorite foods list!

Speaking of food, one thing I have gotten very good at is eating certain food here with one hand! With some of the stiff porridges here the consistency allows for you to eat with your hand and everyone does. You tear off a piece of porridge and mix it with whatever morogo (vegetables) or soup you have on your plate. It took me a while to get good at just using one hand and not using two, but I can honestly say that I have mastered the art quite well! In fact, I think it is a skill I may have to establish in the U.S.!!!

The last thing I have to talk about in this email is grandparents raising grandchildren, I may have touched on this before but I had some first hand experience with it in my last family. They have four daughters all who have at least one kid and no husband, which is also common here. Anyway, the family I lived with was a set of grandparents two of their daughters and 7 grandchildren. They were nice but I could tell sometimes the grandparents became exhausted dealing with the seven grandchildren. I think a lot of my own family...I don't know if my grandparents who have enjoyed raising all 11 of my cousins and I!

Well, I had better say good-bye. Enjoy the cool weather in the states...here it is HOT!!! Only six weeks left until I return to the states!!

Love you all,
Beth

ON Prayer Requests

I received this email a few days ago. Please join us in prayer...

The Naledi Baptist Fellowship has compiled the prayer requests and wants to request you to pray with us in this regard:

Compiled: From Tuesday, September 12, till Tuesday October, 10th 2006.
Sciptures: Psalm 122, and Revelation1: 8-10.

* Job and school opportunity for girls in the church.
* Ministries for the kids, AWANA, Football, Sunday school, etc.
* Pray for the youth to have passion for the Lord.
* Pray for other activities in the Fellowship, eg Evangelism and reachout.
* Couples are needed in the church.
* For the lost souls in the community of Old Naledi, and backsliders to be revived.
* Leadership building Capacity for the Local Church.
* Mothusi is graduating this November.
* The Church leaders to study further locally.
* Pray for Kevin, Erine and Becky as there are still praying about coming next year.
* Pray that God will protect the children in Old Naledi.
* Pray for the Tlamelo Project, the Board and Champ as he is continuing to coordinate it.
* Local church impact in the community of Old Naledi and Botswana at large.
* Financial situation of the Naledi Baptist.
* Di and Peter departs Botswana on the 16th December, '06.
* Pray for Naledi Education Center school.
* Lame and Bushi(Thato) are going for Bible College.
* Pray for PEACE in Naledi.

May God Keep and Bless you as we join in and Pray together.

With our Love.

Naledi Baptist Fellowship.

The Porter/Hartnett team.

I kind of doubt anyone reads this blog anymore... but I felt like I should post something about the aftermath of this trip anyways.

Most of you probably know, that Erine and I have felt God's calling to move to Botswana for at least a year sometime this summer (or we hope for this summer). God has also called Becky Harnett to go - so we're going to all try to go as a team. My hope is to work with the youth, Erine's with the women, and Becky with the youth women. But, it's pretty hard to quantify what we'll be doing. The need is great and the work is plenty, both in Old Naledi and in Manhattan. We also hope to futher the partnership of God's church's in Manhappinin and Botswana. That's not to mention the abounding physical needs.

We're really excited about it. So much so, that we're pretty ready to go right now. In that, I'm feeling a little overwhelemed with all the logistical things. It's proving to be quite a lot of work. We could certinaly use and covet any prayers you might give. There's a lot to figure out and we're pretty new at this stuff. I'm more about doing than planning anyways. I get discouraged easily.

Yet, everytime I seem to get discouraged I hear about Champ or Muruti James or someone else in the church from Dave or Barb or Becky and am refreshed. Or, when things seem impossible for me to accomplish God reminds me that He is still in control by offering His provision that is completely beyond me. He often does that through His people from Harvest - which is doubly encouraging. I love the local church.

So, please pray. Ask questions. Help. We can't do this by ourselves.

Until next time...

Blessings,
Kev

From Moruti James...

The Naledi fellowship and my family sends their warmest greetings. Hope you are well. Thank you for coming to visit us.
We are in the process of sending two of our finest student to a theological college in South Africa. They are Lame and Thato. We are processing their forms as I write this letter. We count on the support of brothers and sisters at Harvest Fellowship. The church send their regards. Greet your family for us.

Yours in his name
Moruti James.

Email Addresses

I'm sorry for the long delay between posts. I know that there have been emails flying over the ocean during these past few months, but not much posted here. If there are items of prayer or celebration, let's get them up here to share with each other.

I also wanted to list the "official" email addresses so that we can keep in better contact with each other...

The Email for Old Naledi Baptist Fellowship is:
naledi_baptist_fellowship@yahoo.com

The Email for Harvest Fellowship is:
botswana@harvestfellowshipks.org

(Or, if you wish, you may also visit www.harvestfellowshipks.org)

Thanks for your continued prayers. Kevin will be posting here soon...

Because He lives,
"Moruti Dave"

Beth Shanholtzer - 1

(Beth is from the Harvest family and is currently travelling the Botswana countryside with 4-H. She can be reached at: bshanholtzer@gmail.com
The following is an update from her adventures.)

Hello all and greetings from Maun, Botswana. A lot has happened since my last update so I will try to keep this email as concise as possible without leaving any of the important stuff out!

After leaving the Kalahari Desert, we were moved to the NW district where the Okavango Delta is located and where tourism is thriving. Let me tell you, the change was HUGE. First the climate change from the desert to the delta and then the change from small town with no tourists to large towns with lots of tourists. The first thing that Lindsey and I noticed here was the increased number of white people. In fact, Lindsey's host father was a white man who had been born and raised here in Botswana! He was great and took us on our first game drive into the national park here in Maun and also took us fishing in the delta. It was fabulous. It is amazing how clear the water is in the delta...you could watch the fish swim up to your lure and then watch them contemplate biting it and then actually watch as they took hold. In fact, I got too excited several times and ripped the lure away before the fish had time to bite! He also took us to his cattle post which is about a three hours drive from Maun and approximately 60 miles from the nearest village. It is beautiful there and we enjoyed three days of nothing. We sat and watched the birds, wrote in our journals, read our books, helped work cattle, helped milk cattle, and went on an 8km horseback ride through the desert! It was amazing! We fell asleep every night listening to the sound of crickets and jackals in the distance. He also took us to a cave near his cattlepost and we explored it for an afternoon. Geologists aged the cave at over 2 million years old and the stalagmites and stalagtites were gorgeous.

My family in Maun was also great. They lived on one of the rivers that runs through town and were a family of 10 so they kept me busy. They own a convienent store in the middle of Maun so they were always busy in town and it was great to be able to hang out with the kids while mom and dad were gone. Lindsey and I spent the entire two weeks together because Lindsey's dad had to leave on business so we stayed with my family for the first four days, then stayed with her family for six or seven days and then spent the remainder of the time back with my family. The schools were out on a month holiday so we couldn't work with the 4B program and enjoyed spending our time seeing the sights of Maun and the surrounding area.

From Maun we then moved to Kasane. Kasane is also a large tourist area and my family took advantage of that by owning a guest house (bed and breakfast) in town. They also owned a large camp site about 20kms from Kasane in the little town where they lived called Lesoma. It is located right along the Zimbabwe/Botswana border and booming with wildlife. Everyday on the drive from Lesoma to Kasane we saw elephant or some other sort of wildlife. There were many times on our way home at night that we would have to stop to let a herd of elephants cross the road! This family was also a large family and had sons and daughters that were around my age so I enjoyed talking to them and hanging out with them. Lindsey stayed with my family a lot due to her host mom who was lacking in hospitality and just a very busy person period.

After Kasane, we started our two weeks of free time out by traveling to Livingstone, Zambia to see Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world. The falls were gorgeous even though it was the dry season and there was only 20,000 cubic meters of water going over the gorge instead of 10,000,000 during the wet season. While in Livingstone we also went Jet Boating on the Zambezi River and floated down the rapids below the falls. After returning from Zambia, we stayed for three nights at a safari lodge in Kasane and pampered ourselves a little before heading back to Maun to go on a fishing trip with Lindsey's last host father. We went fishing for Tiger fish on the Kavango River north of Maun and camped in the wilderness for two nights. We then came back to Maun and are spending our time here just hanging out and finishing up things we need to get done.

We move to our 7th host family on Monday in Maitengwe (I think I spelled that correctly) which is also right along the Zimbabwe/Botswana border. It is amazing to think our trip is over half way over and we will be returning to the states in just two short months! I hope everyone is doing well back in the states and keep me informed on any new happenings.

Love,
Beth

Leaving Botswana

We just spent an awesome time at a Game Park in S.A. We're now flying back to America. What a privilege it was to see what God is doing in the Old Naledi Church. We are returning with many prayer requests and now an even broader connection with this church on "the other side of the world". We will see you soon.

evie

Hartnett Update - 4

Well, we are now in our final week here in Botswana and God continues to work in us and through us and through the church in Old Naledi. I have been wrapping up various projects (got the floodlight installed for the church yard without causing any major electrical fires, finished fixing cabinets in the Tlamelo Project kitchen), and the ladies have been busy with various women's ministries. Today they are running workshops for womens ministry and for sunday school teaching and then we are all going to the game reserve for a picnic lunch. We continue to enjoy spending lots of time with the people in Old Naledi, being mutually encouraged as we share our faith and lives.

Moruti had mentioned that a large number of the people (youth and adults) attending the church can not afford a Bible and that they would also like to be able to provide Bibles for those they visit as they do their weekly visitations and evangelism in the village. So, God led us to a source of a large supply of Setswana Bibles and I purchased 4 boxes (240 Bibles) for the church. Moruti and the church were delighted to receive them. They gave away 4 of them just yesterday to 4 neighbors from the village who accepted Christ after this week's visitation.

Please pray for our final few days here as we have to say goodbye to all our brothers and sisters here in Old Naledi and prepare for our journey home. Also pray for safe travels. We will be stopping overnight at a bush camp for a brief safari on our way to Johannesburg South Africa and our flights home.

Kagiso,
Dave H.

Women's Workshops

Today we had workshops for the women in the church. It was really great. Barb taught on how to teach Sunday School, and Julie and I taught on how to study the Bible. Afterwards we had a picnic. We brought some food, but apparently not enough because the people in the church went and got a lot of meat and cooked it. The picnic was at the game reserve, so there were monkeys everywhere eating our food. It was a blast. Tomorrow is our last day in Old Naledi. We will miss it.

By the way Kevin, I went to Mug and Bean. The manager volunteered an apron and cap for me. He took me behind the counter and into the kitchen where he took pictures of me with his staff. :) I'll show you the pictures for proof. He also offered me a job!!!!!! That was hard to turn down, but I think I'll stay at Bluestem until Feb. like i told you.

sincerely,
evie

A bit about the NBF...

At our meeting on the 15th of July, we looked at the History of Naledi Baptist Fellowship, the current situation, their mission, vision and opportunities in the future. I wanted to just highlight 2 of these points:

Vision - "It is the present the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ first in Old Naledi, Goborone then to other parts of Botswana. We believe that a nation without faith in God is a perishing nation." Theirs (and ours) is an outward focus, with the Gospel being the unifying hope and directive.

Opportunities - These were shared as a time of brainstorming, with a desire to ask, "what can we do together in the future to further the Kingdom of God?" Evangelism, Prayer (we decided to share monthly prayer requests with each other), Training (pastoral, vocational, teaching of the women and couples were the areas that were in most need), Exchange Program (to continue to visit each other, to connect the names with the pictures, to have this be a "both ways" exchange), Missionary Work (both short and long term, non-agenda partners are the ones that bless the NBF the most, who come with the desire to pursue friendships not just "special" projects that include a photo shoot afterward).

It will be a joy to continue to ask "what can we do together" and to see how God responds.

Visitation

Yesterday we went on visitation with the leaders of the church. It was amazing to see these 20 yr old guys just sharing the gospel and offering prayer to old ladies, young men, and girls alike. Just walking into a house respectfully and without fear, presenting the life-changing message that the people of Botswana need. Please pray that the church in Old Naledi would continue to be a light to the darkness of the community. Jesus Christ is worshipped in Botswana.

Botswana is Beautiful

It's that time of year here in Botswana where you can leave your doors and windows open with no threat of insects. you can leave your jackets at home and not worry about the heat or cold. In other words, it's perfect. But apparently, the "cold front" here that is happening is causing difficulty in punctuality for church services. As Moruti James stated, it is understandable that the weather has been cold, but everyone still needs to be prompt for services.

The people that we have met have been just great. Yesterday we spent some time trying to paint the picnic tables for the feeding project. It was our great joy to let some of the kids in on the work. Their tecnique is a bit different from ours. They taught us to scoop out the paint with the brushes and slap it on the wood, each scoop using more paint - which tends to result in a sticky, muddy affect. (maybe tomorrow we'll try to get there before the kids do).

Today was church. Moruti James taught on Jude 1:1,2. He taught about calling and servanthood. It was a convicting call for all of us to live in slavery to Jesus Christ and get out of the situations in our lives that keep us from hearing God.

I love these people here. We girls have made friends already. Becky is named Maipelo and I am named Buipelo.

Barb was sick yesterday from an antibiotic but is better now. I am having trouble sleeping at night. For us, please pray for continued health and energy. For the church, please pray for discipleship among the women. It is evident that the people who have given their lives to the Lord here, are living for Him with their whole heart. Please pray that we would imitate these examples.

Can't wait to share our pictures and our experiences with Harvest when we return.
We are looking for Chompers. He will not be forgotten.

Gaborone Girls

We're here! It's been a great couple of days. Glad to hear that the Botswana Boys are home safe. Our layover in Frankfurt was great! We took a bus tour. Here in Botswana, we got our hair braided, played with the Old Naledi kids, got new names, worshipped, and prayed with the sick. It has been great so far. The weather here is ridiculously nice. The people here are gentle and smiley. The sand and smell are five-years-familiar. Feels like "home" in some ways, except for that the spirit of God is living among the people of Naledi. May it be so in all the corners of the world one day.

Home, Sweet Home

Hey all,
I just wanted to quickly post that Kevin and I returned to Kansas late last night after about a 42 hour travel experience. All went well until we got to Chicago, where we waited an extra 5 1/2 hours due to weather delays. Oh well, it gave us time to get ourselves acquaited with the emergency exits and floatation devices that our plane is equipped with. Hoppers thought it was fascinating. We're planning on filling in the gaps in the days to come, as well as waiting the word from the Gaborone Girls.

In all ways thankful,
Dave (and Kevin)

One day and counting....

This is the second to last day here in Botswana. Tomorrow (Wednesday) at 1:30 (6:30 am CST) we fly from Gaborne to JoBerg and then from JoBerg to London, London to Chicago and then arrive in Kansas City Thursday afternoon. It will be so good to get back to the states, but our time here has given us a perspective of the Kingdom of God that we couldn't have seen elsewhere. We hope to fill you all in soon, but for now...

O Siame,
David and Kevin (blazing the trail for Evie, Becky and Julie)

Elephants and cheetas and monkeys... OH MY!

Hey all,

Another quick note from your favorite Botswana boys. Today was another exceptionaly great day, except that I've been missing my wife and son a whole bunch. We spent the morning working at the church/Tamelo project. The church was has a tin roof and a bunch of tree limbs had grown onto the top of it. When ever the wind blew just a little bit it scraped on the roof and drowned out the prayers/services. So I combined my roofing and landscaping experience and climed on top of the roof and cut off a bunch of limbs with a hand saw. Now, my arm feels like jello - but they'll be able to hear the services.

Meanwhile, dave and dave replaced light bulbs and exterior light fixtures. I guess theivery has been a real problem lately durring the night services out of cars in the lots. All the lights were burnt out, so fixing them should help a lot. Funny the things we take for granted in our western culture.

Then this evening, we took a "guided tour" of a 24,000 acre game preserve. We saw all kinds of sweet animals we don't have at home. Most of them I don't know the names too. It was a lot of fun. I got some sweet video. You can come to my house and watch it sometime.

Tonight we had dinner with some missionaries who are on their way out of Botswana. It was fun and encouraging and also gave a lot of insight to the country and the work being done here. How's that for a run on sentance? Now we're here, updating you. But the cafe closes in 10 minutes... so this is Kevin Porter signing off.

Blessings,
KP and DR

pass the torch

Hey guys,
Thanks for all your updates. We are way excited to meet everyone and to see what you've been talking about. See you in the air.

evie for the girls

Sunday in Naldei

Today was the day that I've been looking for since out trip started, as we were able to worship with the Old Naledi church. We have been able to get to know so many people during the week, and today was a day to gather and worship in song, scripture and in the Word. It was really a sweet time of fellowship. Here's a picture of the fellowship hall before worship began...



The morning began in typical smaller church fashion, with the door being locked because the folks with the key hadn't arrived. I loved the fact that people weren't up in arms because we didn't start right at 9:30, but instead enjoyed the time to talk and greet each other in the Lord. As I write that sentence, I really mean it...they greet each other and are genuinely thankful that that other person is there to worship and praise.

We began with prayer, singing, announcements, scripture and the youth choir sharing 2 songs with the fellowship. I was then asked to come and bring the morning's message. I've got to tell you, preaching with an interpreter is really cool! The young man who translated from English to Setswana is nicknamed "Champ" because he is a really good football player.
His given name is Matata, which means "problem" or "worries". This man gives our enemy plenty of problems as his fire and passion for the Lord is unmistakable.

We closed our time with a song of greeting and said goodbye to every person gathered in that place. It was really sweet and powerful. From the young to the old, men and girls, we all greeted each other and wished each other well until we meet again. This practice of passing the peace is one that I would love to see our church in the States practice, as it reminds us that we are not there for ourselves only, but for each other as well.

Lunch was served by Barb Hartnett (what a wonderful woman she is) and we had Moruti (pastor) James and Deacon Julian over.
The best part was the stories shared and the fact that Julian slept through 1/2 of the afternoon. I just love this culture...

It's hard to believe that we fly out in 3 days...time really flies when you don't focus on time.

What's the low-down?

Hey guys! What's the weather like there? What should we be wearing? And also, are there any last minute needs that we should bring along with us when we come? We are excited to come. Thanks for blogging about what you've been doing. We want to learn like you guys are.

The girls.

Another very quick update from the Botswana boys.

I have about 3 minutes to pack in days of writting, so sadly I have to be brief. The Lord continues to teach us more than we could every imagine through His servants here. Their joy in the midst of so much hardship is amazing.

Today, we had a meeting with the leaders of the Old Naledi church to discuss our (Harvest fellowships) partnership with that church. We spent much time in prayer. We also heard and expressed needs, visions, and desires. It was a fufilling time that my 3 minutes can't do justice to. I'll try to write more about it later or you can ask me about it. God was pleased with our time and prayers I think.

Here's a picture of the group that met:

(l to r - Kevin, Moruti (Pastor) James, Mothusi (seminary student from Old Naledi), Deacon Julien, Dave Hartnett, Ma Otto (local missionary), Ma Becky (or Barb Hartnett), Deacon Champ, and Moruti Dave Robinson.

Otherwise, today was a bit of a break from the very busy scheduals we had. We picked up some kids from sports day camp, but otherwise we just got to see Gabarone and do some shopping and relaxing. It was good.

I think now we will get to see some of the coutryside of Botswana as we are going to visit a missionary named Heidi who lives outside Gaborone in the village of Kumakwane (I think that's spelled right. Here's what the drive looked like:


Thanks for keeping us in your prayers.

Kev and Dave

PS - Never play soccer with African kids. They'll play circles around you. (Dave's edit...at the beginning of this video you'll see proof)

Update from Dave and Kevin

Hey all,
The computer is just about to kick us off, so here's a very quick update. built tables for 30 kids, sat in dirt listening to a story about Cain and Abel, made new friends, drank Grapeizer, bought gifts for the little women, emailed, and with a minute 55 left on the internet, we are going to go minigolfing with guys from the feeding project.
We'll be updating later.
Thanks for the prayers!
DR and KP

P.S. When we say it's going to kick us off, that means that our paid time is just about done. Here's a picture of where we have been getting on the internet...

And one from Dave...

Today is day 2 of the Africa adventure. Not only did we head to a meat market and a chicken ranch for the feeding project, but we both ate a catepillar (Kevin will say that it tastes like dirt and sand, but don't believe him). Here's a picture of the brave Chompers eating one...

Still haven't seen any giraffes or hippos, but we have seen a number of signs that say "don't feed the baboons."

I have been greatly encouraged by your prayers and by the people here at Old Naldei. They are beautiful and full of joy and life. There is so much need, but there is a sense that God will accomplish His will and His Kingdom will be established. I am learning so much from them.

Until next time,
"Moruti" David

A Quick Note From Kevin

Hey All,

We're here in Botswana! The travel was much easier than I expected (and by the way, London is beautiful). Since arriving in Botswana, Dave and I have been very busy, but more than anything else we are learning so much from the church here at Old Naledi.

I've been blessed to be greatly welcomed by the youth men (who are also the elders). They've involved me in prayer meetings, youth group planning, visiting the sick, bringing the gospel to the viliage and so much more. I have learned much from them. The workers are very few and the harvest is so great.

Sadly, the internet cafe here is about to close so that's all I have. I'll try for more next time. If you see my wife, tell her to check her e-mail and hug her for me. Also, kiss that beautiful baby of mine.

Blessings,
KP

PS - no matter how much you get pressured by the Muruti (pastor) don't try the fried catapillers. They taste like dirt and sand. But, the youth guys will think it's funny. Tit for tat I suppose.

Arrival in Botswana

So here in southern Africa, it is currently 9:30 pm, and in KS it is 2:30 and let me say that “all’s well.” Leaving KCI, we landed in Chicago, made our connecting flight to London –Heathrow and flew overnight. In London, we took the Underground to the Westminster area. We saw Big Ben, Westminster Bridge, Westminster Abbey, St James' Park, Buckingham Palace, a little establishment called Chequers, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, and Parliament Square all in about 3 hours. We loaded back into the Underground and flew almost 11 hours to Johannesburg, where we met up with Dave Hartnett. After about a 4.5 hour drive up north, we crossed the border from South Africa to Botswana.

Whew!!! This day was full of firsts, and was capped off with a prayer meeting with many from Old Naledi Fellowship. Dave, Kevin and I sang, danced, prayed and talked with Moruti James, Mothusi, Champ, Lame (“Lam-a”) and a number of others. I was asked to give a word of encouragement, and passed along the greeting from the people of Harvest Fellowship and the church in Manhattan. Tonight, we’re relaxing at the apartment of Dave and Barb Hartnett, with a full day ahead of us tomorrow as well.

I have to say that so far, this adventure has been fascinating. I feel as if we’ve just begun to scratch the surface of what we have to learn from these friends. They are so warm, joyful and hopeful, and have a relationship with Jesus Christ that is contagious.

In London

Big Ben and Big Dave (and Chompers...)


Kevin's twin (if he had hair...)


We highly recommend the sausage and mash

Hi from Evie

Hi Dave and Kevin. If you're reading this, that probably means that you made it to Botswana and that you're loafing around on the internet. Congratulations. Please tell the Old Naledi church people that they are being prayed for today! If you get a chance, shoot us back some prayer requests for them. Our girls Bible study will pray for them. And tell them I can't wait to meet them.

evie

Arrival in Kansas City

Kevin and I have begun our travel. We're in the Kansas City International terminal right now waiting for the plane to begin loading. By the next time we check in, hopefully, we'll be in London. Our flight from O'Hare to London is a "little" close, so we'll be "running with the Bulls".

Thanks to the Harvest family for praying for us today. It was a powerful example of the body of Christ coming around and caring for us. We miss our families, but know that they're being taken care of.

Hartnett Update - 3

We have been really busy the past few days and have not had time to get to the internet cafe. Things have been going very well. Barb and I were guest speakers/discussion leaders for the youth this week. We met with the leaders on Tuesday night and then with the whole youth group (about 30) on Thursday night. We have also been busy with various projects and service with the Tlamelo project and church.

I have had several conversations with Moruti regarding your visit...They have planned a church leaders meeting and prayer time with them and all of us on Saturday the 15th. The primary purpose of that meeting is for the Old Naledi church leadership to tell us all about their church, their various ministries, prayer needs, etc. and for us to discuss and pray about our potential partnership with them. (We) are invited to participate in include Tuesday evening church prayer meeting, Wednesday morning visitations throughout the village, Thursday evening youth meeting, and helping with the daily Tlamelo feeding project. Also, they have several work projects they would really like us to do, which I think we will schedule for Thursday afternoon and Friday morning. (We) will do the carpentry work to build a new 14 ft. long picnic table for the older kids eating at Tlamelo and we will repair the 6 smaller tables for the little kids. When Julie, Becky and Evie arrive the following week, we will have another work project to paint them. (We also have lots scheduled for the week they will be here).

Please communicate to all the team members that the weather pattern here, and forecast for the next several weeks, is quite warm. You guys will definitely NOT need winter coats. Barb and I have only been using a light jacket in the evenings after sundowm, and have not needed any jacket or sweater during the day....

Kagiso,
Dave

5 Days and Counting...

It hit me this morning that in only 5 days, this picture of a Botswana sunset will be a reality. Kevin and I met for a few minutes today and we looked through Colossians 1:9-12 as the basis for our time in Africa. It is our prayer that we would be filled with the knowledge of His will, and so walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all we do and say and think, to bear fruit, to grow in our understanding of God, and to be strengthened as we joyously worship the Father.

Would you join us in that prayer?

Hartnett Update - 2

Things are going well here. We've had lots of good time to interact with the church here and get caught up. I preached at church yesterday. Also, Beth Schanholtzer arrived late last week and spent a good bit of the weekend with us. We took her to church with us at Old Naledi yesterday. She really enjoyed the service and meeting the folks there. She heads off to the town of Lobatse today and will be in various locations around Botswana through November.

Please continue to pray for the young men leaders in the church, Mothusi, Moagi (MG), Lame (pronounced lom-aye), Joe, Champ and the others. Particularly pray for Champ. He is working extremely hard and is burdened by all the duties of directing the Tlamelo Project, serving as church treasurer, deacon, helping with the youth ministries, mens' study, and trying to keep up with his university studies. Quite a heavy set of responsibilities for a 22 year-old guy. He is a gem!

Barb has been having a great time talking with the ladies working at the Tlamelo Project and discussing the bible with them (while the food is cooking). I have been getting materials and the necessary tools lined up for our various projects. One of the other missionaries in Gaborone has all the power tools and other tools that we will need for the carpentry projects at Tlamelo.

The weather has been superb here. Sunny every day with daytime highs around 80 and nighttime lows around 50. We look forward to your arrival in a couple weeks.
Modimo o siame,
sala sentle,
Dave

Hartnett Update - 1

Dumelang,

This is our first full week back in Botswana and Naledi and we are well settled in and getting caught up with the various people and ministries of the church. We met with Champ and learned of the many physical needs of the Tlamelo Project and the church that they would like us to undertake. These include repairs in the kitchen (fixing broken cabinets etc.), re-building about 8 picnic tables for the kids to eat at, several repairs and closet construction in the church building, and re-building the little kids soccer goal (a free-standing PVC pipe frame with netting tied on). I have started to scout around to the various building supply places to look for materials so Kevin, Dave, and Dave can do the construction work, and then the ladies can organize and complete all the painting the following week when they are here. I will be sending Kevin a list of a few tools that he can bring from my basement if you guys have room in your luggage.

I have been going to various places in Gaborone with Champ to collect the donated food for Tlamelo each day, and he has asked us to take over that task for him for a week while you are here, as he needs to return to Pretoria to take his exams that week. Barb is helping with the cooking every day.

Tonight Barb and I will be going to the evening prayer meeting at the church. Afterwards, we are going to the hospital to visit Lesedi, one of Barb's good friends from the church. We just learned this weekend that she is in the hospital. This coming Sunday (June 25), Moruti James has asked me to preach (are these guys scraping the bottom of the barrel or what?).

Moruti talked to the congregation about your visit this past Sunday. They are really looking forward to your visit and consider it a tremendous blessing and answer to prayer. Moruti posted the large picture of the team on the church bulletin board (the one taken in our front yard) and he prayed for our churches and for the 5 of you. They are very eager to get to know you, for you to get to know them, and to talk and pray together about how our churches might partner with one another.

That’s about all for now. My 5 pula of internet time is about over.
Kagiso. Modimo o siame,
Dave

2006 Letter to Friends

Dear Friends,

Over the past several years, God has turned the hearts of many in the E-Free churches of Manhattan toward Africa, opening opportunities to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of the people of Botswana, to build partnerships with a local church and with the people living and serving in the city of Gaborone and surrounding villages. The Old Naledi church is in a very poor village of about 40,000 people on the outskirts of Gaborone. In a country with the world’s highest levels of HIV-AIDS, the burdens of sickness, poverty, death, and thousands of orphaned children are all too prominent. God has developed this grassroots ministry in Botswana with a strong focus on building long-term relationships. He has provided numerous opportunities to minister to both the physical and spiritual needs of that country, joining with the local church in Old Naledi in prayer, visiting the sick, ministering to the orphaned children, teaching, and serving the poor, and continuing to pray throughout the year for the church and for others serving there.

We have had recent discussions with Moruti (Pastor) James about the tremendous suffering, the many physical needs, and the great challenges facing the Christian community in Old Naledi. When asked how our church can best help and what resources we might provide, he said “Bring more people from your church to visit us. We find the greatest encouragement in your time spent with us and working with us.” This year again, God has opened an opportunity for a team of six from Harvest Fellowship and Faith E-Free Church to again serve along side the church in Old Naledi village. David Robinson, Kevin Porter Julie and Becky Coonrod, David and Barbara Hartnett, and Evie Krenzin will be traveling to Botswana in July to continue the work and partnership God has established for us.

This summer we will continue building relationships with the youth and young adults, continuing in prayer, study and discipleship with the youth as they face many physical and spiritual challenges walking with God and growing in their faith. Our team will also be involved in teaching, prayer, and encouraging fellowship with Moruti (Pastor) James and the other church leaders and missionaries serving in Old Naledi. A prayer retreat is planned with our team and the village church leadership, and David Robinson will preach at the Old Naledi church. Mothusi, the seminary student raised up from within the Old Naledi fellowship will be back in the village, providing opportunities to continue to encourage him and build our relationship with this future pastor. Our group will again be working with the The Tlamelo Project, a feeding program for AIDS orphans in Old Naledi village, and helping with various other ministries helping the many children at risk in the village. We will also be taking teaching resources and other needed items to Botswana. In addition, we will be traveling to Kumakwane to encourage and work with Heidi Epple as she ministers in that village.

Please pray for the church in Botswana. Also, please pray for our team that we may serve well as we minister alongside our African brothers and sisters this summer. Financial support is also urgently needed to help meet the many physical needs of this very poor village (food, health care, education sponsorship for orphaned children, teaching materials, seminary tuition, etc.) and to support our travel expenses this summer. If you feel led to help in this ministry, please send your contribution to Harvest Fellowship, PO Box 337, Manhattan, KS 66505-0337. If you have any questions, please contact us at bostwana@harvestfellowshipks.org

Serving Him,
David and Barbara Hartnett, David Robinson, Julie Coonrod, Kevin Porter, Becky Coonrod, Evie Krenzin