A Child Shall Lead Them

Our month in Namibia has come to a close and one thing I have learned is that the hope of Africa really does lie in its young people. At one school we learned that the average life expectancy for Namibians is 43 years!

We traveled all over this country talking to learners and asking a lot of questions about family, relationships, sex, lifestyle, religion and beliefs. We have given 4,000 surveys, in classrooms and halls. We have entered the information into spreadsheets and even through someone else will be interpreting the data; we can see the results ourselves in the numbers. The number of parents that are dead is staggering, the religious beliefs vs. lifestyle practices do not add up; the number of kids that have had sex and read or view pornography points to some real problems. The final report will go to the ministry of education as well as to pastors and youth workers around this country so that future ministry can target the real needs of todays children.

It wasn’t a glamorous task…it is hot and sandy here. Some of the schools were hard to get to. However, my off-road driving skills have improved. There was heavy flooding on one area and lots of mosquitoes. But the teens have all been precious and eager to talk to us afterwards. Most classes were well behaved, with a few challenges here and there. I actually had a boy arrested during the middle of one of my sessions! But we know that the results of this survey will in the end help to raise-up a new generation that will hopefully live past 43 years and lead not just with knowledge of God but with deep revelation.

I know that this experience has changed the way I will approach future ministry in any country.

Every Sunday is a new experience. We find ourselves in all types of churches with all different kinds of rituals and languages and often times we are the ones speaking. However, several of our church experiences have given us hope for Namibia. At Ombili Assembly it was encouraging to spend Easter with a Missionary friend, Melissa McSurdy, but also see the young people rising up to help in ministry. At a Four-Square church in Ongwediva the worship time was so powerfully led by a nine year old boy. And at a service in Swakopmund, there was a six year old, very capably, playing the keyboard. And so we have seen with our own eyes the destruction of the enemy but also hope for Namibia’s future.