Copies of the 40-day prayer journals are now available.
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FTN 40 Day Prayer journal

We at Face the Nation are celebrating our 5th year anniversary!!!
So, watch this post.

The Botswana Partnership, through the efforts of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, Marietta, GA and Open Baptist Church, Gaborone, Botswana, has won a coveted Courageous Leadership Award from Willow Creek and World Vision!!! The award will include an undisclosed financial gift.
We were told that the award was 2nd place as an over 1000 Resourcing Church.  They stressed that the Committee struggled with their final decision and was split on the decision.  We were close to 1st Place!!!

Regardless, this is a GREAT honor.  The award will be presented at the Leadership Summit @ Willow Creek in August. 
http://willowcreek.com/events/leadership/2009/award.asp will give you details of the event.

It is hard to believe that our volunteers have already completed 4 of their 5 weeks in the schools. There are many mixed emotions out there! Some are relieved that the end is in sight and they now believe they can end well. Others are sad to be leaving the schools and this time of ministry. Many students in the schools are not wanting this active phase of Face The Nation to end. Please pray that our volunteers won’t loose focus this week. Pray that they may still trust and depend on God to help them reach the finishing line.

This week I was privileged to travel to Francistown and live with the North Rally Team for 2 days.

Kez, their leader, is my husband and my “adopted” daughter and it was her 21st birthday on Monday. Kez has spent the last 3 years on the road with FTN on her birthday. I caught the early bird flight and phoned Innocent, the team driver to come and fetch me from the airport.

I phoned Kez on my way to the village of Tonota, pretending to be in Gabs, asking her about her plans for the day. She said, “The team is up to something and it has to be for my birthday. Innocent and Tumi aren’t here and they would never leave the premises with the vehicle without my permission.”

Five minutes later Kez was instructed to go and get some “stuff” from the vehicle for her birthday. I was crouched down on the floor. When she saw me she burst into tears and clung to me for a long time.

Thus began my 2 days with the team. They tell me I was a blessing to them… but I really think it was the other way around. I felt privileged and honoured to be able to get a feel for their lifestyle during their 5 weeks on the road. They blessed and encouraged me.

Their breakfast of oats was quickly abandoned when I unpacked a breakfast pizza, brownies, crunchies and other treats from my suitcase. Over half my luggage was food!

The team are staying in a house belonging to the parents of the North facilitator. A small 3 bed roomed house is occupied by 15 people (16 with me). 2 pastors rent one room; the boys were in one room and the girls in the other. Mummy, the facilitator slept in an outside room. 8 of us girls slept on 6 mattresses; there wasn’t enough room for 8.

Mid morning we left for Francistown Teachers Training College to hold a rally there. As in many places the venue was filthy and we needed to sweep and set up. This was done without a word of complaint. In fact they carry brooms with them to clean up wherever they go. What an attitude of servant hood! We (or should I say they) set up. It was like watching a well oiled machine. Everyone one had assigned jobs- sorting props, finalizing the order of the programme, testing the mics, erecting the puppet stage, making sure everyone had spat out their gum!

We then formed a tight circle out our arms around each other and had a time of prayer. This was followed by an individual time of prayer, touching and praying over each chair and for the person that would sit in it.

There were some “older” people in the audience. In the Setswana culture it is considered inappropriate for young people to talk about sex to anyone older than you. Kez was giving “the sex talk”. She handled it with respect and dignity. She explained to the mothers in the audience, that she knew this wasn’t really culturally acceptable, but please could she have their permission to speak because the younger people needed to hear the message about the need to live a life of moral purity.

The rally gripped the attention of the + – 100 people there. The message was clear, in your face, no excuses made. The testimonies spoke of the difference that Christ had made in their lives, the dances were vibrant. 9 people came forward to give their lives to Christ and to commit to abstinence, another 9 committed to abstinence.

After the rally I had the joy of praying with a 33 year old lady. She had given her life to the Lord as a teenager and had been walking in rebellion for 15 years, in spite of her strong Christian upbringing. She said, “I need to repent and come back to God.” After we had prayed she said, “I can’t wait to get home to tell my family what has happened. I have had an appointment with God.”

We then went to Nando’s for supper. We celebrated with balloons, noisy blowers, a Happy Birthday banner and much laughter. Each member of the team acknowledged Kez and thanked her for being such a fine leader and they recognized the anointing of God on her life. Back in Tonota we held a Bible quiz and time of sharing together. I laughed the whole way back to Tonota, as I got to appreciate the quirts and inside jokes of the team.

Tuesday morning started late. Well late for them- it was early for me. With 16 of us sharing a bathroom, morning ablutions began before 5. Everyone had a piping hot wash in a plastic bowl of water put in the bath.

I sat and watched the team pull together over the next 2 hours. One washed the cups from the night before, another made and served breakfast, Kenny cleaned out The Beast (the name of the land cruiser they are traveling in); Innocent checked the water and oil. Kez swept the house; Agnes packed the puppet stools which double up for sitting on. Several others practiced a dance routine. Suzanne and Brad interviewed and filmed Tumi for Suzanne’s documentary. Brad is always in someone’s face with that huge camera. I was very self conscious. The team doesn’t even notice him anymore. Not once did I hear someone being told to hurry up or to do their duties. In between people were finding a patch of sun to pray and read their Bible and were doing their washing by hand under a cold tap in the yard. Washing was strung up on the fence. At 9 o’clock we were assembled for the morning devotion, which is prepared by a team member on a roster basis.

By 10: 30 the trailer was loaded and we were off back to Francistown for a rally at Materspei. It was good to connect with the 3 girls who are teaching in that school. I heard their challenges and joys and was able to encourage them. Bread rolls and oranges were served for lunch from the bonnet of the Beast, in the grounds of the school. I felt a fresh wave of admiration for these brave and extremely energetic young team members, as I watched the throngs pour into the hall. This is a huge school of 1 800, all of whom were present at the rally. The noise levels from the students was unbelievable and at times I did wonder if anyone was listening. Until I stared intently into the faces of the students and saw that some were feeding off every word that was said. The team persevered, undeterred by the apparent lack of attention. At the end of the rally an altar call was made and about 100 people came forward to give their lives to Christ and to commit to a lifestyle of moral purity.

Before the rally ended I said by good byes “back stage” and Innocent took me back to the airport. As I flew home I reflected on my time with team. My focus and role in Face the Nation is to coordinate the equipping and training of the volunteers. I knew afresh that the hours and months of hard work is so worth it. I was reminded again that Face the Nation is a God thing. I quietly sang the words of our theme song:

“Send me, I will tell your precious story.
Lord, send me.
Send me
I will tell of all your glory
Lord, send me.
How can I go unless your Spirit leads me?
How can I know unless your Spirit shows me?
Help me to see all the fields around me
It’s not about me
But it’s for your glory.
Send me, send me, send me.”

I thank God for these special two days and that I have been able to share them with you. You too, are a part of this God thing. Face the Nation is grounded on the prayer of the saints and I have been reminded once again just how crucial this is. Thank you for partnering with us. Keep praying!

Yours in Face the Nation

Gail Wingreen

South rally team were some what discouraged. 3 schools were wanting to cancel or reschedule their rallies. They are rearing to go and get off the staring block and haven’t done so yet.
North rally team were also a bit discouraged. It has been raining in Kang and their tents are wet. They are sleeping in a church and have to pack up every time there is a meeting. That’s not getting them down too much! Today their first rally was scheduled and the entire town was without power the whole day. At 2:30 Team leader Kez phoned and said they were going to the school to minister. “We can’t do any of our usual stuff but we aren’t going to let Satan stop us.” At 7 pm I got a phone call with the entire team yelling “Awesome!” into the phone. They simply broke the students into groups and started talking with them. They had just left the school when they phoned me. A number of students gave their lives to the Lord. The teaching volunteers and rally teams members worked well together as a team in this.

Much of my newsletters over the next few weeks are going to be text messages that I have received from around the country. I am going to let the volunteers tell their story.
“We are trusting God for big changes in this school.”
“We have been invited by teachers in the school to join a Bible Study. They have promised to stand with us.”
“We were warmly welcomed and are receiving our main meal at school. Students cooperated something seems to register when we do the multiplication factor.” (this is a graphic and quite gross illustration that demonstrates the sharing of body fluids)
“We are struggling to get transport from Maun to Okavango school.”
“Please pray for us to be given an office where we can counsel and pray.”
“Our staff quarters are like hotel rooms. Guidance & Counseling teacher is so excited to have us here. The need here is so great. Please continue to pray for us. 35 minutes per class per week seems so inadequate.”
“Wow! I can’t believe we did it. We were wondering as we went into our 1st lesson if we could do it. God used us in a mighty way. It just flowed and this was our first time to teach. We are swimming in God’s mercy and love. We are really enjoying what we are doing.”
“We believe we are in the right place with the right message.”
“Pray for us. There are student teachers sharing the timetable with us and they are teaching the message of “safe sex-use a condom.”
“Some teachers didn’t want us to take their classes, so the head of Guidance and Counseling put up a notice in the staff room saying that we WILL teach our assigned classes.”
“We won’t disappoint our Master.”
“The teacher came in and was amazed that the students were so quiet. He was so impressed that he gave me the next 2 lessons to teach. He told me that he was blessed. I am amazed at what God is doing.”
“We are only 2 volunteers in this school and we have been given 42 classes. I don’t think we can do it but Karabo says we can.”
“The water in Shoshong is terrible. One of us has developed a rash.”

We are thrilled to report to you that the vast majority of the teams received an overwhelmingly warm welcome from principals, staff and students alike.

In one school the principal claimed that he wasn’t expecting them and left the volunteers sitting in the library. They did the right thing. They went straight to prayer and did their group devotion. In another school the head of the Guidance and Counseling Department gave the volunteers a hard time and made them feel unwelcome. He made it clear to them that he is not a Christian. By this morning their timetable had been sorted and they had stared teaching.

In Moshupa a teacher asked, “Are you from Face The Nation?” “Praise the Lord! Halleluiah that you are here.”

The last 5 days have been an absolute flurry of activity, as we tied up all the loose ends and prepared for 132 volunteers and their 7 leaders to disperse in every direction around the country.Once again we can testify to the hand of God’s favour being on us all and in spite of the pressure we were ready.

Our last week of lectures dealt with some heavy but discussion stimulating topics. Volunteers were once again challenged to examine their lives closely, as we learned about Traditional African religions, spiritual warfare, New Age, God’s view of marriage, counseling skills, HIV/AIDS and ethics, related to topics such as abortion, masturbation and pornography. On some days the volunteers groaned at the end of a lecture and would have happily gone into their lunch hour!!

The atmosphere at the church for the whole day on Friday was absolutely electrifying. Everybody that came to the church commented on the vibe they could feel, as they walked in.

The Commissioning Service was a blessed time. One volunteer had done the most intricate drawing which he presented to Face The Nation. It is a scene of horsemen going into battle in a storm flying a face The Nation flag. It will have place of honour on our office wall.

Once again there was an air of excitement, anticipation and commitment to carry out a mission. This was, however mixed with some anxiety and fear of the unknown, as well as sadness as many good byes were said. Many tears were shed and cell numbers exchanged.

Our rally teams faced some challenges this morning and got off to a late start. The North Rally Team has had 8 hour journey to Kang, with close fellowship (12 in the kombi). The Masunga team were still on the road late this evening and the Goodhope team will only be traveling first thing tomorrow morning, due to a delay in access to their accommodation. Otherwise we thank God for the safe arrival of all teams, with no accommodation problems to report.

Face the Nation School of Discipleship was successfully launched last Monday. We thank God for a smooth registration and first few days. We have 130 volunteers enrolled.
We thank God that we are extending our vision and reach beyond the borders of Botswana, with the safe but delayed arrival of 8 volunteers from Zambia and 7 from Zimbabwe. We welcomed back 3 Zambian volunteers who were with us as pioneers last year.

Unfortunately we had 2 volunteers lose family members the night before we started and on registration day. Both these volunteers have expressed their desire to continue with FTN in spite of their bereavement.

We had a lunch for our Prayer Partners on Wednesday.72 people from the church have signed up and promised to pray for and encourage a group of volunteers in a school for the next 8 weeks.

There is a sweet spirit amongst the volunteers and teams are already saying that they feel like family. There is no rush to leave at the end of the day, with much laughter, sharing and rich times of prayer being reported by the leaders.

There is an incredible thirst for the things of God and a teachable and open spirit. The lecturers this week have fed and challenged the volunteers. One volunteer said that there was so much to take in that he felt he was drinking from a fire hydrant.

Other testimonies have said that even after the first few days their lives have been challenged and changed forever.
Some complications with withdrawal of volunteers in the Western Region have surfaced. There is a feeling that this is a spiritual battle. The schools in this area are Kang, Gantsi, Maun and Letlhakane. Please pray for these schools.