For those of you who like statistics, I can tell you that our team of 2 this year taught the bible to around 60 ladies at 8 different churches in northern Namibia on our 14 day trip. The churches varied from established community buildings (with pews and loo) to iron and pole huts and, in one case, four lone walls under a few trees. On many sites our port-a-loo came into its own. Each church was different but all of them were filled with beautiful people.

Amongst these beautiful people were many delightful women, all of different ages and stages of motherhood and womanhood. Each one was facing her own unique challenges, just as we do here in South Africa. In some venues we heard that the ladies had walked for several hours in soft sand, carrying babies and small children, just to hear the bible being taught.

Our task was to present Christ to the ladies using the OT narratives of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David and Jonah. The account of John the Baptist tied all other accounts together in presenting Jesus as the Lamb of God, prefigured in the Old Testament.

If we were outside without shade we just presented our teaching in the blazing sun with sunhats and lots of blockout. Many of the church ladies had their own Bible (which looked pretty well-thumbed to me). Some ladies came out of curiosity so we made a gospel appeal part of our teaching at most sites. Several ladies responded.

For those of you who like stories, here is one told to me by Meme Anna, wife of the pastor in one of our REACH churches in a remote part of northern Namibia. (Meme is a term of respect for an older lady and is pronounced meh-may)

Melody and I had been sitting with the ladies inside Anna's roofless, mud-shell of a church. It was hot but the ladies were attentive and engaged. We had been sharing with them, in scripture, about Adam and Noah and how the accounts of both of these men pointed to the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for us on the cross. We had explained to them, through the Oshikwanyama interpreter, the hope of Christ found in the Old Testament.

When we finished and were saying our goodbyes, Anna sent her daughter Fredericka to call me aside because she wanted to share something with me.
Anna took my arm as we slipped into the shadows under a thorn tree. She looked at me earnestly, asking her daughter to translate.

'Meme Kathy,' she began,
'This teaching is important ...
five months ago one of our young ladies was married in this village'.

By now Anna was almost crying

''and today we are burying her....
'.... She hung herself last week.'

'Please, Meme Kathy,' she continued, ''please come back again to tell us these stories about Jesus, we need to hear these stories. Our women need to hear them because they have no hope.'

It wrenched my heart to see the way she was begging us to return.

'Please come back,' she kept saying 'and when you come again, please bring bibles with you'.

Now I don't know when was the last time someone begged you to teach them the bible? It doesn't happen that often in Cape Town.

In another church, this time in urban Oshikati, a young woman told us 'I never saw before how the blood on the Passover door in Egypt tells me about Jesus'

Her friend next to her said 'Now I can learn how to trust Jesus in Proverbs 3:4-5'.

In every place we visited we were entreated to come back to continue the teaching. Who wouldn't want to return?

Now, my question is this ... will you be part of the Nam Team to go help teach these ladies in 2024?

Kathy Noland
Melody Curtis

I was blessed to be part of Reach Namibia 2023.

In truth it started well before the day we departed in convoy in the early hours of Sunday 25^th June. It started the day we (my wife Susanna and I) were accepted as members of the team as the leaders and the Lord would have it. We had gone through the arduous process of applying for our passports but thankfully they arrived in good time. We then had to raise the funds to finance our cost to attend this year’s mission so we held a fundraising soup and quiz evening at St. James Church to which we are grateful to the staff for allowing us to. The evening was a success and fun was had by all. Most importantly we were able to raise awareness of the impending outreach and garnered prayer and financial support. Due to the great generosity of supporters we were able to contribute over and above the required amount which would be used for outstanding outreach costs and also hopefully enough to purchase Namibian language Bibles.

Our days of ministry began with early morning devotion – hymn singing, a devotion shared by a team member and prayer to dedicate the day to the Lord – a great way to focus our attention to the mission that lay ahead. I was assigned to work with Ross, our team leader, in ministry to the men.

In general there were not many men that attended the gatherings as they were held during the week. Our first day of ministry was to two churchmen with the translator. Ross was explaining the “signposts” depicted in the Bible that show us the way to “the Great Sacrifice” as represented in the Biblical accounts of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah, John the Baptist and Jesus. For me it was a good quick crash course in the presentation of the gospel and a very useful teaching tool to explain how these famous heroes of the Bible displayed the various aspects of God’s Salvation Plan. The men were listening intently and attentively taking down notes.

In the ensuing days due to the paucity of men I did ushering duties as well as greeting folk. It was the fourth day and I was carrying chairs so that the womenfolk could sit in “the church” which was actually a space on a raised bank enclosed by four walls with two entrances where doors were supposed to be (and no roof). Here Kathy was holding the ladies’ meeting with Melody along with their translator.

I left them and was then met by a gentlemen in a bright colourful shirt. He was introduced to our group as the pastor’s son who lived in a house about 100 metres from “the church”. I said “Hello” and asked his name. He introduced himself and I asked how old he was to which he answered “54”. I said “I’m the same, born in 1969!” I discovered that he could speak Afrikaans which was a better way for us to communicate as I do not know the local language. And by God’s providence I had just finished scribing for an Afrikaans pupil in the weeks leading up to our departure for Namibia! He said “Come and follow me, I want to show you where we are going to build the church”. So he led me to a clearing to the other side past where Adele was busy ministering to the kids under a tree.

While in the middle of this field I chatted to him and said “O you must know all the Bible stories from since young as you’re a pastor’s child?” To which he replied “Yes, I know them all – Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jonah…”. “Oh” I said “you know about Jonah?” “Yes” he said “Jonah was in the belly of the fish”. I said “Yes!” So I asked him “How many days and nights was Jonah in the belly of the fish?” To which he replied “…..A week”!

And so he began to speak about Jonah and the Ninevites and how Jonah had disobeyed God etc. So then I asked him “Can I show you in the Bible how many days and how many nights Jonah was in the belly of the fish?” To which he said “Yes” and so I downloaded the Afrikaans Bible on my phone to show him Jonah 1:17 – Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights. “Can I also show you the significance of the sign of Jonah being three days and three nights in the belly of the fish? Jesus spoke of this sign in the New Testament” to which he replied “Yes, why not” and so I turned to the gospel of Matthew chapter 12 reading from verse 40: (in Afrikaans)

“Soos Jona drie dae en drie nagte in die maag van 'n groot vis was, so sal die Seun van die mens drie dae en drie nagte binne-in die aarde wees. Die mense van Nineve sal op die oordeelsdag saam met die mense van vandag opstaan en teen hulle getuig. Hulle het hulle immers op die prediking van Jona bekeer.”

So I asked him “Het jy al bekeer?” (Have you repented, have you converted?) To which he answered forthrightly “No”! So I asked him “Would you like to repent?” to which he answered “Yes! I want to see God.”

There with the two of us standing in the middle of the sand and shrub field he committed his life unto the Lord.

Thanks to Ross and Muriel for their tireless efforts in organising and leading these outreaches to the Reach Namibia churches every year. It was also heartwarming to meet the young men studying at seminary who are being trained in ministry and who acted as our translators. May God bless you all.

Lindsey Manley

I joined the 'Churches of Namibia' mission trip in June/July 2023. This was my first trip up to Northern Namibia and the impact on me and my family was profound.

As a minister at St Matthews church in Table View, a key part of our vision for the church is to see disciples of Jesus made and matured not only on the west coast of Cape Town but also across Africa. So it was with great joy and anticipation that my family and I joined this mission trip.

I was asked to head up the 'Youth ministry' team. What really struck me was how well some of the young people we got to minister to have been taught. Some of the youth asked incredibly insightful questions, which spoke volumes of the discipleship they are getting by the leaders of their churches.

After hearing reports that the Anglican church in Namibia was on the brink of collapse just a few years ago, it is amazing to see how things are turning around in such an encouraging way. If the young people who I was working with are anything to go by, the next generation of leaders who are coming into REACH Namibia are very exciting to see. I pray that the Lord will keep growing them through His Word to love Him more, to love each other more, and to love the lost around them more, so that they will effectively REACH Namibia with the glorious news of salvation through Jesus.

The young men who joined us from NETS as translators where also a particular highlight of the trip and we are praying that the Lord will equip them for a lifetime of faithful service of Him in the years ahead.

All glory be to Christ.

David Hill
James Le Roux
Sussana Manley
Nathan Hill

On one of the days while some of the children were praying at the end of our time together, I was reminded of the incredible truth that we are brothers and sisters in Christ. Some children prayed in English, others in Oshiwambo, some used their own words and others prayed the Lord’s prayer. But what an wonderful blessing to know that we were all praying to the same God. And that although we live in very different places and live very different lives, God’s saving grace was what united us and made us family.

It was very encouraging to see the number of children who wanted to learn about God. They travelled long distances, often carrying babies with them. The children were energetic, enthusiastic and very eager to be taught. Seeing how many of them recognised and knew many of the truths about God that we were teaching them was very encouraging. It is clear that in some of the churches there are faithful adults who are teaching these children about God.

Having Timothy to help translate was incredibly helpful. We quickly learnt to work well together and had a lot of fun teaching the children that God is the King. We have all turned away from him. God made a way to save us. Jesus died to save. Hearing these children repeat and remember these truths, as well as the memory verses that we taught them was special. Our prayer is that God has planted these truths into their hearts and will use it to stir them to place their trust in him.

It was very clear that in Namibia “the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.” I encourage you to join us in asking God, the Lord of the harvest, to send out workers into his harvest field.

Adele Hill
Hannah, James, Sarah and Mia Hill

• Trips planning: excellent and well executed.
• Drive up and down: Blessed by the Lord through traveling mercies.
• Accommodation: blessed at every stop and at George & Ida’s home.
• Food: once again every day blessed .
• Mission outreach: 8 different churches presented with the gospel theme for 2023. Every day was blessing to those who heard and those who presented message.
  Each group, children, youth, women and men’s were pleased to receive God message for team. Positive feed back with determined requests for a return/follow up visit, most encouraging.
• Numbers of participants: 3 groups well attended but far less men compared to 2022 trip nevertheless those that heard message were all encouraged.
• Team make up: teams were special and worked well complementing one another in the presentations, again God's selection was exactly what was required to have his message presented to the churches.
• Group dynamics: also was blessing, with all participating and lending a hand where required.
• Daily devotions were special and touching, coming from heart and blessing all without exception. Real special time.
• Overall summary of the trip without a doubt blessed by the Lord praise our God.
• Interpreters: We praise God for the students who joined us as our three interpreters without which we would have been quite lost. The right guys were provided/sent by the Lord to meet every requirement, with special blessing of Israel who lived with us in Ondangwa.

Paul Jackson