Sharing Good News!
Mark Behle – Lesotho
Shortly after New Year’s I accompanied nine members of our Friends of God group to the annual Scripture Union Camp. Usually it is held at a high school in some rural part of the country. This year it was held at the SU Center in Maseru where there was comfortable accommodation for a change. But two days of water shortages kept us from feeling too comfortable! Your prayers for the camp were appreciated!
Mark Behle – Lesotho
Shortly after New Year’s I accompanied nine members of our Friends of God group to the annual Scripture Union Camp. Usually it is held at a high school in some rural part of the country. This year it was held at the SU Center in Maseru where there was comfortable accommodation for a change. But two days of water shortages kept us from feeling too comfortable! Your prayers for the camp were appreciated!
We enjoyed several days of a variety of activities, many of which were enjoyed outdoors in the warm weather. One morning we had an urban scavenger hunt looking for certain people, places and items guided by cryptic clues. One of our camp leaders made such a perfect model in a storefront window that some of the campers walked right by.
On another day we enjoyed a long hike to a picnic area where most of the campers had their first exposure to canoeing and archery. But eating watermelon and mugging for the camera were not new experiences!
The theme of the camp was “Sharing Good News” and our featured speaker was Mr. Joseph Mpakanyane. Joseph, who was mentioned in my August 2006 newsletter, lifted our spirits with inspirational speaking and spirited singing accompanied once again by his accordion.
His three sessions with us were entitled “What do we have to share?”, “Why do we share?” and “How do we share?” He compared sharing the Good News to a beggar who finds bread and then goes and tells other beggars where to find bread. Another comparison was that of throwing a lifesaver to someone who is drowning. In helping us to understand why we share we looked at Acts 26:15-18 where Paul recounts his encounter with the Lord Jesus on the Damascus road. Jesus told Paul what his mission would be: turn people from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to the power of God. In sharing the Good News with others Joseph said we are doing the same, as well as helping people to turn from doubt to faith.
As an exercise in putting into practice what we had learned, we were asked to go out in small groups to share the Good News with people living in the area and others just passing by. Joseph encouraged us to avoid the “fire and brimstone”, share God’s love from our hearts and our own experience and not worry about step-by-step approaches. After an hour we returned and met together to share joys and sorrows from our experiences. Many, having gone out with some trepidation, excitedly reported how positively they and the Good News had been received by total strangers.
One of my favorite contemporary Christian music groups is Acappella. In their song, “Teaching the Truth in Love”, are the following words:
Sometimes it’s hard to know exactly how we are to share.
With the Master’s words of confidence, directly, do we dare?
Should we water down the message, should we tell them only part?
Will they see Him in our message, will they see Him in our heart?
Are we teaching the truth in love?
As we go forth into this New Year may God give us guidance and wisdom in sharing the love of Jesus so that we might be “the aroma of Christ…the fragrance of life.” (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).
Thank you for your prayers for Mr. Mohlatsane, the husband of my pastor. He is much better now and back at work again.
Prayer requests:
- For peaceful elections in Lesotho next month.
- A smooth opening to the new school year this month.
Yours in Christ,
Mark Behle
Mark Behle is a missionary with the Lesotho Evangelical Church. He is a Mathematics teacher at Masitise High School, Lesotho.