Pray for Skiller

7-30-12

For those of you who are of the praying persuasion, I’d like to ask you to pray for my research assistant, Skiller. We have been having some very interesting spiritual conversations. It started about a week and a half ago. We were headed to the park when we saw a woman wearing a DWNP (the wildlife department that I work closely with) uniform waiting for a ride. Having an extra seat, I pulled over and we offered her a lift. It turned out she was going to the regional wildlife office, not the front gate like we were, but it was still on the way so it wasn’t a problem. After proceeding to the front gate we checked in like normal. There was a Motswana lady standing by the gate and I said hello to her as I went in. When I came back out Skiller said she was looking for a ride to Chobe Game Lodge, a lodge inside the park. We weren’t planning on heading that way since it would take longer, but the route to the lodge would still get us close to our final destination so again we gave her a lift. After we had dropped her off Skiller looked at me and said, “So what makes you different from other white people? No one ever offers a black person a ride and you just went out of your way to give two people rides.” I was surprised and a bit disappointed to know that the white people here have such a poor reputation and such little compassion. I tried to explain that because God has given so much to me I try to help others as well. I said I would like to be helped if I were in their situation so I try to help others when I can. He didn’t really say anything to that so I left it as it was, praying that the Lord would use the situation as He would.

The next conversation came over dinner a few nights ago. I’ve been learning a lot about culture in Botswana and especially among the Herrero, Skiller’s tribe. One night I said that while he had told me a lot about the culture he hadn’t mentioned many spiritual beliefs so I asked what kind of religious or spiritual background he had. He described a system of ancestor worship that he held to and which seemed fairly important to him. I wasn’t really sure how to respond to that but when he asked if I was a Christian I took the chance to say that I was and to describe what I believed, giving a quick summary of the Gospel. Again, he didn’t really have much to say after that and I left the conversation praying that he would think about what I had said and that the Lord would open doors to other conversations.

A few nights later the opportunity came. We were talking about a variety of things when he noted that I was very different from Botswana men because even though my wife was thousands of miles away I was sitting in my tent every night rather than going into town to chase after women. This is a rather sad commentary on the sexual morality of Batswana (citizens of Botswana) and matched what I had heard before from others. What was interesting, though, is that I found that Skiller was very open to talking about the issue and seemed to feel something wasn’t right about the way they were treating women through their infidelity (“their” in a general sense, he wasn’t clear on whether he was part of that or not). This led to talking about other moral issues of a related nature like the spread of HIV and drinking. As that conversation started to die down I decided since we were already talking about heavy things I’d return to issues of spirituality.

Praying for wisdom, I began asking him for more details about what he really believed about his ancestors and how the dead could influence the living. He talked for a while, really opening up and sharing his views. One thing he said really stood out to me. He said that although he prayed to his ancestors, he believed there was one creator God. He said his ancestors served as a sort of intermediary for him to make requests to and get guidance from God. I feel like the Lord really set this up because this was a perfect connection. I told him I completely agreed that we needed an intermediary between God and men because God is so perfect and we are so broken. But I said that where we differed is that instead of looking to ancestors as my intermediary I look to Jesus. I borrowed an example from my Crusade training in college and adapted it to Skiller’s context. I asked if he’d ever to Victoria Falls and he said he had. I pointed out that if we were both to try to jump from one side of the falls to the other, he would probably go farther than I would (I suppose it’s true what they say about white men and jumping J) but that nonetheless neither of us would make it across. The gap was just too far. In the same way, the problem I saw with ancestors serving as the intermediary is that since they were fallible people, they weren’t qualified. That’s why God came down Himself in the person of Jesus and lived a perfect life. He is able to span that gap that none of the rest of us can and that is what makes Him the perfect and only intermediary. Reading back over that I feel like that sounds far more eloquent than I actually was…I didn’t have my thoughts all that quite put together and I fully attribute whatever good was said to the Spirit speaking through me.

We talked for a while more and Skiller surprised me suddenly by saying that he truly believed that some day he would become a Christian. I asked why someday; why not now or soon? He said he hadn’t found a church he liked. He’d been to several and he didn’t like what they taught or did. I responded that while getting involved in a church is definitely important to do, it doesn’t make you a Christian any more than going to KFC makes you a chicken (they don’t have McDonald’s here but they do have KFC). I suggested that first he focus on his personal relationship with God, praying and reading the Bible to get to know Him, and then worry about finding a church later. I talked about having to find a new church when I went to Davis and again when I moved to Florida and how the criterion I used was finding a good Bible-believing and teaching church. I asked if he’d ever read the Bible and he said yes, he’d read his mother’s. I asked if he would read one if he had his own and he said he definitely would. I told him I’d try to find him one before he returned to Maun.

That is pretty much where the conversation was left. I was encouraged by Skiller’s openness to talk about things and about his comment about believing he would eventually become a Christian. Some day may never come, however, so for those of you who are Christians I would appreciate if you would be praying for Skiller that he would come to a real and personal relationship with Christ. We only have two more days together (probably less once I actually get to internet and get this posted) so please be praying for God-given opportunities for further conversations. Pray also for me for wisdom and that the Lord will be the one speaking through me. Finally, please pray that I will be able to find a Bible for him. I have one idea of where to look but I do not know if the store is even there anymore. Also, we’re likely to be pretty busy over the next two days. I want to make this a priority, but it will be tough as there are other demands on my time also. Thank you!

7-31-12 Update

Praise the Lord! We got a Bible for Skiller! We had some time this afternoon so we went searching for a Christian bookstore I remembered in town. We found it and got him a small NIV Bible. I'm so glad this worked out! I think I'm going to suggest he start with the book of Luke. I know many people like John but I've always found the opening chapter to be a bit metaphoric and for someone who doesn't have English as their first language I figure the straightforward approach of Luke is better. Please be praying now that he reads this Bible and that the Lord uses His Word to change Skiller's heart.