Mobilizing Prayer for Elections

On Tuesday, March 31 2009, for the first time in Namibian history, church leaders from Protestant, Charismatic and Pentecostal churches came together to make a historic national call for a peaceful election process. Full text of the declaration available at http://www.kas.de/wf/doc/kas_16071-544-2-30.pdf or by e-mailed on request. (pray4namibia@gmail.com)

The declaration encourages all churches to take up the very important role of intercession through mobilizing individual and corporate prayers all over the nation for peaceful elections. A working group to mobilize prayer, with chairperson Pastor Roy Wallace, has been established to encourage churches and believers in all 13 regions in Namibia to pray for the November elections. Visit this blog for updates. Please pray now for -

• Fair, free and honest elections.
• Wisdom as the Steering committee continue to implement the declaration
• Finances for printing of the Declaration in all languages.
• Distribution of the declarations to all churches in Namibia.
• That church leaders will apply the Declaration.
• The Electoral commission as they prepare for the November elections.
• Voter education and high voter participation.
• Unity among believers in spite of political party differences.
• Proper communication with all role players and voters.
• Peace and stability in the time leading up to the elections, during and also after the elections.

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone -for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1 Tim 2:1-2

Drug abuse all-time high!

ILLEGAL drug abuse is at an all-time high in Namibia, warned Health and Social Services Minister Richard Kamwi. He said Namibia can not allow itself to be turned into a drug consumer country and called on Namibians to act as a whistle-blowers against the sellers and abusers of illicit substances.

Speaking at a ceremony in Windhoek, the Health Minister cited media coverage earlier this year of a number of foreign suspects arrested and found in possession of cocaine, after flying to Namibia from Brazil, to underline what is happening. Approximately N$3 million worth of cocaine was seized by the Police’s Drug Law Enforcement Unit in those hauls. Kamwi congratulated the Police on these arrests, saying drug abuse has come “under the spotlight” in Namibia.

“But these uniformed men and women cannot do it alone. For them to succeed calls on all of us as Namibians to be whistle-blowers. Namibia should not and never should be used as a route or dumping place for their illegal activities,” Kamwi said. Especially worrying, the Minister said, is Namibia’s gradual transition from a transit route for illegal drugs to a consumer country. “We’re such a small country of two million. How can we allow this to happen.”

Friday 26 June is the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking.

If you want to know more about the health risks of illicit substances, click on this link to download an excellent pdf booklet with all the facts or write to me and I will forward it to you. (pray4namibia@gmail.com)

• Pray against drug trafficking through Namibia and the use of drugs by Namibians.
• Pray for the police to fight the crime of drug trafficking, selling and abuse effectively.
• Pray for the right facts about drug abuse to be share through schools and churches.
• Trust God to free those caught in the claws of drugs and pray against the effects of drugs on our families and communities.

News source: http://www.namibian.com.na/

IT IS WINTER TIME

Tonight temperatures will drop below minus one. Many in the informal settlements accross Namibia – where people live in shacks built from corrugated iron sheets, cardboard and plastic – walk long distances to collect wood from the veld. If you can't make fire, then you suffer from the cold.

Most of the people in the informal settlements are unemployed or underemployed, and struggle to afford the basic necessities. It is calculated that over 23 per cent of Windhoek’s population lives in the informal settlements on the outskirts of northern Katutura.

• Please pray that God will touch the hearts of those who have, to provide for those who are in need.

• Pray that God will come to town in Katutura in deeds of love through his children, the church in the city.
  

• Pray for various ministries who work in the poor community, that they will be able to meet the needs of the hungry, the cold, the sick and the lonely.

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27

Pray for the Elections

Namibia will go to the polling stations in November. Church leaders signed a declaration to support the election process and organize a Day of Prayer on the 1st November.

On Thursday, 18th June 2009 third consultative Conference on the Church Leaders’ Declaration on Elections in Namibia will meet in Windhoek to deliberate on the way forward.

This Conference will serve to engage participants in the appointment of the four Working Committees for the process to be successfully implemented:

• Prayer & Intercession
• Voter Education
• Election Monitoring & Observation and
  
• Media/Public Relations
  

Here is the dream of the organizers: "Let us stand united in our witness for a just society, ensuring that the members of the Body of Christ engage in the process of elections in our nation in such a way that Jesus Christ will be glorified as the Lord of all by displaying unity and love among us."

Please earnestly pray for the consultation and that this dream will be realized.

Photo: Paulus Kirche in Rehoboth that celebrated 100 years in 2008.

God saw it was good

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky. So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind.
And God saw that it was good.
God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth". Genesis 1:20 - 22

This past week-end we visited a friend's place called "Shalom" on the Oanob Dam near Rehoboth. Indeed it is a place of peace. These pair of ducks made me aware of God's creation and how He has blessed Namibia with unsurpassed beauty.

Praise God for our beautiful country, for the mountains and the desert, for the wildlife and the birds of the sky, for the plants and magical sunsets in the evening, for special people, lonely places and tourist attractions unique to Namibia. Pray that we will look well after them and manage them it such a way that God will get the glory. Pray that people will flock to Namibia to see our beauty, and to find the Creator of them all!

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. Romans 1:20

90 DAYS BLESSINGS & BIBLE MARATHON

As you pray for your community, make yourself available to be used by God to bring the change you want to see. We will share resources and ideas how to work toward Biblical community transformation during the 90 Days of Blessings that follows GDOP from 1st June.

We also want to challenge you to read through the Bible in 90 days from June 1. This will help you to understand the big picture, how everything in the Word fits together and get an understanding of Gods love for you and His people. My wife and I will run through the pages, how about you? If you want the program for the 90 days, please write to louis.conradie@gmail.com

Pray for all in Namibia who registered for this 90 Days Bible Reading Marathon, that

• we will be faithful to keep our appointment every day
• God will meet with with us in a very personal way
• the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see His truth
• that this marathon (the Word) will change our lives.

Photo: Elsabé reading her bible on Prayer Mountain at The Rock Lodge.