July 2006

Great news!

Beautiful Gate Namibia are now proud property owners, thanks to the help of Dutch TV company EO Metterdaad and the amazing generosity of the people of The Netherlands.

EO Metterdaad raised an incredible sum of N$1.2 Million which was needed for us to buy the building of which we have occupied a part rent free; for the last three years. It is so exciting to have ownership of the building, now we can really plan for the future of Beautiful Gate Namibia . The building is badly in need of renovating for which we will need a further N$2.8 Million.

Important choices

The  theme of the holiday club this year was “Choices” which we considered through the stories of Daniel in the lion’s den and Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in the fiery furnace. The choices these four men made had frightening consequences; they chose for God but still had to face the lions and the fire. In our lives we are all faced with choices and we all have decisions to make which have a big impact on our future. Our young people are faced with making important decisions from a very early age.  

We made the issue of relationship choices the focus, particularly with the oldest age group of young people: This also involved looking at the whole subject of HIV/AIDS.

We introduced them to the Biblical principles for finding a marriage partner. We really became aware that we need to teach our young people about sex and sexuality, and trust that God will raise up a new generation with a different standard of living.

One young teenage girl shared how difficult it was for girls in the community to say no to a guy when he makes sexual advances towards her. She said “If I say no, he will probably beat me. If I say no I will definitely offend him and his manliness. If I say no, I risk losing my friends. If I say yes I know I might well catch HIV but, however much I know I should say no and I want to, it is almost impossible.”

This is a daily reality for many of our teenage girls and we need to show them an alternative way, and provide a safe place for them. When the children come to camp they always appreciate the freedom and safety that being out of the town ship provides. They need more times of feeding and equipping and we will be increasing our number of camps throughout the year.