One of my favorite promises about God’s provision is found in 2 Corinthians 9:8 (Amplified Bible, Classic Edition):
And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
I’ve recently been meditating on the first part of this verse:
And God is able…
When someone is able, it simply means that they know how to do something. They are qualified to do something. We could even say that they are a professional at what they do.
If you ever needed surgery done, you would want someone who is a qualified professional to perform the operation, right? You would want someone who is well-experienced in the field and who has a good track record of performing successful surgeries.
God is able. God is a qualified professional in the field of provision and blessing. God is well-experienced in being a Provider and He has an impeccable track record of success in meeting needs and showering blessings.
I want to be a “giver.” I want to be a generous person. I always want generosity to be a big, permanent, defining part of who I am. I want to constantly be growing in my ability to give. I know that how I grow as a “giver” is directly connected to how well I grasp this very simple, but very powerful truth: God is able.
And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to me in abundance, so that I may always and under all circumstances and whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation].
God is able to do everything He promises me in this Scripture. It doesn’t matter that I’m a missionary who lives on a support-based income which can be unpredictable and irregular. It doesn’t matter how well or unwell the economy is doing. It doesn’t matter what kind of unexpected or emergency expenses may come my way. I truly believe that God is able. I want to constantly remind myself and convince myself of this truth.
God is able!
Because of this fact, I never have to be afraid of Lack or Need. Whenever I come face to face with Lack or Need, I can just remind myself of this truth, and I know I will be able to stand up on the inside. I know that if I constantly keep this truth before my eyes, there will always be a BIG resounding “NO!” that my spirit will scream at Lack or Need anytime they try to shake me or make me doubt that God. Is. Able.
God is a qualified Provider. Trust me. Or better yet, trust Him. He knows exactly what He’s doing.
One of my goals for 2016 was to learn how to speak Setswana, so I enrolled in a 9-week Setswana course. Setswana is the main language spoken in Botswana (besides English), and it’s not an easy language to learn! It utilizes a lot of consonant clustering (e.g. 
My favorite event I planned for my youth last year was our first ever Ice Cream Party & Water Games event – basically a day of playing fun water-related games and eating delicious frozen treats! It was hilarious to see my youth try a slip-n-slide for the first time! What a fun day! Youth ministry is a blast!
We started a new group for our older youth (ages 18-24) called Catalyst. This is probably my favorite age group to work with. The heart behind this group is to empower them with important life skills, such as financial management (budgeting, saving, etc.) and job skills (interviewing, professional attire, work ethic, how to start a business), so they can transition well into the “real world.”
September 30, 2016 marked the 50th anniversary of Botswana’s independence! Bots 50, as this milestone anniversary was called, was truly a nationwide celebration. From the cities to the villages, patriotism was literally painted all over the country. Batswana (people of Botswana, plural) have a reason to be proud. When Bechuanaland became the Republic of Botswana in 1966, it was, at the time, the third poorest nation in the world. Today, it is the world’s top producer of diamonds and has the second fastest growing economy in the world. I highly recommend the movie A United Kingdom (released last month), which is a beautiful retelling of the history of Botswana and its first president.
If you are reading this, I want to thank you for your support! Your financial support, your prayers, and your interest and encouragement for the work I do is a huge blessing to me! The ways you support me, in turn, allow me to be a blessing to those God has called me to serve. Any gratitude I receive from my youth and those I minister to is also gratitude to you. Thank you for giving!
In April, I turned the big 3-3! I am really loving my 30s, and I’ve gotta say that 
In an effort to help our youth recognize their God-given value and self-worth, myself and other adults in our church organized an Etiquette Party – a formal party in which our youth were served a 3-course meal and were taught about social etiquette and table manners. It was fun to see them get all gussied up – I had never seen some of the girls ever wear a dress before or some of the boys ever look so sharp!
In July, we held our very first youth conference! My dear friend, Kevin Went, was our guest speaker. The theme for our conference was “Unstoppable” – in reference to Philippians 4:13, reminding our youth that we can do all things through Christ and we are unstoppable in doing great things for Him! During the same weekend of the conference, we held our annual Crazy Olympics event in which other youth groups joined us for a fun day of various games/activities!
Held our first ever youth girls retreat and it was a blast! Taught our young ladies about their value in Christ, true godly beauty and etiquette. Highlights from this event were shopping (girls got to “shop” clothes, makeup and accessories that ladies from our church donated – this got a little crazy!), a Self-Esteem fashion show (each girl shared about 4 things they liked about themselves and then got to strut down a “runway”) and a stiletto race (exactly what it sounds like – racing each other in stilettos!).
On September 4, 2014, Heston Leonardo Barlolong was born, and I became an Auntie!!! In January of 2014, my sister announced that she was expecting her first child. Obviously, being so far away from home, I miss my family, and it was hard for me to not be there during my sister’s pregnancy. However, I was blessed to be able to make a quick (surprise!) trip back home to meet and hold my nephew 3 weeks after he was born! Just call me Auntie Mel :)
In October, we held our very first Purity Ceremony. Twenty five of our youth made a public commitment to live a life of purity, and each of them was presented with a “love waits” bracelet, which serves as a symbol/reminder of their commitment. They committed not only to abstinence, but to leave a better legacy for their future family, their city, their country and the next generation. I’m really proud of our youth who made this commitment and I hope to repeat this event again in the future for many other youth in Botswana! (You can read more about my plans 
Leading up to Thanksgiving this past year, I wrote a series on my blog called “
On Christmas Eve, I was finally able to purchase my own car!!! I cannot express enough how much of a blessing this car is! And it was really special that I was able to get my car the day before Christmas :) This car is a gift from so many people – dear friends, family and supporters – who were willing to give and invest in me and what I do. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I pray that God blesses you for your thoughtfulness and generosity!
If you are one of my monthly/recurring supporters, I would like to inform you of some recent changes to the donation system that receipts your gifts. A new donation system was put into place the end of last year, and during the conversion, you may have noticed that donations made through your auto bank deductions or credit cards weren’t processed/charged for a couple of months. This was a result of the system conversion. The issue has been corrected and your regular donations should have processed normally last month. I apologize for any inconvenience, and your patience during this change is much appreciated. If you have any questions regarding the system conversion, or if you are interested in making up any donations lost in the transition, please contact Nancy at 
I’m also thankful for my African family! We look different, we talk different, but they treat me like I’m a part of the family! I’m pretty sure they now consider me like more of an African than an American :) They welcomed me when I first came. They are helping me to learn their language. They threw me a surprise party when I celebrated my first birthday in Africa. On more than one occasion, they’ve expressed to me their gratitude for my deciding to come to Botswana. They leave me in no doubt of how much they love me and have accepted me, and the feeling is mutual. I love all of my African mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters. You know that saying that it takes a village to raise a child? Well, I feel like a wonderful “village” of people in Botswana have graciously welcomed this missionary into their lives.
It’s awesome to have family on both sides of the equator! I love both of my families and I’m so blessed and thankful to have them in my life.
