Texas teens minister, from Waco to Windhoek

Posted: 7/27/07

Texas teens minister, from Waco to Windhoek

By Paul Carr

Special to the Baptist Standard

WINDHOEK, Namibia—Thirteen Waco teenagers paused as they entered a walled compound in Nambia, scanning the teeming chaos that turned a patch of dirt and concrete into a playground. Within just a moment or two, children spied the strangers and swarmed them, latching onto their legs and stretching out their arms to be picked up.

Some of the teens knelt in the dirt, hugging two or three at a time, while others scooped up love-starved children giving them rides on their shoulders.

In the days that followed, the youth mission team from Highland Baptist Church in Waco sang songs, taught Bible lessons, made crafts, played with and simply hugged about 50 children left orphaned by AIDS.

During their two-week mission trip to Namibia, the Waco teens spent most of their time in Windhoek, where they shared the gospel through music, skits, Bible lessons and testimonies. They participated in a youth camp where 25 Namibians gave their lives to Christ; they promoted the local missionary’s youth program to 3,000 students in local schools, drawing interest among new students in attending the weekly youth group; they shared love and the gospel with the orphans at Beautiful Gate in the heart of the poorest part of the city; and they encouraged the local Christians through their own act of faith by leaving their safe, comfortable homes to come to another country.

Highland Baptist Youth Minister Ronny Higgins and his wife, Kylie, lived in Namibia two years on assignment with the International Mission Board, where they assisted career missionaries Bryan and Dana Bullington. Higgins joined Highland’s staff on his return to Waco in August 2005. The Higgins, their 1-year-old son, and two other adults accompanied the youth team on the trip.

But the Waco to Windhoek connection goes back further. After the Bullingtons had spent four years in Namibia, they returned to the United States for a one-year furlough—time they spent at First Baptist Church of Woodway in suburban Waco.

When they returned to Namibia, the Bullingtons were reassigned from the rural north to the capital city of Windhoek. There they began a youth ministry with a dozen participants. The ministry, now called Youth With a Purpose, drew 130 teens ages 15 to 19 one night while the Highland team was in Windhoek, and it attracted 75 participants at another event geared to younger adolescents.

Preparing for a visiting mission team is a lot of work for the missionaries who arrange housing, meals, travel in the country as well as visits to local schools and the orphanage. In the early years, Bullington said the youth teams were vital in giving his ministry credibility among both local youth and with school officials. Now that Youth With a Purpose is established, he prefers having an ongoing relationship with visiting teams.

Waco has become that link, with a second Waco team serving in Windhoek in recent weeks. Bob Johns, associate pastor for youth at First Baptist Woodway, led his third youth team to Namibia. PJ King, a member of the 2003 Woodway youth team, is living in Namibia this summer volunteering with Youth With a Purpose, and Josh Humphrey, a member of the 2005 Woodway team, is volunteering at Beautiful Gate this summer.

Highland Baptist Church of Waco teenagers lead worship at the altar and down the aisle during an assembly while on a youth mission trip to Namibia.

The Texas teens who participated said the impact on their lives has been immeasurable, with the orphanage having the most dramatic effect. “It struck me how happy those kids were all the time, and how even in the worst living conditions, they had such great joy,” said Cody Overstreet, 18. “I’m different now just in the way that I act every day. People around me have noticed.”

“Beautiful Gate caused many different emotions for me,” said Nathan Barker, 17. “At first, I really had a lot of anger and sadness because of the situation these children were in. I thought they didn’t deserve to be in that tough situation, but God showed me that I had three days with these kids and I needed to make the best of it

“I’ve learned to trust God with everything,” he said, “not just the big parts in my life, but all aspects of it. My faith has been strengthened because of seeing God’s power in Namibia.”

Preparing mentally and spiritually for the trip was as much a growing experience for Addison Pritchard, 18, as was the trip itself. “I was trying to have a relationship with him where I was in control. God showed me that I have to let go of my life and my desires and lean totally on him for my everyday needs. I am never going to be a perfect Christian, and that’s OK, I don’t have to be in order to minister to others.”

Higgins said he finds satisfaction when he is able to “see the light go on” for the teen volunteers, as they witness needs firsthand and realize they have a place in God’s plan.

“The reality sets in that God can use them to reach out and be his hands and feet in a world veiled in darkness,” he said. “The bubble that most Christians live in gets shattered by a trip like this because you realize that there are so many things that we can be doing, no matter the location, in order to share the awesome story of Christ. It is only then that we realize it doesn't matter what country you live in, what language you speak, or even your station in life—the name of Christ has the power to change lives and that is truly happening in Windhoek.”

Johns witnessed the same experience. “For these kids, there is a paradigm shift,” he said. “They will never be the same. Once you go to Africa, there is something about that place that gets into your heart.”

Paul Carr is director of marketing information at Baylor University.