Amanda Hill is well aware of the language barriers she faces as a missionary working in Gaborone, Botswana, but believes personal contact is a communication that breaks down any walls.
“I feel that the main ministry I do here, however unofficial it might be, is the ministry of encouragement, said Hill, who is serving in Botswana as part of the International Mission Board’s Journeyman program. “The language barrier is a challenge, but everyone understands a hug.”
The Auburn University graduate said her work in Botswana involves participating in a student ministry team that evangelizes and disciples students at the University of Botswana.
“We plan outreach activities and teach Bible studies and discipleship groups and try to effectively equip the faithful students so they will be able to reach the campus for Christ,” she said.
While she has been forced to overcome language barriers, Hill said she has encountered other obstacles in her work.
The official language of Botswana is English. However, most people Hill works with speak Setswana. In addition to language, other barriers Hill encounters include coping with a strange culture, strange food, loneliness and the absence of the conveniences of home.
Currently, Hill is living in a house in Gaborone with another Journeyman and a Mennonite missionary.
Missions opportunities are numerous in Botswana. Although most people say they are Christian, only about 1 percent attend church, Hill said. One of Hill’s main areas of focus for next year will be discipleship.
Hill, 25, entered the Journeyman program in June 1999, joining more than 200 college graduates worldwide who are serving two-year terms.
“Next school year, I will focus almost entirely on discipleship as I strive to equip the students to carry on a trend of multiplying discipleship after I return to America,” she said.
Hill said her biggest need as a missionary is prayer support.
Having firsthand experience of what it takes to be an overseas missionary, Hill has some advice for those who are thinking of entering the international missions field.
“Be sure of your calling. Lots of people come over because they think it would be fun or because they think it’s the right thing to do,” Hill said. “But I know from experience that while being a missionary can be fun, and while it is a good thing to do, there are some days when the only thing that keeps you from losing it is knowing you were called and placed here by the almighty Creator. Sometimes the memory of that still, small voice calling me to Africa is the only thing that keeps me in Africa,” Hill said.
Hill received the call to ministry when she was 16, and three years later she knew part of her ministry would be overseas. While attending a conference last year, Hill knew that God was telling her it was time to serve, and she began exploring opportunities.
Active in Auburn University’s Baptist Campus Ministry, Hill was familiar with the Journeyman program and was drawn to the program because of financial concerns.
“I chose the Journeyman program largely because it is funded by the Cooperative Program, and I wanted to go as soon as possible and didn’t have much time to raise my own financial support,” Hill said.
Some of the qualifications for the Journeyman program include being a college graduate, age 21-30, having a college degree, never married and willing to serve a two-year term. Other requirements for the Journeyman program include sensing God’s calling and being an active member of a Southern Baptist church for the last two years.
The Journeyman program provides young Southern Baptist men and women the opportunity to work alongside career missionaries all across the world. The program is designed to teach these men and women about life on the missions field. The university students come from across the country and have varied economic backgrounds.
One effective form of sharing the gospel with students is sports evangelism.
“Door after door has been opened for the gospel through sports clinics that would never have opened otherwise,” Hill said.
Two other tools for sharing the gospel that Hill has found effective are the “Jesus” film and door-to-door witnessing. Hill said the Tswana people welcome conversation, making door-to-door witnessing effective. At times more than 1,000 people have come for the presentation of the “Jesus” film.
Hill’s other area of ministry is in the village of Old Naledi, one of the poorest sections of Botswana. In the village, families are tightly interwoven and communal cooking provides most meals for the villagers, she said.
Hill’s main focus at Old Naledi Baptist Fellowship is youth and children, which comprise approximately 70 percent of the church.
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