Week 17 - December 21

Our oasis

 Have you ever spent time in a desert and then stepped into a lush oasis? It can be surreal, leaving you wondering if it's just a dream. I had that sort of dreamworld experience this week. In the States, we take three or four days at the end of every semester to evaluate, realign, refresh vision, and plan for the upcoming semester. It’s affectionately called DOPE week – Days of Planning and Evaluation - and even though it always turns my brain to mush, it has a special place in my Type-J heart. The Botswana team does DOPE a little differently… but really well!

Early one morning, we all piled into the STINTmobiles and drove out of the city, the destination unknown to me. As we left the familiar main road called the A1, the landscape started to change. By the time we reached our destination, my eyes were wide with awe. We spent the day at Notwane Farm, a beautiful, space next to a river that actually held water. It was green as far as the eye could see. We set up our giant flip chart and computers under the cover of big, leafy trees. I ditched my shoes and reveled in the thick, soft grass under my toes... something that hadn’t brought me joy since I left Pennsylvania months ago. The gentle sounds of wind in the tress, distant cowbells, and chirping birds brought peace. From eight to five, we dug in and ran hard. Just like DOPE in the US, we evaluated, realigned, renewed vision, and planned for the upcoming semester. We also had spells of laughter and photoshoot breaks.

Mpho leading a portion of
planning day

No planning day is complete
without the big post-it board

This team is awesome!

Reality came rushing back when, at the end of a long day of meetings, we had to jump start the van and then spent three hours driving our teammates home. It was a long and exhausting day, but I felt the Lord’s special grace as I finally got quality time in nature. Living here long term seems much easier with a place like Notwane Farm nearby. I will definitely go back.

We had many more small staff meetings throughout the week, and we closed the semester with a team braai. Tensions ran high as three teammates arrived THREE HOURS late. We had plans for the rest of the day, but we ended up waiting impatiently as they made their way to the office. By the time we got to the Game Reserve, started the fire, and cooked the meat, the sun was hanging low in the sky. I found myself constantly having to breathe spiritually, exhaling my frustration and sinful anger and inhaling His power and ability to love others well. I wasn’t the only one struggling, and a few conversations helped to resolve the tension.

We were all on high alert.

We literally had to fight off the monkeys during our braai. They are brazen monsters. We worked as a team to keep them at bay, taking turns eating and standing guard with sticks and rocks. It was really stressful, but it was a sort of team-building activity. Though the monkeys are always a problem – traveling even to campus and to our housing complex next door – they seemed to be worse as we were the only people in the picnic area. We took the full brunt of their attacks. These monkeys are like the devil incarnate. They’re all cute and fuzzy but then they throw poo and steal food. You've been warned, friends. 

(VIDEO)

We ended the braai with a game drive, exploring the park and taking pictures of the resident animals – zebras, kudu, springbok, and ostriches mostly. The Americans stayed in the car and laughed as the majority of our team jumped out into the cold rain to ooh and ahh over a small turtle. It looked just like every box turtle I had ever found in the streams of Pennsylvania, but it was a rare gem for our local friends. The turtle-induced joy and the gentle rains that fell redeemed the day and ended the semester on a high note.

We watched the sun rise as we waited
for the border gate to open

And we waited in line to get
our passports stamped on the
South African side

The drive was BEAUTIFUL!

We had to stop a few times to tape our bumpers back on.
It was a team effort.

The highlight of this week (maybe of the semester) was our STINT retreat. Steph, Sarah, and I left our house at 5am Friday morning. None of us are morning people, and I can’t remember the last time I woke so early without traveling. We watched the sunrise over the city as we made our way to the border, quietly but excitedly anticipating a great adventure. The border gate experience was hilarious and shocking. We sat in line until the gate opened, parked at the immigration building, and casually got out of our car. Everyone else was in a full sprint - literally moving faster than any Batswana we have ever seen. It turns out, the queue gets very long very quickly for citizens. As residents, our line was short and moved quickly. We had to repeat the process on the South Africa side, and then it was open (two lane) highway for eight hours. As on any good road trip, we chatted, sang loudly, and took in the sights. 

When my driving shift was over, I passed out in the backseat and woke up as we approached the Lesotho border. Even though it was a bit out of our way, we couldn’t pass on the opportunity to see another country. The experience at the border was similar but far less hectic. The workers we encountered at the border saw opportunities to (1) ask Steph, a pretty white girl with blond hair and blue eyes, to marry him and (2) to ask the seemingly rich Americans to pay her child’s school fees and father’s medical bills. Those experiences aside, Lesotho is a beautiful country. Mountains jut up into the sky all around, with houses clinging to the hillsides. Shepherds and cattlemen led their flocks and herds lazily through beautiful green pastures. The town, Butha-Buthe, was crowded and hectic, and we decided against leaving our vehicle for safety’s sake. Then we were back on the open road, winding our way through a majestic national park in South Africa. It was the first time we saw zebras and kudu running free, and there was a lot of excited shouting.

Lesotho border gate

A homestead on the way to Butha-Buthe

Downtown Butha-Buthe was really crowded

Lesotho is so pretty!

The South African veld is really pretty, too.

 

Sunset in rural South Africa.

Our view for the day

We made it our bed and breakfast (found for half-price online) late at night, exhausted and ready to relax. When we awoke, we found that we were in the Malibu of South Africa. Umhlanga is filled with hillside mansions and breath-taking views of the Indian Ocean. There were high-end restaurants and the biggest mall I’ve ever seen, full of luxury stores. We were very out of place in our casual, comfy clothes and duct-taped van. It was comical, really. We spent a lot of time with the Lord, processing the

Crashing the birthday party

semester and life, singing worship songs, and meditating on the Word. On day one, we spent a lot of time at the beach. We had been warned that summer/Christmas holiday would be the worst time to be at the Durban beaches. We were imagining east coast beaches on Fourth of July weekend. But we were literally the only people on our part of the beach, and we only saw maybe twenty people over the course of the full day. The waves were rough and limited our swimming time to a few minutes, but what a great day! We ventured into downtown Durban to look for a place to eat dinner and drove for maybe two hours, winding through the downtown area, industrial areas, and neighborhoods, until we stumbled upon a beach-themed restaurant. We were surprised to find that we were crashing a birthday party but the hostess seated us anyway. We ate inexpensive seafood and sipped virgin mixed drinks with our toes in the sand. And laughed at the awkwardness of joining a girl’s 21^st birthday party, surrounded by her friends and family.

The next day, we checked out a big church we stumbled upon. Even though it was a megachurch, we really enjoyed the worship and the teaching. We got lost in the diverse crowd but found our way to the visitor’s center where we learned more about the church and their mission. It was an interesting experience. We ventured to the mall to buy sim cards so we can use our phones in South Africa and ended up at a lagoon. The rickety boardwalks over the mysterious marshes were terrifying, and my team both verbally reassured me and literally held my hand. It’s a good thing they love me. We walked the beach some more and made our way to the famous lighthouse. It was a relaxing adventure day, and we ended the night in Umhlanga’s trendy downtown area, surrounded by young and upwardly mobile locals. It was quite a culture shock. We left early the next day to head home, taking a more direct route.

Rolling farmland a few kilometers from Umhlanga

Scary marshes

The team at the lighthouse

Our Batswana friends had warned us of the dangers of South Africa, often openly questioning our desire to even go to such a dangerous place. It was strongly reminiscent of my small town friends trying to be helpful in warning me of the dangers of visiting big cities like New York City (or even small citiies like Pittsburgh). The heart in offering such warnings is clearly for my good, but as one who travels often, the warnings are often unnecessary and sweetly comical. Our friends warned us that carjackers are everywhere, painting a picture of gangs with guns crouching in every bush and around every corner. Having never ventured into South Africa, we started the trip on high alert.  But we never once felt like we were in danger. We still took precautions, keeping our doors locked and our bags either hidden or in our hands. It turns out, South Africa is shockingly similar to the US. There is probably crime, but police presence significantly more noticeable than in Botswana. The streets were well-lit, and the gas stations were monitored. We LOVED South Africa and would highly recommend it. We are returning to Botswana refreshed and renewed and closer as a team.

Week 15 - December 6

We've been without water nearly all week. It returned for a few hours every couple of days, allowing us to frantically refill our containers. We have it much better than many of our friends in the nearby Tlokweng area, who have lived without water almost every day since August. Their lives are much harder than ours. The dams are all dry, and the rains have been few and far between this season. We should expect to do without in such a severe drought, but the reason for the water cuts is poorly maintained infrastructure. It's really frustrating. The pipelines meant to carry water from the rainier areas of the country and from neighboring countries were poorly designed and continue to burst regularly. When a burst comes, we go without water for several days as they scramble to patch the pipes. Things that are taken for granted in the US - like water coming from the tap - have become small luxuries here. It changes one's perspective on privilege and comfort and necessity.

I spent the first half of this week planning a staff retreat that was then canceled. Administrative work brings me an odd amount of joy, even when the plans fail. In fact, they are highly likely to fail here. We have a saying that goes, "Write all your plans in pencil." It was fun, even though it all came to naught.

We had a planning meeting with the ladies of Redeemed Girl ministries this week, too. Marian Jordan Ellis is a speaker and writer, and some of our girls have been using her podcasts and Bible study materials in their small group. When Marian, who has a special relationship with Cru, heard of this, she immediately asked when she could come. We're still working on finding funding to cover all of the expenses, but I'm sure the Lord will provide. Taffy, our national director, and I cast vision for Botswana and shared some of the issues we see that she could address. We landed on an all-day event focusing on biblical sexuality. Join us in praying that the Lord would prepare the hearts of students and prompt them to attend. Marian does an awesome job of sharing her story, speaking truth, mixing in humor, and calling students to Jesus. We'll be inviting other ministries and churches to join us, and we're praying at least 300 students would attend.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for the visit of a friend of the ministry. Pastor Fred works with the Campus Crusade movement in Kenya, known as Life Ministries. He joined us in Botswana to provide a training for pastors and youth workers. Nailing down details is always challenging here, especially when it comes to preparing or ordering food, as the local custom is to allow anyone who shows up to attend. The moving pieces drew me to prayer constantly this week, and I saw the Lord answer my prayers. The training, called "Jesus-Focused Youth Ministry," was held at a local church. As the coordinator, I needed to arrive at 8am, and we finished around 5pm. In the moments in between, I ran around setting up the hall, fixing tech problems, serving the tea snacks, mingling during breaks, helping the speaker, delivering and serving lunch, and helping to guide discussion groups. I was busy, but I loved it. Serving in behind-the-scenes capacities brings me life. Seeing laborers equipped and sent out gives me hope.

Pastor Fred also spoke at our church, Gaborone Community Chapel, on Sunday morning. As his liasion, I was responsible for chauffering him. The rest of my Sunday was spent working on more admin. I'm pretty exhausted as I write this, and I miss quality time with our students. I look forward to next semester!