I also convinced our teammate, Malebogo, to ride along with me during a school run. As student staff, she's in a unique and sometimes awkward position. She gets to see what staff life is like but she still has the pressure of taking classes. She's seen as both staff and a student at the same time. It's awesome and difficult. So I "forced" her to spend some uninterrupted time with me so I could hear more of her story, get to know her better, and see how's she's really doing. She has been through a lot, and the Lord has done a looot in her life. I really hope she'll join staff full time after graduation! Please join me in praying for more national staff (which may include Maleps!).
We also spent some more time waiting on our immigration agent. He told us he would check on our status, but we never heard anything. So on Thursday morning, we decided to just pray and show up at the immigration office. We waited in line when a less-than-cheerful guard took down our names. We did our best to make him smile. Then we went to visit our friends, the girls at the windows that I mentioned in a previous post. We chatted and laughed with them, and we said hi to the people waiting in the waiting area. Then the guard called us over and sent us to a new window. We made small talk with the strikingly beautiful woman behind the window. She smiled at us but disappeared, so we waited some more. When she returned, my heart was racing and I just kept praying that we wouldn't be rejected. We weren't prepared to pay more fees or take more time away from campus to deal with paperwork. And we definitely weren't ready to have to return to the U.S.; it feels like we're just getting started! The lady gave us more forms to fill out. I was nervous and praying when Steph tried to communicate with common Botswana nonverbals. She lifted her eyebrows at me and pointed toward the lady with her mouth. It may sound strange, but we've become somewhat fluent in these motions. People use them often! I finished my form and looked to see what Steph was pointing at. There, in our passports, were VISAS!! I started to cry when I saw my face on the sticker that read: REPUBLIC OF BOTSWANA PERMIT Valid until 30SEPT2018. 2018?!? NOT ONLY DID WE GET OUR VISAS, WE GOT THREE YEAR VISAS!! That's totally unprecedented. And it came as a complete shock, as the previous teams had to go through a series of appeals to get their much shorter visas. Phew! We're so thankful for Pastor Makgaola, the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Campus Crusade for Christ Botswana. He's the one who walked through the process with us and made sure every i was dotted and every t crossed. Praise God with us! There was so much shouting and rejoicing and laughter. We were absolutely loud, obnoxious Americans in that moment. We called everyone we know here. And then we went to get celebratory milkshakes, praising Jesus at a very high volume all the way. As the team leader, a huuuuge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, and I look forward to the rest of our time here!
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| WOOOOO! |
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| Happy milkshakes |
While I'm still praying about next steps, and I'm actually leaning toward returning to the U.S., a three year visa gives me so much freedom and removes a pretty big obstacle to returning to Botswana in the future. We're praying these three year visas will become the norm, allowing more laborers to come from more nations to serve with Cru in Botswana!
Speaking of laborers, it is with great sadness that we have had to prepare for the departure of some of our closest friends in Botswana. Maluki and Nabiswa are Kenyan brothers who moved here to help plant the church we attend, Gaborone Community Chapel. They are really great guys and genuine friends, and we don't want to see them go. Our church isn't on the registry of officially recognized churches yet, so their visa applications were denied. Please pray with us that our church's application will be processed and approved quickly so more laborers can come. Pray for us as we lose a little bit of light here in Gabs. And pray for the guys as they transition to life in Zambia at another one of our church's campuses.
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| In between tears on Maluki (left) and Nabiswa's last Sunday |
In completely unrelated news, my migraines have been intense and frequent recently. I have both a family- and a personal history of migraines. They shut me down, forcing me to sit in a silent, dark room until they pass. In addition to being annoying and painful, they're scary, too. My mom has MS, and migraines can be a symptom of her debilitating disease. I'd love some prayer!
